Regards, Ivan
Posted on 02/20/2005 11:58:41 PM PST by MadIvan
The leader of an Islamic party who is expected to be named Iraq's new prime minister in the next few days has urged Tony Blair not to pull out British troops.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who would be the first Shia to be in charge of the Iraqi government, confounded his critics by saying that his country could not maintain order without the help of foreign soldiers.
"Iraq's security services need more personnel, training and equipment," he said yesterday. "We need their presence for a certain time till we can depend on ourselves 100 per cent.
"There are many people still working for Saddam Hussein, terrorists from outside, and there is still the 'mafia'. Blood is spilled. How would it be if the troops left?"
Dr Jaafari said British troops were a stabilising force in the south.
"Everyone knows the security situation needs them," he said. "They can support us. Only when we can fill the vacuum do they not need to stay more. But in order to reach that last stage we need to work very hard."
He credited Mr Blair for his "bravery" in removing Saddam. "He is a very good man who has supported us through difficult times right from the beginning," he said of the Prime Minister.
Dr Jaafari, 58, the present interim vice-president, has emerged as the frontrunner to be premier after weeks of negotiations within the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shia list that received 48 per cent of the vote in the Jan 30 elections and a narrow majority of seats. The alliance is expected to appoint him as early as tomorrow.
The physician, who lived in London for the past 20 years, heads the Da'wa Party, the oldest Islamic political party in Iraq, with close ties to Iran. It was founded with the goal of turning Iraq into a religious state based on Islamic law. In 2003 Dr Jaafari was insisting all foreign troops had to leave Iraq within a year.
But yesterday he said that if elected premier he would be guided by pragmatism not ideology.
"Not all Iraqis are Muslim, not all Muslims are Shia and not all Shia are Islamic," he said. "You have to take into consideration the characteristics of a country and we are very different from Iran."
He insists his "Sunni brothers" - including former members of the Ba'ath party - would be included in bodies drafting the new constitution as long as they had not been involved in violence.
Members may be appointed to make up for their lack of representation in parliament resulting from the Sunni boycott of the election.
Though Islam would be the official religion of the state it would not be the only source of the constitution, he said.
Dr Jaafari is widely respected, even among moderate Sunnis, and is one of Iraq's most recognised politicians.
He fled Iraq in 1980 when Saddam began a crackdown on internal opposition.
He went first to Iran and later to Britain, where his family home is still in Wembley, north London, and worked as a GP.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
And here is Chalabi, the other PM contender:
"I'm a friend of the United States, and I continue to be a friend of the United States," Chalabi said.
"And I am grateful, as are most Iraqis, to the American people for helping liberate Iraq and also the men and women of the United States Armed Forces in Iraq, who have done a great job in helping us have elections, and also for the leadership of President Bush."
Didn't the defeatists tell us 2 weeks ago we got an election result we didn't bargain for? I didn't bargain for Chalabi, but as long as the Prime Minister of Iraq is a friend of the United States, terrorism in Iraq has no chance. WE WILL WIN.
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