{"id":3994,"date":"2009-09-13T11:44:53","date_gmt":"2009-09-13T15:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=3994"},"modified":"2009-09-13T11:44:53","modified_gmt":"2009-09-13T15:44:53","slug":"iraq-syria-row-calming-but-maliki-needs-to-shift-blame-for-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/iraq-syria-row-calming-but-maliki-needs-to-shift-blame-for-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq-Syria Row Calming, but Maliki Needs to Shift Blame for Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari,<\/p><\/div>\n

The Iraqi-Syrian row is calming down, although Maliki is insisting<\/a> on additional Syrian concessions. Increasingly analysts are arguing that Maliki is failing in his gambit to blame Syria for his security failures in order to stanch the bleeding of his Shiite support in the run up to elections. His own Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi issued a statement saying that blaming others for failures while taking credit for successes was not the ideal way to deal with Iraq’s problems.<\/p>\n

Maliki’s allies in the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament recently dumped him and his Dawa party, deeply hurting his chances of keeping a majority behind him after the upcoming vote.<\/p>\n

Iraq’s president Talibani has taken “the unusual step of publicly scolding the prime minister over the dispute with Syria.”<\/p>\n

Iraqi analyst Hadi Cahlou said al-Maliki has to divert attention from the security failures, and Syria was the perfect target. “Al-Maliki was smart to export his problems,” said Cahlou. “I think he will push this all the way because he needs Syrian concessions in order to defuse the anger of Iraqis.”<\/p>\n

David Ignatius <\/a>writing in the Washington post, calls for an “international support group,” as was recommended in the Baker-Hamilton Report, that can draw together the neighboring countries to keep Iraq from blowing apart. He writes that “This is where America still has the leverage to help, by drawing together all the volatile powers on Iraq’s borders — Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and, yes, Iran. A regional security framework will aid Baghdad, but it can also reduce tensions in an area that resembles a ticking time bomb.”<\/p>\n

Land First, Then Peace<\/a> By TURKI al-FAISAL is the best reiteration of the Arab position on Netanyahus demands that Arabs make concessions to stop Israeli colonial expansion. (copied below.)<\/p>\n

Iraq, Syria agree to stop media campaigns, speed up returning ambassadors<\/a><\/p>\n

CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on Wednesday that he reached an agreement with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari to stop media campaigns between Syria and Iraq, speed up returning ambassadors and form security committees.<\/p>\n

Al-Moallem told a joint press conference with Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa in Arab League headquarters that he reached this agreement during a quadrilateral meeting included Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Moussa.Al-Moallem stressed that during his meeting with Zebari that the latter did not present any evidence to the recent accusations by Iraq to Syria, adding that Zebari said that Syria is not accused but there are some elements in Syria who are against achieving political reconciliation in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Arab foreign ministers held a meeting in Arab League headquarters on Wednesday in a bid to defuse the recent tension between Iraq and Syria in addition to discussing Israeli-Palestinian conflict….<\/p>\n

Earlier on Wednesday, Al-Moallem said: “We are ready to solve the crisis with Iraq,” describing the tension in relations between the two countries as “something regrettable that does not serve the interests of both Syria and Iraq.”….<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Iraq says Syria must show will to stop militants<\/a>
\nFri Sep 11, 2009
\nBy Muhanad Mohammed<\/p>\n

BAGHDAD, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Iraq wants to see a serious effort from Syria to stop militants using it as a base before they can talk about restoring diplomatic ties, the government spokesman said on Friday……<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Analysis: Iraq’s spat with Syria backfiring on PM<\/a>
\nBy HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press,\u00a0 Sept. 12, 2009<\/p>\n

BAGHDAD \u2013 Iraq’s prime minister is feeling a backlash over a bitter fight he picked with Syria, which he accuses of harboring Saddam Hussein loyalists suspected in deadly bombings in Baghdad. Critics say he just wants to divert attention from his own government’s security failures.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is trying to shore up his position ahead of January parliamentary elections after the increase in violence in recent months deeply hurt his security credentials and after the Shiite coalition that once backed him split.<\/p>\n

But the spat with Syria has only isolated him among Iraqi politicians. It also could set back U.S. efforts to improve Iraq’s relations with its Arab neighbors and normalize its own ties with Syria after years of tension.<\/p>\n

Significantly, the United States, which has 130,000 troops in Iraq, has remained largely silent about al-Maliki’s accusations. That, say analysts, could suggest that it too does not fully support the charges or his handling of the dispute.<\/p>\n

Another explanation for U.S. wariness is that it does not want to appear to be meddling in Iraqi affairs after al-Maliki was angered when the Obama administration sent officials to Syria last month to discuss security on the Iraq border without inviting the Iraqis.<\/p>\n

