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US Imperialists as Brit Colonialists - Arab Lg, Iraqi VP So No to Senate Chop Shop

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Counterpunch - Sep 27, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs09272007.html


Another Doomed Proposal:

Joe Biden's Plan to Chop Up Iraq

By RON JACOBS

If anyone still believes that Iraq is a free and sovereign state, a
couple recent moves in Washington should put a rest to that thought
forever. The first is the response to the most recent slaughter by the
Blackwater mercenaries. The second is the vote on September 26, 2007 in
the US Senate that calls for the division of Iraq into semi-autonomous
regions that would be decided by the US client government inside
Baghdad's Green Zone.

The response to the Blackwater killings from the Green Zone government
was strong at first. The Minister of the Interior demanded the exit of
the mercenaries from Iraq and possible prosecution of the murderers.
Then the pressure from Washington began and the forceful language from
the Green Zone Iraqis became considerably more conciliatory. As it
stands at this writing, the Iraqi legislature is considering passing a
law that would make the private mercenaries fighting Washington's war
in Iraq the responsibility of the Pentagon. This would mean that they
would answer to the men in uniform wearing lots of medals. It doesn't
mean that their murderous actions would be punished, but it would mean
that they would have to be sanctioned by the Pentagon. Given that there
seems to be very few US military officers of high rank whose careers
are not tied to Washington's version of success in Iraq, this change in
the command chain seems like it will make very little difference in how
the Blackwaters of the war operate.

Furthermore, the fact that Washington's goal in Iraq is complete
control of that territory either directly or via some kind of pliable
government seems to indicate that the mercenaries will be there awhile.
That is the case even if Joe Biden's resolution calling for partition
of Iraq becomes the strategy on the ground.

What's most disturbing about this resolution is its hubris. No matter
what the origins of the Iraqi nation are (and they include colonial
maneuvering by Britain and others after World War I) the fact is that
it is a nation and the only people who should have any say in its
division are the Iraqis.

But Washington believes it rules the world. This belief is held by
members of both the ruling parties and is essential to understanding
how and why the US acts the way it does in the world. In a manner
similar to the way Bill Clinton and company divided Yugoslavia at
Dayton back in the 1990s, the Biden resolution is another effort at
making a part of the world unwilling to bend to US control more
controllable. Despite the repeated references to Yugoslavia and its
partition by outside powers, the policy of partition did not begin
there. Indeed, it's quite reasonable to argue that the US (via the
United Nations Security Council) utilized the same device after World
War Two in Korea and Vietnam with mixed results at best. Korea remains
divided and Vietnam has been a singular nation since the US military
defeat in 1975. Both nations suffered horrific wars that killed
millions of their citizens.

While Iraq has not yet come close to the slaughters of Korea and
Vietnam, it has certainly suffered appalling destruction because of
Washington's attempts to decide its future in a way beneficial to
Washington. Once again, if we refer to earlier attempts by Washington
to partition nations unwilling to accede to its demands, there appear
to be two potential outcomes should partition occur. The first would be
the Korean option--an option that demands a fully-armed concentration
of US military in country for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, this
scenario seems to carry with it the potential for open war at almost
any time. The Vietnam scenario would seem to tell us that if a
nationalist resistance can maintain itself it can ultimately reunite a
nation and throw the occupiers out. The Yugoslavia scenario is
considerably murkier. Bosnia and Kosovo are still UN
protectorates--which means that they are occupied by outside powers
masquerading as UN peacekeepers. Economically, both continue to
experience extremely high unemployment rates and minimal economic
growth.

Partitioning Iraq is not a solution that is Washington's to make. The
recent vote by the US Senate is misguided. In addition, it will do
little to further the desire of the US public to bring the troops home.
Instead, it will put US forces in the position of maintaining the newly
created divisions along new lines in the sand. Senator Biden's bill is
not a solution. It is another false approach that has as much chance at
success as anything tried by the Bush administration. In other words,
it is destined to fail.


[Ron Jacobs is author of The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather
Underground, which is just republished by Verso. Jacobs' essay on Big
Bill Broonzy is featured in CounterPunch's collection on music, art and
sex, Serpents in the Garden. His first novel, Short Order Frame Up, is
published by Mainstay Press. He can be reached at:
rjacobs3625@charter.net ]


                             ***

Deutsche Press via Info Clearing House - Sep 26, 2007
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18463.htm

US Senate calls for Iraq's partition

By DPA

US lawmakers voted Wednesday to split Iraq into a loose federation of
sectarian-based regions and urged President George W Bush to press
Iraqi leaders to agree.

More than 20 Republicans joined Democrats to pass the non-binding
measure in the Senate, 75-23, showing frustration in both parties about
Bush's war policy and lagging national reconciliation in Iraq.

Supporters of Iraqi partition believe it would let Shia, Sunni and
Kurdish factions settle their differences and make it easier for US
troops eventually to return home.

But the measure, attached to the 2008 defence budget, runs against US
administration policy to keep Iraq united and would likely face a veto
if it reached Bush's desk.

The proposal to breaking up Iraq into decentralized regions came from
Senator Joseph Biden, who heads the chamber's foreign relations
committee and is running for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential
nomination.

Biden has long championed the federal plan, saying it would give Iraq's
main groups "breathing room in their own regions" and speed up a US
troop withdrawal.

But partition would raise concern in neighbouring Turkey, which is
fighting a Kurdish separatist movement and would be wary of broader
autonomy for Iraqi Kurds across the border.

