Saturday, November 04, 2006
U.S. support perceived to be shifting from Shias to Sunnis
Politics
Iraq's ruling Shiites have voiced growing concern that the United States is subtly shifting support to Sunni Arabs, the bulwark of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, in a bid to salvage 43-months of democracy building in Iraq and damp down violence. The perceived re-energized bid to draw the Sunni insurgency into Iraq's political process marks, in the eyes of anxious Shiites, a worrisome and major alteration of American policy in a period that has seen growing strains in the U.S.-Iraqi relationship.
The United States had relied heavily on the majority Shiite sect in its effort to construct a constitutional democracy to replace the Baath Party dictatorship that was wiped out when Saddam was chased from the Iraqi capital in the 2003 invasion. U.S. dependence on the Shiites grew exponentially, starting in late summer of that year, when disaffected Sunnis, aided by a growing number of foreign fighters and al-Qaida terrorists. Together, they launched the insurgency that is largely responsible for the climbing U.S. death toll, helping set in motion the current chaos and sectarian violence gripping Baghdad and much of central Iraq.
Al-Maliki's government, Khalilzad said, should persuade armed Sunni armed groups to lay down their arms and join the political process. In this regard, he said, Washington had secured the help of Sunni-led Arab countries. Khalilzad's conciliatory approach toward the Sunnis was coupled with tough talk on the need to disband Shiite militias. In response to the American shift, the politicians say, Shiite leaders are seeking greater control over Iraq's armed forces, asserting independence from Washington and balking at meeting U.S. demands to put Shiite militias out of business.
The United States has for decades maintained strong ties with moderate, Sunni-led Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Those time-tested alliances were meant in part to ward off the influence of Iran, which is run by a fundamentalist Shiite theocracy that is deeply hostile to Washington.
COMMENT: The shift in support is feasible for several reasons. The predominantly Shia government has failed to tackle the militias, to compromise with disaffected Sunnis and bring them to the political table, and to improve the security situation in the country. The move could also be to place the U.S. in a stronger position to tackle Iran and may expedite their exit startegy from Iraq, which they have realised the current Shia powers will not. COMMENT ENDS.
