1.

International

IRAQI FACTIONS CALL FOR TIMETABLE FOR U.S. WITHDRAWAL
By Hassan M. Fattah

New York Times
November 22, 2005
Page A1

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/international/middleeast/22arab.html
or
http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news5/nyt46.htm

[PHOTO CAPTION: Jawad al-Khalisi, left, a Shiite cleric of the National Foundation Council, talking to Yuadim Kana, right, an Assyrian Christian leader, in Cairo on Monday, the last day of an Iraqi reconciliation conference.]

CAIRO -- For the first time, Iraq's political factions collectively called today for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces, in a moment of consensus that comes as the Bush administration battles pressure at home to commit to a pullout schedule.

The announcement, made at the conclusion of a reconciliation conference here backed by the Arab League, was a public reaching out by Shiites, who now dominate Iraq's government, to Sunni Arabs on the eve of parliamentary elections that have been put on shaky ground by weeks of sectarian violence.

About 100 Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish leaders, many of whom will run in the election in December, signed a closing memorandum on today that "demands a withdrawal of foreign troops on a specified timetable, together with an immediate national program for rebuilding the security forces," the statement said. "The Iraqi people are looking forward to the day when foreign forces will leave Iraq, when its armed and security forces will be rebuilt, and when they can enjoy peace and stability and an end to terrorism."

Shiite leaders have long maintained that a pullout should be done according to milestones, and not before Iraqi security forces are fully operational. The closing statement upheld the Sunni demand, but did not specify when a withdrawal should begin, making it more of a symbolic gesture than a concrete demand that would be followed up by the Iraqi government.

The statement, while condemning the wave of terrorism that has engulfed Iraq, also broadly acknowledged a general right to resist foreign occupation. This was another effort to compromise with Sunnis who have sought to legitimize the insurgency. The statement condemned terror attacks and religious backing for it, and it demanded the release of innocent prisoners.

Almost all the delegates belong to political parties that represent the spectrum of Iraqi politics.

But while Sunni parties acknowledged their lines of communication to nationalist and tribal insurgents, none would admit any link to militants like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has led a deadly wave of suicide bombings through his group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

The wording was a partial victory for Iraq's Sunni politicians, who have long demanded that the United States commit to a scheduled pullout.

While the wording stopped short of condoning armed resistance to the occupation, it broadly acknowledged that "national resistance is a right of all nations."

"This is the first time that something like this is said collectively and in public," said Mohammad Bashar al Faythi, spokesman for hard-line Sunni Muslim Scholars Council, referring to the timetable. "We managed to convince them of the importance of a timed pullout."

Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said American-led foreign forces should be able to leave Iraq by the end of next year, noting that the one-year extension of the mandate for multinational force in Iraq by the United Nations Security Council earlier this month could be the last.

"By mid next year, we will be 75 percent done in building our forces and by the end of next year it will be fully ready," he told Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab broadcast news channel and Web service.

Today's statement offered Shiite politicians concessions, too, by condemning the wave of terrorism that has been aimed at Shiites, condemning trumped-up Islamic theological arguments for attacks on them, and ultimately legitimating the political process that has made Shiite politicians the most dominant political force now in Iraq.

"Some of the sides that were especially sensitive have opened up with the support of the Arab League," Sheikh Humam Hamoudi said. "We now clearly see that Sunnis have entered politics, and this meeting won't change that."

"If this meeting did anything, it was to comfort the Arabs and the Iraqi Sunnis about the whole process," he added. "The solution first is that Sunnis enter politics, then they enter government, then we deliver services to their areas, and then we build a strong government."

The agreed statement also called for the release of all prisoners who have not been charged or are deemed innocent, and called on Arab League members to cancel Iraq's debts and assist in building Iraq's security forces.

Perhaps the biggest winner of the meeting is the 22-member Arab League itself, which has entered the political scene in Iraq hoping to repeat the success of the organization in 1989, when it brokered an end to Lebanon's 15-year civil war in a similar conference.

The Arab League's secretary general, Amr Moussa, said today that the results of the meeting were a success but warned that expectations should still remain modest.

