Iraq's New Government And Social Outcome Of War
On April 29, 2005, officials from Iraq's six neighbors, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and regional Egypt, met in Istanbul to welcome the formation of a Iraq's new government and give the emerging democratic process a boost despite regional fears of instability in the country.
After nearly three months of haggling over key government posts, Iraq's National Assembly finally approved the country's first popularly elected government on April 28.
Iraq's neighbors are extremely concerned that the violence in Iraq could destabilize the region and remain divided concerning Iraq's future.
The officials drafted a "communique" to be adopted by the ministers and carefully watch by the Untied States and international community, that expressed support for the new government, stressing the political integrity and sovereignty of Iraq.
Sunni-dominated neighbors, including Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf countries, are concerned that Sunni under-representation will sidestep the once powerful minority and undermine their influence in Iraq.
The increasingly vocal Shiite majority in Iraq is of great concern for many of Iraq's neighbors.
While other countries, such as Turkey, Iran and Syria, are concerned that the strong influence of Iraqi Kurds in the government could enable them to push for an independent state, thus, encouraging Kurds in neighboring countries to take a similar path.
The presidency, Foreign Ministry and approximately half dozen other ministerial posts are held by Iraqi Kurds, and is a particular concern in Turkey, which has been battling Turkish Kurdish rebels in its own southeast since 1984, resulting in 37,000 dead.
Even before it started work, Iraq's new cabinet was under pressure as Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari tried to complete the government line-up during a surge of car bombings and other insurgent attacks.
On April 30, six people were killed and thirty wounded in four separate car bombings, three of them targeting army patrols.
A suicide driver in east Baghdad ploughed into a joint Iraqi-U.S. convoy, killing two civilians, a day after a wave of nine car bombs.
The attack was claimed by the group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's top man in Iraq.
Then a second car bomb exploded outside a building holding a meeting of senior Sunni leaders from the Council on National Dialogue, killing one guard and injuring ten people.
The council is one of a number of Sunni groups that have been involved in talks with the new government on forming a new cabinet.
Another car explosion targeted a U.S. military convoy east of the capital, killing two civilian, while a fourth car bomb in Mosul aimed at Iraqi police, killed a one civilian.
Two days earlier, four U.S. soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in Tall Afar, bringing the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to 1,572.
And the death toll of Iraqi civilians runs into the tens of thousands.
On April 30, 2005, the Associated Press reported that insurgents set off at least seventeen bombs in Iraq, killing at least fifty people, including three U.S. soldiers.
The series of attacks were aimed at shaking Iraq's newly formed government and in an audio tape by one of America's most-wanted insurgents, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, warned President Bush that here was more bloodshed to come.
Wounding 114 Iraqis and seven Americans, the well-coordinated attacks came as political leaders were trying to cub the insurgency by including all of Iraq's main religious and ethnic groups into an uncertain new Shiite-dominated government that was to take office May 3rd.
The majority of the bombing targets were Iraqi security forces and police, whom insurgents accuse of collaborating with the Americans.
An association of Sunni Muslim clerics believed to have ties with the insurgency, said that there is little prospect for peace as long as American forces remain in Iraq.
Head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, Harith al-Dhari, told Turkey's Anatolia news agency, "We don't believe that the government will solve the problems of an occupied Iraq. We don't trust the government. We don't see hope because the occupation is continuing."
American officials were hoping that the new Cabinet would help dent support for...
We will not rest while your army is here as long as there is a pulse in our veins," and threatened more attacks against American forces and warned against Iraqis collaborating with Americans.
General Wafig al-Samarie, Iraq's presidential adviser for security affairs, urged Iraqis to take a stand to the insurgents, saying, "Our people should stand up against these criminals ... Security is everybody's responsibility."
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari pledged to unite Iraq's rival ethnic and religious factions and fight terrorism, saying, " You all know the heavy legacy inherited by this government. We are afflicted by corruption, lack of services, unemployment and mass graves ... I would like to tell the widows and orphans ... your sacrifices have not gone in vain."
However, as of May 3rd, five ministries, including the key defense and oil portfolios remained in temporary hands and two deputy prime minister's slots were still unfilled as al-Jaafari tried to place disaffected Sunni minority into key posts while balancing the demands of other groups.
Al-Jaafari negotiated a Cabinet that includes fourteen Shiite Arab ministers, eight Kurds, four Sunnis and one Christian. Two of the four deputy prime ministers were also sworn in May 3rd, a Shiite and a Kurd.
While in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement strongly condemning the "cruel and heartless" violence that is apparently aimed at undermining Iraq's newly formed government.
Only a magician could predict the social outcome for Iraq. There is no exit deadline for American troops to leave Iraq so far. The government is still being formed and has yet to begin the true business of politics and governing the country. There are so many faction groups that it is a wonder that the government has even formed. The insurgency appears to be an endless pool of militants, and it is their success or demise that will be the determining factor to Iraq's future.
Work Cited
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
"Iraq's new government faces tough battle to prove itself."
Agence France Presse English; 30 April 2005; pp.
Seely, Hart. "The Cost of War: Two Years Later." The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY); 20 March 2005; pp.
Wagner, Thomas. "Insurgents Strike Across Iraq, Killing 50."
AP Online; 30 April 2005; pp.
Wagner1, Thomas. "Iraq's New Government Pledges Unity."
AP Online; 03 May 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Iraq's neighbors meet to discuss new government amid regional fears about country's future." AP Worldstream; 29 April 2005; pp.
"Iraq's new government faces tough battle to prove itself."
Agence France Presse English; 30 April 2005; pp.
"Iraq's new government faces tough battle to prove itself."
Agence France Presse English; 30 April 2005; pp.
"Iraq's new government…
