Iraqi political disputes intensify; Afghan descent continues

Hakim slams Baathist return

Members of the outlawed Baath Party should not be allowed to rejoin the Iraqi government, the leader of an influential Shiite movement said.

Cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim with the powerful Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council struck out against calls from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki advocating a return of Baathist supporters as part of a national reconciliation movement.

"Baath today represents the major safe haven for the terrorists of al-Qaida and other criminal groups," Hakim said.

He added the Baath Party was composed of murderers who led the violent suppression against Kurdish and Shiite uprisings under the Saddam Hussein regime, saying this alone is reason enough to prevent them from returning to government, Kurdistan's Kurdsat news network reports.

Maliki, in a move aimed at national reconciliation, had said some former Baathists would be welcome to compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections later in the year.

Iraqi lawmakers in 2008 had passed a measure easing restrictions on Baathists serving in public office.

Abbas al-Bayati with the ruling Shiite United Iraqi Alliance defended Maliki's efforts during the weekend, saying that while the Baath Party remained outlawed, some members may take part of the government.

"Engaging with Iraqis who once were Baathists, and who today want to return to dialogue with the rest of the country as Iraqi citizens, is the way to build the country democratically," he said.

Barzani stresses federal structure in Iraq

The strength of the Kurds in Iraq lies in a federal system of government that eschews a power structure centered on one person, the Kurdish president said.

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat that a strong government and a strong country are manifested in constitutional provisions outlining a federal system.

"The government is a federal government," he said. "If the central government means a single person ruling Iraq, this time has gone."

Iraq is divided over the federal system. Before the January provincial elections, officials in Basra had looked to the Kurdish region as a model to establish a federal region in the south.

Much of the controversy over Iraqi Kurdistan centers on the so-called disputed territories, an area that includes Kirkuk. Barzani said settling the matter is key to reconciling the differences between his government in Erbil and the government in Baghdad.

"There can be no stability in Iraq without a solution to the Kirkuk problem," he said.

The tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have prompted some officials to raise concerns over Iraq's stability once U.S. forces withdraw to their bases later this year. Barzani, however, said those concerns are not exclusive to his region.

"Everything is possible," he said.

Iraqis wary of post-American environment

Iraqis have long opposed the U.S. troop presence in their country, but with a withdrawal date on the horizon, many say they are worried about their fate.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in February that U.S. combat operations in Iraq would end by August, and military officials there have said 12,000 troops will leave the country by September.

While most Iraqis call for an end to what they consider a foreign occupation, several expressed concerns the Iraqi government will not endure without the backing of the United States, The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates reports.

"Iraq is in a dangerous situation," Abdul Wahid Rahman, a political analyst based in Tikrit, told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, a poll for ABC News, the BBC and Japan's NHK conducted Feb. 17-25 found the overwhelming majority of Iraqis felt the security situation in the country was improving, though very few credited the United States for that improvement.

The sentiment across the country is mixed. Kurdish officials in northern Iraq have warned as recently as February that Iraq could erupt into civil war without the U.S. military buffer, while Iraqis in the south worry the Iranians could take advantage of the security vacuum to increase their influence there.

"It may get bad enough that the Americans decide they cannot withdraw. I think that's a real possibility," Rahman said. "There could be a real collapse, a return to chaos."

The news networks' poll of 2,228 Iraqi adults had a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 points.

Attacks plague NATO efforts in Afghanistan

Weekend attacks on NATO forces near the Afghan border with Pakistan are part of growing insurgency targeting international and domestic forces, a review showed.

More than 40 armed insurgents with the Taliban stormed a trucking depot in Peshawar, destroying more than 20 NATO vehicles and leaving the terminal in flames.

Meanwhile, a suicide attack in the southern Helmand province Monday left several dead, including police and civilians.

The Sunday NATO attack, however, was the first such attack since February, when Taliban militants struck a bridge on the sensitive Khyber Pass, shutting traffic there for over a week.

The closure was the sixth time the route was closed since September. Pakistani truck drivers have subsequently refused to travel through the area, closing a vital supply artery for NATO forces.

The online Long War Journal reports that the NATO attacks are the brainchild of Taliban commander Hakeemullah Mehsud, a high-ranking official with ties to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Officials said Taliban forces have been routed form the region, but the spate of attacks in the region suggest the area along the Afghan-Pakistani border remains volatile.

Kabul struggles with returning refugees

Afghan officials said they are unable to cope with the influx of refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan under a voluntary U.N. program.

Iran and Pakistan hosted millions of refugees fleeing Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s following the Soviet invasion and subsequent decades of civil conflict.

Both countries, however, have tightened their refugee programs in recent years, saying they would only host registered refugees. Iran, for its part, in 2008 ordered all of the Afghan refugees living in its Baluchistan and Sistan provinces to leave, citing security reasons.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that its repatriation of Afghan refugees has seen "the single largest return" in the past seven years, according to the U.N.'s humanitarian news agency, IRIN.

The U.N. refugee agency said it would restart its voluntary return drive from Pakistan to bring 220,000 refugees to Afghanistan through the end of 2009. That, however, was met with some skepticism from Afghan officials, who are coping with a declining security situation.

"We do not have the capacity to absorb large numbers of returnees," said Shamsuddin Hamid, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees.

IRIN said there are about 2.7 million Afghan refugees registered in Iran and Pakistan.

Afghan forces capture IED ringleader

Afghan forces working alongside their international counterparts in the eastern province of Logar captured a militant leader linked to attacks in the region

Afghan national security forces operating with troops with the International Security Assistance Force in the Pul-e Alam district of Logar captured a militant commander, identified as "Ishmael," who ISAF said was behind the majority of the attacks in the region.

The detention is the fifth capture of a leading operative this year, including Mullah Zahir, who was linked to a Jan. 17 attack in Kabul.

"The ANSF and ISAF have demonstrated their ability to disrupt insurgent activities in Logar province through well-planned and coordinated operations," ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette said.

ISAF says the string of captures have weakened networks tied to attacks using improvised explosive devices.

The ISAF report, however, comes as a suicide bomber struck police in the southern Helmand province Monday, killing nine, CNN reports.

--

(dgraeber@upi.com)