Posted on 04/28/2005 2:20:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - In the end it was the demands of hard politics that kept most minority Sunnis out of Iraq's new government. And that could spur an escalation in the country's bloody insurgency.
Despite U.S. pressure and their own recognition that it was a priority, Iraqi politicians failed to name a significant number of Sunni Arabs to the Cabinet. Those who were selected are not major figures in the Sunni community and none received high-profile portfolios.
The promise to reach out to the Sunnis foundered on political realities: rivalries within the Shiite party that dominates the government, that party's fierce enmity with outgoing Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and its insistence that those tainted by ties with Saddam Hussein's Baath Party be excluded.
That meant the two major forces in Iraq today - the Shiites and the Kurds - essentially divvied up the major Cabinet posts among themselves.
The result is a Cabinet of 37 positions - with only four named Sunnis holding relatively low-level posts including, ironically, the Tourism Ministry.
There are still ongoing efforts to draw in more Sunnis: They have been promised a post as one of four deputy prime ministers and also promised the Defense Ministry.
But so far, Shiite Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his coalition partners have been unable to agree on any actual names.
That has potentially big implications for the insurgency, which already finds its core among disgruntled Sunnis, including former members of Saddam's Baathist regime and military.
Seeing no role in the country's politics, Sunnis are likely to be more willing to give money and shelter to guerrillas.
That trend will only worsen if the new Shiite leadership moves to purge former Baathists - largely Sunnis - from the military, adding new disgruntled former soldiers to the fight.
It's the scenario everyone on all sides has been warning about since the Jan. 30 election, when Shiites and Kurds turned out in droves to vote - eager at the chance at power after decades of oppressions.
The Sunni Arab minority stayed away, either angry at the new political situation or intimidated by the Sunni-led insurgency. The result was a 275-seat parliament with only 17 Sunni Arab members.
Only one of the four Sunnis named to the Cabinet has significant tribal ties in Anbar province, the heartland of the insurgency: Saad Naif, the new state minister for provinces affairs, is a grandson of the head of the al-Hardan tribe and a former captain in Saddam's military. None of the four Sunnis have strong links to Islamic clerics influential in the Sunni community.
One of the posts that went to the Sunnis was the Tourism Ministry - a particularly ineffectual job in a conflict-torn nation where the closest thing to tourism is the influx of Iranian pilgrims to Shiite holy sites.
During the tortured negotiations over a government, Sunni factions had sought at least seven positions - including major ministries like housing, labor or health.
But while the Kurds showed some willingness to give up one or two positions, the Shiite's al-Jaafari had none to spare, faced with the task of placating sharp divisions among the factions of his own United Iraqi Alliance.
The Shiite party also deadlocked in attempts to bring Allawi's Iraqi List into the government. That list - which has a mix from all the main communities - could have brought in Sunnis.
But the Shiites rejected anyone with significant Baathist ties.
Both sides were adamant in their positions, and eventually Allawi was rejected.
Ironically, former Baathists are exactly the ones who might be able to convince Sunnis that their future lies with the government and not with the gunmen.
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Oh Yeah!!!! Sunnis handling the Tourism side of things. Nothing like going to Iraqi Holy sites and tempting fate,maybe CBS can come up with a Iraqi Survivor show spin-off..
Maybe , just maybe if the Sunnis had dumped the insurgent act, they might not be low man on the totem pole... But NOOOOOO!!!! Tough!
Gee, and here I thought it was because many of the Sunnis decided not to vote. Funny how that happens - if you don't vote, you don't get represented.
Congratulations! This complaint is the first one to be filed under the heading "TOO Effin' BAD"
Hey, maybe they can hire a few dominatrices and set them up in Saddam's old torture chambers. Kinda do the Thai sex tourism thang, but with thumbscrews.
I still can't explain the relative lack of democrat representation in the Senate, House, White House, and Governerships. Think they've been boycotting the elections too?
I was gonna file this under "This is news because?"
The Sunnis opted out. You can't whine about your elected leaders if you choose not to vote.
The AP whispers "Please, please, PLEASE..."
Maybe if the Sunnis can knock off the insurgency they will HAVE a tourism economy and can claim bragging rights.
This should be a great cautionary tale to deadenders everywhere--don't participate and you, uh, don't participate.
And now they are whining because they are underrepresented?
They must be Demoncrats.
The liberal media establishment that screamed worldwide that the minority must have a strong voice is the same crowd that is saying that 41 US Senators should be sufficient to control judicial appointments.
This crowd has no idea how to win control. Therefore, they whine and cry to try to ensure minority rule. Whether it's Sunni's in Iraq or Democrats in Washington, the liberals are undaunted by Electoral Failure.
Or they took lessons from the Dummycrats
This reminds me of some things.
1. Al Gore whined .. still does.
2. Jean Francois Kerry whined .. still does.
3. Maybe the Sunnies are allergic to purple ink.
Too bad. Maybe they should have voted in bigger numbers then. Choke on it. The Sunnis have been totally non-constructive in the re-building of Iraq. Now they think they're suddenly entitled to something they haven't worked towards?
terrorists are mostly sunnis...who'd thunk that no one would vote the b-stards into office?
Apparently even themselves.
They didn't really run canidates, and they didn't vote (even for the few canidates they did have).
SO either way, it can be claimed they were so bad, they didn't even want to vote for themselves, or, they simply acted stupid, didn't vote and are now whining.
Bare in mind, they make up an equal percentage of the population as do the kurds, but the kurds voted.
The Sunnis are driving the Shiites to civil war; and when that happens the Arab diaspora that occurred following the creation of Israel will seem like a walk in the park. And the Iraqis will be no more welcome in Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia than the Palestinians were.
Doesn't seem to stop the RAT party ;)
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