Sunni-led Saudi Arabia would likely fear a further rise in Iranian
influence over Iraq if Iraqi Shiites controlled their own mini-state.

A key Republican supporter and presidential candidate, Senator Sam
Brownback, has urged Bush to send a high-level envoy to Iraq "to get
these people in a room to cut the deal to get different states, where
you have the power mostly residing in the states."

Biden's amendment calls for the US government to work for a "political
settlement based on the creation of federal regions within a united
Iraq." 

                             ***

KUNA News Agency (Kuwait) - Sep 27, 2007
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1844435&Language=en

Iraq VP dismisses subdivision plans

CAIRO, Sept 27 (KUNA) -- Visiting Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdel-Mahdi
here Thursday dismissed Iraq subdivision plans, saying the country has
been united for 5,000 years.

Abdel-Mahdi made the remarks in a news briefing following a meeting
with President Hosni Mubarak, saying that it was up to the Iraqi people
to determine their fate themselves.

Iraq's political future will be shaped by the country's constitution,
parliament and government, he noted.

The Iraqi vice-president made the remarks in response to a recent
unbinding decision by the US Congress, aiming to divide Iraq into three
small states on ethnic lines.

Earlier on Tuesday, the US Senate voted for a Bosnia-style plan to
subdivide Iraq on ethnic lines, touted by backers as the sole hope of
forging a federal state out of sectarian strife.

Advocates say the plan, championed by Democratic senator and
presidential hopeful Joseph Biden, offers a route to a political
solution in Iraq that could allow US troops to eventually go home
without leaving chaos behind.

A loose autonomous federation of Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni entities
might look good on paper, but critics charge it ignores Iraq's ethnic
stew, such as cities where ethnic groups live side-by-side and
inter-marry, and are not divided by lines on a map. There have been a
number of recent progress reports on Iraq. The top US military
commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker
this week delivered their key findings to Congress.

President Bush has recently announced a limited withdrawal of US troops
because of the "measure of success" in Iraq, and the White House has
published its final progress report on Iraq.

The US ambassador in Baghdad told US Congress earlier this month that
he would back a federal system in Iraqi regions, but would object to
any subdivision plan.

Asked about how to find a way out of the current security quagmire in
Iraq, the Iraqi vice-president claimed that a "tangible improvement"
happened in the current security situation.

The police, army and defence forces now include at least half a million
Iraqi people, he said.

The 2003 war and erroneous security planes have the paved the way for
Al-Qaeda militants and insurgents to settle in some areas in Iraq.

He emphasized that the Iraqi people should be relied upon as a "key
factor" in fighting terrorism and violence, as well as building Iraqi
armed forces.

The national reconciliation process is still underway, he said, noting
that some political forces, which were earlier marginalized or
isolated, are now partners to the political process.

However, he regarded the resignation of some ministers of the Nouri
al-Maliki government as a "normal thing" in any democratic system,
stressing that public interest required dialogue with those ministers
who quit the Iraqi cabinet.

Asked about reports billing the Iraqi government as pro-Iran one and
Iraq has become a field of clashes between Iran and the US, Abdel-Mahdi
dismissed all such matters as "exaggerated".

"We seek to have the best relations of friendship with Iran and Turkey.
We also respect the Arab role and friendship with Arab countries,
especially neighboring ones. Our belonging to the Arab world compels us
to work continuously work with the largest Arab country, Egypt," he
said.

The current political vacuum in Iraq will be filled by the Iraqi people
themselves, rather than Arab countries, Iran, Turkey or the US, he
said, calling for an Arab-Iranian dialogue and an Iranian-US dialogue
as well as balanced regional relations, the Iraqi vice-president added.

On his coming visit to Syria in spite of US accusations that Damascus
stimulates and spurs infiltration of terrorists into Iraq, Abdel-Mahdi
said, "We call for fathoming out the current changes in Iraq due to
decade-long circumstances and ramifications." He went on to say, "We
are trying to comprehend the existing regional complications that need
to be understood and finessed in a proper manner in pursuit of an
accommodation."

Commenting on his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he
said the meeting touched upon the security and political situation in
Iraq, a proposal for Egypt's diplomatic mission return to Baghdad,
Iraq's reconstruction and Egypt's required regional role.

Following the meeting with Mubarak, the Iraqi vice-president has left
Cairo, returning home, wounding a several-day official visit during
which he met with several senior Egyptian officials. (end) sm.rg.mt

All rights reserved (c) 2007 KUNA

                              ***

KUNA News Agency (Kuwait) -  Sep 27, 2007
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1844460&Language=en

Arab League condemns U.S. Senate view to segregate Iraq

CAIRO, Sept 27 (KUNA) -- The Arab League condemned Thursday the U.S.
Senate view to separate Iraq into several sectarian parts, saying that
the decision was reflecting a grim vision for the future of the fellow
Arab country.

Head of Public Relations in the League ambassador Ali Al-Jaroshi told
the press that Arab countries should stand against these plans which
were turned into an official decision taken by the U.S. Senate after 75
of 100 members agreed to it.

"Arabs should stand firmly against these plans," he urged, adding that
foreign forces should leave Iraq for the people to take control of the
country.

The Senate has failed to take any decision which would enforce
stability in the country, said Al-Jaroshi, puzzled that the Senate has
succeeded in issuing decision of segregation when all efforts of
stabilizing the country failed. (end)

mfm.az.gta KUNA 271647 Sep 07NNNN

All rights reserved (c) 2007 KUNA.


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