"This is a success for the most part," Mr. Moussa told reporters. "We succeeded in 70 percent of the issues. We will move step by step, but what happened was very significant."

The Iraqi politicians, many of whom intend to seek election on Dec. 15, thrashed out their differences in the most open debate about the country's future yet. Starting on Saturday, the delegates wasted no time expressing their complaints and differences, after more than two years of sectarian violence and terrorism.

"Even if there is no agreement, we will have accomplished a conversation," Iraq's interim president, Jalal Talabani, said on Sunday. Mr. Talabani and other members of the government refrained from taking a direct part in closed-door sessions for the three-day conference.

The meeting ultimately centered on Iraq's insurgency and its causes, seeking to goad Sunnis to drop their arms and join the political system, while forcing Shiite politicians to acknowledge Sunni grievances. On Saturday, President Talabani said he was willing to meet Iraqi insurgents if they dropped their arms.

"No one can directly influence the resistance in Iraq," said Saad Al Janabi, head of a political party. "But they don't intend to maintain their resistance forever. As soon as the occupation leaves, you will see all this sectarianism and division end."

From the start, the meeting was beset by controversy as many, especially Shiite members, objected to plans to invite former Baath Party officials to take part. Even the release of the statement was delayed by last-minute objections to several points by Sunni leaders. But with a bit of diplomacy that included shuttling from the general assembly to Mr. Moussa's offices for private deliberations, a compromise was reached this evening.

The United Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United States, and European officials have all applauded the reconciliation drive. Still, most attendees said there was no guarantee that the conference would have any direct impact on the violence in Iraq soon.

2.

World

IRAQI LEADERS CALL ON U.S. TO SET WITHDRAWAL SCHEDULE

** Statement says Iraq must first add more security forces **

Associated Press
November 22, 2005

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/22/iraq.conference.ap/

[PHOTO CAPTION: Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari attends a conference in Cairo, Egypt, designed to unite Iraqi politicians.]

CAIRO -- Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance.

The communique -- finalized by Shiite, Kurdish, and Sunni leaders Monday -- condemned terrorism but was a clear acknowledgment of the Sunni position that insurgents should not be labeled as terrorists if their operations do not target innocent civilians or institutions designed to provide for the welfare of Iraqi citizens.

The leaders agreed on "calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces . . . control the borders and the security situation" and end terror attacks.

The preparatory reconciliation conference, held under the auspices of the Arab League, was attended by Iraq President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers as well as leading Sunni politicians.

Sunni leaders have been pressing the Shiite-majority government to agree to a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops. The statement recognized that goal, but did not lay down a specific time -- reflecting instead the government's stance that Iraqi security forces must be built up first.

On Monday, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr suggested U.S.-led forces should be able to leave Iraq by the end of next year, saying the one-year extension of the mandate for the multinational force in Iraq by the U.N. Security Council this month could be the last.

"By the middle of next year we will be 75 percent done in building our forces and by the end of next year it will be fully ready," he told the Arabic-language satellite station Al-Jazeera.

Debate in Washington over when to bring troops home turned bitter last week after decorated Vietnam War vet Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and estimated a pullout could be complete within six months. Republicans rejected Murtha's position.

In Egypt, the final communique's attempt to define terrorism omitted any reference to attacks against U.S. or Iraqi forces. Delegates from across the political and religious spectrum said the omission was intentional. They spoke anonymously, saying they feared retribution.

"Though resistance is a legitimate right for all people, terrorism does not represent resistance. Therefore, we condemn terrorism and acts of violence, killing and kidnapping targeting Iraqi citizens and humanitarian, civil, government institutions, national resources, and houses of worships," the document said.

The final communique also stressed participants' commitment to Iraq's unity and called for the release of all "innocent detainees" who have not been convicted by courts. It asked that allegations of torture against prisoners be investigated and those responsible be held accountable.

The statement also demanded "an immediate end to arbitrary raids and arrests without a documented judicial order."

The communique included no means for implementing its provisions, leaving it unclear what it will mean in reality other than to stand as a symbol of a first step toward bringing the feuding parties together in an agreement in principle.

