Meetings to Hammer Out New Political Alliance
By Basil Addas, Correspondent
Gulf News. Jan 5, 2007
Baghdad: Days after the execution of Saddam Hussain, there has been a flurry
of meetings between President Jalal Al Talabani, Vice-President Tariq Al Hashimi,
Adnan Al Dulaimi, the Sunni Accord Front leader and Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, the
Shiite coalition leader.
These meetings aim to build a new political alliance to better manage the
political and security process.
Fouad Massoum, a prominent Kurdish leader told Gulf News, "The trend now is
to establish a political alliance between the Kurds, the Sunni Islamic Party and
the Shiite Sup-reme Council for Islamic Revolution."
He added, "Certain security and political conditions require redrawing of the
alliance map to enable new alliance to play a greater role in improving security
and stability."
Massoum said, "The new alliance must reunify moderate Sunnis and Shiites and
exclude extremists from both sides."
Sources in Baghdad say that recent meetings between US President George W.
Bush, Sunni leader Tariq Al Hashimi and Shiite leader Al Hakim in Washington
have played a significant role in establishing this new political alliance.
But Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish leader close to Al Talabani, alluded to
Shiite-Sunni differences concerning this new alliance, including the Sunnis'
insistence on excluding Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr as opposed to Shiite
leader Al Hakim who wants to include some moderates from the Al Sadr faction.
Sa'ad Jawad Qandil, a prominent figure in the Shiite coalition told Gulf News
that the coalition is ready to make concessions to the Sunnis to bolster moves
to establish a political alliance based on national interests and give the
Sunnis a greater role in managing the security process.
Cabinet changes
A spokesman for the Al Sadr faction, Riyadh Al Nouri told Gulf News, "If that
alliance crystallises, it will not marginalise the influence of the faction
inside the parliament and the government."
He continued, "Some do think that the goal of this new alliance is to exclude
the Al Sadr faction and I can assure you that no political force can achieve
this goal."
Some observers believe that this new alliance is likely to be announced next
March when Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki announces some important changes to
his cabinet.
It is believed that Al Maliki will select ministers from the parties that
would make up the new alliance including the ministers of interior, defence and
national security.
Meanwhile Adnan Al-Dulaimi, the Sunni Accord Front leader, told Gulf News,
"The Front will urge Al Maliki to select a new defence minister from the front
as a guarantee that the Sunnis will play a greater role in security."
