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• 4 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 261 • December 2006<br />
states that Turkey, on the or<strong>de</strong>rs of<br />
the then Prime Minister, Turgut<br />
Ozal, had rejected this offer. The<br />
former ambassador ad<strong>de</strong>d,<br />
however, that the document<br />
undoubtedly referred to another<br />
Turco-Iraqi security agreement,<br />
signed early in the 80s, authorising<br />
both countries to cross their<br />
common bor<strong>de</strong>r in pursuit of<br />
Kurdish fighters.<br />
In the course of this hearing, the<br />
Iraqi Public Prosecutor, Munkith<br />
al-Farun, had exhibited documents<br />
from the General Staff, dated April<br />
1988, or<strong>de</strong>ring the <strong>de</strong>struction of<br />
“the saboteurs’ bases” by air and<br />
artillery bombardment using “the<br />
special weapon”, a reference to the<br />
use of chemical weapons. The<br />
Prosecutor had or<strong>de</strong>red, on four<br />
occasions, that the microphones be<br />
switched off so as the continue, in<br />
camera, discussion of the<br />
documents regarding “Iraq-<br />
Turkish relations” at the time and<br />
then showed the court a memo<br />
or<strong>de</strong>ring Iraqi officers to “cooperate<br />
with the Turkish party, in accordance<br />
with the terms of a protocol of<br />
cooperation providing for the turning<br />
back of Kurdish refugees”. A letter<br />
dated 28 April 1988 <strong>de</strong>manding<br />
“the <strong>de</strong>struction of all the houses” of a<br />
village and conclu<strong>de</strong>d with “inform<br />
the Presi<strong>de</strong>nt, may God bless him,”<br />
was also presented. Another<br />
document, from then Chief of the<br />
General Staff Nazar Ab<strong>de</strong>l Kareem<br />
and dated 21 August of the same<br />
year, or<strong>de</strong>red “<strong>de</strong>al with the<br />
populations with strikes using the<br />
special weapon so as to create panic”<br />
and expressing the hope of “the<br />
total <strong>de</strong>struction of the Northern zone<br />
(…) before the possibility of a fresh<br />
conflict with Iran”. Finally a circular<br />
dated April 1988 or<strong>de</strong>red the Iraqi<br />
forces “to use the special ammunition<br />
against the enemy forces for as long as<br />
possible and to strike the saboteurs’<br />
bases as hard as necessary”. This<br />
letter is “initialled by a signature that<br />
we believe is that of Saddam Hussein”,<br />
according to the Prosecutor. “This<br />
is the first time in history that an<br />
army has used chemicals against its<br />
own people”, he conclu<strong>de</strong>d.<br />
THE BAKER-HAMILTON REPORT ON IRAQ:<br />
REJECTED BY BOTH THE KURDS AND THE SHIITES<br />
A<br />
long expected report, the<br />
fruit of eight months<br />
work by the Iraq Study<br />
Group (ISG), on the<br />
United States’ strategy in<br />
Iraq recommends a gradual<br />
disengagement, the US Army<br />
having, henceforth, to focus its<br />
mission on training, equipping and<br />
supporting the Iraqi forces rather<br />
than on fighting. The commission,<br />
co-chaired by former Secretary of<br />
State James Baker and former<br />
Democrat Congressman Lee<br />
Hamilton, thus published its report<br />
on 6 December without proposing<br />
either a precipitous retreat or a<br />
limitless <strong>de</strong>ployment. “The military<br />
priorities must change”. The<br />
in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt commission,<br />
composed of five Republicans and<br />
five Democrats opt rather for<br />
“completing the mission of training<br />
and equipping” before the end of<br />
March 2008. To this end it calls for<br />
increasing the number of US troops<br />
allocated to training Iraqi troops<br />
from the present 3-4,000 to a final<br />
figure of10-20,000, this increase<br />
coming from units already in Iraq.<br />
On the other hand it suggests that<br />
Washington reduce its “political,<br />
military and economic support” for<br />
Iraq if the Baghdad government<br />
fails to show substantial progress<br />
in the area of security.<br />
During a Press Conference, Mr.<br />
Baker consi<strong>de</strong>red that there was no<br />
“magic formula” for resolving the<br />
crisis in Iraq. “A sli<strong>de</strong> to chaos could<br />
bring about the collapse of the Iraqi<br />
government and a humanitarian<br />
crisis. Neighbouring countries might<br />
intervene”, according to the report.<br />
“Clashes between Sunnis and Shiites<br />
could spread and Al-Qaida could win<br />
a propaganda victory and broa<strong>de</strong>n its<br />
operational base”, warned the<br />
Commission. At regional level, it<br />
recommen<strong>de</strong>d a diplomatic<br />
offensive, and, above all, directs<br />
discussions with Teheran and<br />
Damascus “to try and secure their<br />
commitment to conducting<br />
constructive policies towards Iraq<br />
and other regional problems”. It<br />
recommends “dissuasive” and<br />
“incentive” measures.<br />
The day after the publication of the<br />
report, US Presi<strong>de</strong>nt George W.<br />
Bush recognised the necessity for a<br />
“new approach” during a discussion<br />
with British Prime Minister Tony<br />
Blair aimed at reviewing the<br />
different strategies open to them.<br />
Following a discussion with Tony<br />
Blair, he admitted that the situation<br />
in the country was “bad”.<br />
Moreover, the reactions to this<br />
report and to its recommendations<br />
only served to un<strong>de</strong>rline the<br />
sectarian divisions of the new Iraq.<br />
Divergences centred on certain of<br />
the most sensitive themes in<br />
present day Iraq: national<br />
reconciliation, the sharing of the<br />
wealth in oil and the role of<br />
neighbouring countries in the<br />
efforts to extricate the country<br />
from the present chaos.<br />
The Kurds sharply criticised the<br />
report. “Unrealistic and