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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti Iraqis weigh alliance to marginalize Sadr New coalition wou Id bolster Maliki By Edward Wong BAGHDAD: Several of Iraq's major political parties are in talks to form an American-backed coalition whose aim is to dampen the influence within the government of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and extremist Sunni Arab politicians, senior Iraqi officiaIs say. President George W Bush is direct- , ly pushing party leaders to create the coalition, the officiaIs said. A major goal of the parties is to support Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, so that he no longer has to depend on Sadr, one of the most powerful figures in Iraq, and could even move militarily against him if needed, the officiaIs said. Sadr controIs a militia with an estimated 60,000 fighters that has rebelled twice against the U.S. military here and is accused of widening the sectarian war by murdering Sunni Arabs in reprisaI killings. The proposed coalition cuts across ethnic and sectarian lines. The groups involved in the talks include the two major Kurdish parties, the most influential Sunni Arab party and two powerfuI Shiite parties, including Maliki's. The Americans, who are increasingly frustrated with Maliki's ties to Sadr appear to be working hard to help build the coalition. Bush met last week in the White House with the leader of the other Shiite party, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, and is meeting this week with the head of the Sunni Arab party, Tariq al-Hashemi. ln late November, Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with leaders and envoys from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt to try to get them to persuade moderate Sunni Arabs in Iraq to support Maliki, which would give the prime minister more leverage to break with Sadr. Last month, Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, wrote in a classified memo that Washington should press Sunni Arab and Shiite leaders to support Maliki if he sought to build "an alternative political base." Iraqi officiaIs involved in the talks said they had grown frustrated with militant politicians within the government. "A number of key political parties, across the sectarian-ethnic divide, recognize the gravity of the situation and have become increasingly aware that their fate, and that of the country, cannot be held hostage to the whims of the extreme fringe within their communities," said Barham Salih, a deputyprime minister and senior member of one of the major Kurdish parties. "Should these parties succeed in tli\nscending the sectarian fault lines to work together o~ the national 'democratic' project in Iraq, then Iraq will have a chance," he said The talks come at a time when Sadr's relationship with Maliki has shown signs of strain. On Nov. 30, Sadr suspended his political representatives - 30 legislators and 6 cabinet ministers - fro~ participating in the government. MahkI called for the Sadr loyalists to return, but the politicians said they would do so only if Maliki and the:Americans set a timetable for the withdrawal ofU.S. troops. That demand was reiterated Sunday by Sadr in a fiery written message from his home in Naja£ Any plan to form an alliance across sectarian lines, and one that isolates -Sadr and Sunni extremists, carries 7normous risks. The entire point of givmg Sadr a voice in the political process was to persuade him to use political power to effect change rather than doing so through force of arms. If Sadr thought he was being marginalized, he could ignite another rebellion, this time with a militia that has grown vastly since 2004, when U.S. troops struggled to put down two uprisings. But senior U.S.commanders said that the attempts to make peace with Sadr through politics may have failed, and a mil.itar~ assault ~mhis strongholds may be mevItable. HIS greatest support lies in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, with 2.2 million people, and in areas of the southern Shiite heartland, where his militia has clashed often with Hakim's. On Monday, Falah Shanshal, a Sadr legislator, denounced the idea of any political coalition that would exclude Sadr officiaIs. "We're against any new bloc, new front or new alliance," he said. "We have to make unit y between us, to be one front against terrorism and t? liberate the coun.try from the occupatIon. Any new allIance will never be useful in this situation." Iraqi officiaIs said another big risk was a backlash against the parties involved in the talks from other leaders in their own ethnic or sectarian communities. . .For Ha~im and !'Aaliki,any attempt to lom Sunm Arabs m an alliance against Sadr could invoke the wrath of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most powerfuI Shiite cleric in Iraq. Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the ayatollah ha~.worke~har~ to bring various feuding Shllte factIons mto one greater coalition to rule Iraq. Right now, that coalition which includes Sadr, is the dominant bloc in the 275-member Parliament. Abdul Razzaq al-Saiedi, Kirk Semple, Sabrina Tavernise and Qais Mizher contributed to this article. Men suspected of kidnapping, who were captured in an Iraqt. A .d. • • Karim KadimlThe Associaled Press _ _ . rmy rai ,waitlng Monday IDthe army's headquarters in Baghdad. 41
Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Ozeti PROCHE-ORIENT DANS l'ATTENTE D'UNE NOUVELLE POLITIQUE AMÉRICAINE IEN~RAK feJllonvi 16 décembre 2006 L'Arabie saoudite s'interroge sur un soutien aux sunnites irakiens IL Y A EU d'abord la tribune publiée le 29 novembre, dans le Washington Post, par un conseiller saoudien en faveur d'un soutien aux sunnites d'Irak. Puis le brusque départ, le 11décembre, de l'ambassadeur du royaume àWashington, Turki Al-Faiçal, dont ce conseiller était un proche. Et enfin des informations du New York Times, mercredi 13 décembre, sur les propos prêtés au roi Abdallah lors de sa dernière rencontre avec le vice-président américain Dick Cheney, à Riyad, le 25 novembre. Autant d'éléments qui trahissent l'inquiétude des Saoudiens devant le bourbier irakien, l'éventualité d'un retrait américain, et les ambitions régionales de l'Iran. En Irak, Riyad redoute désormais le déchaînement de la guerre civile entre sunnites et chiites en cas de retrait américain. Dans une telle situation, écrivait Nawaf Obeïd, conseiller diplomatique pour l'ambassade saoudienne à Washington, le royaume n'aurait d'autre choix que d'intervenir pour défendre la minorité sunnite et empêcher des « massacres ». Le conseiller faisait état d'appels déjà lancés à la monarchie saoudienne, notamment de la part des chefs des confédérations tribales liés aux confédérations irakiennes, en faveur d'un soutien politique, financier, voire militaire aux sunnites d'Irak. M. Obeïd avait précisé qu'il ne s'exprimait pas au nom des autorités saoudiennes et il était tombé en disgrâce dès la publication de sa tribune. La menace d'un engagement de Riyad en Irak dans le cas d'un retrait américain aurait pourtant été le message principal, selon le New York Times, que le roi Abdallah aurait fait passer à M. Cheney en novembre. La Maison Blanche s'en est démarquée en assurant que cette hypothèse ne s'inscrivait pas dans le cadre de la politique saoudienne. Officiellement, en effet, le royaume n'intervient pas en Irak autrement que pour soutenir financièrement les efforts de reconstruction. La menace iranienne L'impasse en Irak et un éventuel revirement américain alimenteraient des analyses divergentes au plus haut niveau saoudien, et des dissensions qui pourraient expliquer ledépart soudain deWashington de l'ambassadeur TurkiAl-Faiçal à propos duquel aucune indica- tion n'a été donnée à Riyad, comme c'est la coutume. Arrivéde Londres où il officiait également comme ambassadeur après avoir long.- temps dirigé les services de renseignement, Turki Al-Faiçal aurait expliqué sa décision pour des raisons privées. Elle pourrait aussi bien découler des rapports de for- , ces entre les membres de la famille ~\. royale. . Le prédécesseur de M.Al-Fayçal à Washington, Bandar Ben Sultan \ est le fils du prince héritier, Sultan Ben Abdel Aziz, du puissant clan des Soudeiri.Après avoirpassé plus devingt ans àWashington, il aurait conservé des contacts étroits avec l'administration américaine. Cet entregent aurait pu compliquer la tâche du nouvel ambassadeur à un moment critique des relations entre les deux pays, alors que la situation pourrait inciter certains, au sein de la famillerégnante, àune politique plus agressive. Les marges de manœuvre saoudiennes en Irak sont pourtant limitées. Une partie des djihadistes sunnites qui opèrent en Irak souhaitent ouvertement la chute de la famillerégnante en Arabie saoudite. • Les inquiétudes du royaume sont renforcées par les ambi~ons Saudis say they may fund Iraqi Sunnis in war against Shiites By Helene Cooper WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to U.S. and Arab diplomats. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Viee President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Cheney's visit to Riyadh, the officiaIs said. Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officiaIs said. The Saudi warning reflects increased fear among America's Sunni Arab allies about Iran's growing influence in Iraq, coupled with its nuclear ambitions. King Abdullah II of Jordan has also expressed concern about rising Shiite influence and about the possibility that Iraqi troops would be used by the Shiite-dominated government against the Sunni populace. A senior Bush administration officiaI said Tuesday that part of the administration's wider review of Iraq policy involves the question of how to harness a coalition of moderate Iraqi Sunnis with centrist Shiites to back the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The Saudis have argued strenuously against a U.S. pullout from Iraq, citing fears that Iraq's minority Sunni population would be massacred. Those fears, U.S. officiaIs said, have become more pronounced as a growing chorus in Washington has advocated a drawdown of American troops in Iraq, coupled with diplomatie outreach to Iran, whieh is largely Shiite. Le roi Abdallah redoute une adhésion des sunnites irakiens aux thèses d'al-Qaida, en cas d'éclatement de l'Irak. Rab,h MoghrabrJAFP de l'Iran, dépeint comme une menace majeure par le conseiller diplomatique qui envisageait dans l'article du Washington Post l'utilisation de l'arme du pétrole (réduire les prix en augmentant la production) pour priver le régime de Téhéran de moyens financiers. Son influence grandissante en Syrie depuis cet été et au Liban, de même que ses projets nucléaires, ne peuvent qu'aggraver le malaise saoudien .• GILLES PARIS lirralb:;i;ï;er\bunt Decémber 14, 2006 "It's a hypothetieal situation, and we'd work hard to avoid such a structure," an Arab diplomat in Washington said. But, he added, "if things become so bad in Iraq, like an ethnic cleansing, we will feel we are pulled into the war." Bush administration officiaIs are also working on a way to form a coalition ofSunni Arab countries and a moderate Shiite government in Iraq, along with the United States and Europe, to stand against "Iran, Syria and the terrorists," another senior Bush administration officiaI said Tuesday. Until now, Saudi officiaIs have promised their counterparts in the United States that they would refrain from aiding Iraq's Sunni insurgency. But that pledge holds only as long as the United States remains in Iraq. The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by ~eda extremists opposed to the Saudi mon- 42
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