Politics threaten Iraq, lawmaker says

BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- Political confrontations trump concerns over an increase in terrorist activity in the wake of a U.S. military drawdown from Iraq, lawmakers say.

U.S. combat forces withdrew from Iraqi cities Tuesday under the terms of a bilateral security agreements reached in 2008 with Baghdad.

Iraqis celebrated the milestone with a nationwide holiday, National Sovereignty Day, but the overall mood masked concerns over the ability of Iraqi security forces to take control amid lingering political disputes.

Iraq saw increased violence in 2008 as the country prepared for provincial elections, with major military offenses launched in the southern provinces while disputes between Kurdish and Iraqi forces approached the brink of conflict over disputed jurisdiction in Diyala province.

Iyad Jamal al-Din, an Iraqi parliamentarian with the Sadrist Movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, discounted many of the security concerns in Iraq, saying Iraqis had the political will to rise above terrorist efforts to divide the country.

Instead of sectarian conflict or terrorist issues, Din, in an interview with Emirati news service Gulf News, warned that political confrontations may be the greatest threat to national security.

"Iraq's main problem is political in the first place," he said. "It is true that the security issue has many problems, and many innocent people are being killed every day, but the real strategic threat is the political issue and the issue of neighboring countries' interference," he said.