"We are committed to this statement as far as it is in the best interests of the Iraqi people," said Harith al-Dhari, leader of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars, a hard-line Sunni group. He said he had reservations about the document as a whole, and delegates said he had again expressed strong opposition to the concept of federalism enshrined in Iraq's new constitution.

The gathering was part of a U.S.-backed league attempt to bring the communities closer together and assure Sunni Arab participation in a political process now dominated by Iraq's Shiite majority and large Kurdish minority.

The conference also decided on broad conditions for selecting delegates to a wider reconciliation gathering in the last week of February or the first week of March in Iraq. It essentially opens the way for all those who are willing to renounce violence against fellow Iraqis.

Shiites had been strongly opposed to participation in the conference by Sunni Arab officials from the former Saddam Hussein regime or from pro-insurgency groups. That objection seemed to have been glossed over in the communique.

The Cairo meeting was marred by differences between participants at times, and at one point Shiite and Kurdish delegates stormed out of a closed session when one of the speakers said they had sold out to the Americans.

3.

World

Middle East & Africa

IRAQI POLITICIANS END CAIRO CONFERENCE ON RARE NOTE OF CONSENSUS
By Steve Negus

Financial Times (UK)
November 22, 2005

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b8dd93c6-5b4b-11da-b221-0000779e2340.html

Iraqi politicians wrapped up an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference yesterday with a statement of principles calling for the eventual withdrawal of foreign troops, condemning terrorism, and affirming a right of "resistance."

The statement was a rare, if vaguely worded note of consensus from the country's bitterly divided ethnic and sectarian blocs.

Although there remains room for disagreement regarding the details of the statement, it is virtually unprecedented for the range of representatives present at the Cairo meeting -- from members of the Shia- and Kurdish-dominated government to supporters of the Sunni Arab insurgency -- to meet publicly under the same roof, let alone issue a joint statement.

However, with direct representatives of the insurgents excluded from the meeting, it may be some time before any political agreement can affect the violence on the ground.

The conference delegates "called for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces . . . control the borders and the security situation" and end terror attacks.

It was unclear how the "timetable" might reconcile what until now has been U.S. and Iraqi government policy -- that the withdrawal of foreign forces be dictated by the readiness of Iraq's own security forces to handle the insurgency -- and that of Sunni Arabs who want a more definite schedule for the pull-out.

The statement also affirmed that "resistance is a legitimate right for all people." But other than condemning terrorism and attacks on civilians, it did not address the contentious issue of what legitimate "resistance" might entail.

Some Iraqi officials have said in the past that any attacks on the armed forces of their elected government, or on foreign forces in the country with the permission of an elected government, did not constitute legitimate resistance.

The statement of principles has potentially cleared the way for a broader peace initiative, to be discussed at a larger conference scheduled for late February.

The question of who might be represented at subsequent meetings has been a source of controversy during the Cairo meeting.

Official representatives of the insurgency and of the former ruling Ba'ath party, which is thought to make up much of its leadership, were excluded from the Cairo conference -- an omission that has rankled with some Sunnis, who say that little progress can be made unless the government engages directly with its armed opponents.

Some Iraqi officials also question the importance of negotiations with Sunni Arab groups such as the Association of Muslim Scholars, which they say may be influential among the insurgents but which has yet to demonstrate any ability to stop attacks on the ground.

Iraq's government has meanwhile issued mixed signals over its willingness to meet insurgents, with President Jalal Talabani suggesting that he would be willing to meet at least some of the guerillas.

Kurdish politicians like such as Mr. Talabani have traditionally been more favorable to a political solution than the Shia, many of whom view negotiations as a political tactic to step up pressure on the U.S. military to withdraw from Iraq, after which leaders of the Sunni Arabs will make a new bid for power. While some Sunni Arab leaders acknowledged Mr. Talabani's statement as a positive step, they had little confidence of any major breakthroughs until after elections scheduled for December, in which new electoral system and increasing political mobilization in Sunni Arab areas is expected to increase dramatically the community's representation in parliament.