Al-Maliki has blamed two Syria-based senior members of Saddam’s now-outlawed Baath Party, along with al-Qaida, for planning massive bombings on Aug. 19 in Baghdad that killed more than 100 people. Syria says the Iraqi government has failed to provide proof, rejecting its requests for their extradition.<\/p>\n

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Stephen Lanza, said the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida, but declined to be drawn into whether Syrian-based Baathists were also involved.<\/p>\n

“It’s important to note that Iraq’s Ministry of Interior continues to investigate the bombings. It would be purely speculation on my part to comment now on the investigation’s findings,” he said.<\/p>\n

Michael W. Hanna, an expert with the Century Foundation in New York, argued that the Syria-Iraq tiff created a “less than ideal” situation for the United States.<\/p>\n

“If there was a serious belief that these bombings were in fact masterminded in Damascus, I think you would have seen a more overt U.S. role,” said Hanna. He also held out the possibility, however, that Washington’s reluctance to speak publicly on the Syria-Iraq dispute may have been out of a desire to avoid the appearance of meddling in Iraqi affairs.<\/p>\n

Many Baath loyalists fled to Syria after the 2003 fall of Saddam, including several who are widely thought to be financing or planning attacks in Iraq. The U.S. and Iraq have long accused Damascus of not doing enough to prevent them and al-Qaida militants from crossing the border to carry out attacks in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Ties had markedly improved between Baghdad and Damascus over the past year.<\/p>\n

… Al-Maliki may have calculated that turning up the heat on Syria \u2014 usually a safe political bet, especially among his Shiite constituents \u2014 would boost his weakening chances of retaining his position in the parliamentary election. His status as prime minister once seemed a sure thing, after an alliance he led scored major victories in provincial elections last January. But his allies in the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament recently dumped him and his Dawa party, deeply hurting his chances of keeping a majority behind him after the upcoming vote.<\/p>\n

Last month’s attacks discredited his claims that Iraqi forces were capable of handling security after U.S. forces pulled out of Iraqi cities in June. Increasing violence has undermined his carefully manufactured image as the leader who oversaw the insurgency’s defeat.<\/p>\n

Now his rivals may be taking his spat with Syria as a further opportunity to erode his standing.<\/p>\n

Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi issued a statement this past week pointedly saying that blaming others for failures while taking credit for successes was not the ideal way to deal with Iraq’s problems.<\/p>\n

Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, and his two deputies \u2014 Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashemi \u2014 took the unusual step of publicly scolding the prime minister over the dispute with Syria, counseling calm and complaining that he was not consulting them on issues of national interest.<\/p>\n

Still, al-Maliki has persisted. He called on the U.N. Security Council to create an international tribunal to investigate the attacks, a move likely meant to touch a raw nerve in Damascus. President Bashar Assad’s regime has for years feared being implicated by a U.N.-appointed court investigating the 2005 assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.<\/p>\n

Iraqi analyst Hadi Cahlou said al-Maliki has to divert attention from the security failures, and Syria was the perfect target. “Al-Maliki was smart to export his problems,” said Cahlou. “I think he will push this all the way because he needs Syrian concessions in order to defuse the anger of Iraqis.”<\/p>\n

But veteran Arab affairs commentator Hoda al-Husseini saw al-Maliki’s tactic as a risky gamble. Blaming Syria wins Damascus the sympathy of Sunni heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two close U.S. allies that have always distrusted al-Maliki.<\/p>\n

“The problem al-Maliki has is that he doesn’t have proof of Syrian involvement in the bombings,” she wrote in the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. “Al-Maliki is all alone in this standoff.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Land First, Then Peace<\/a>
\nBy TURKI al-FAISAL
\nSeptember 13, 2009
\nOp-Ed Contributor, New York Times<\/p>\n

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: THE United States and other Western powers have for some time been pushing Saudi Arabia to make more gestures toward Israel. More recently, the crown prince of Bahrain urged greater communication with Israel and joint steps from Arab states to revive the peace process……<\/p>\n

Shortly after the Six-Day War in 1967, during which Israel occupied those territories as well as East Jerusalem and the Sinai Peninsula, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution stating that, in order to form \u201ca just and lasting peace in the Middle East,\u201d Israel must withdraw from these newly occupied lands. The Fourth Geneva Convention similarly notes \u201cthe occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Israeli leaders hint that they are willing to return portions of these occupied territories to Arab control, but only if they are granted military and economic concessions first. For the Arabs to accept such a proposal would only encourage similar outrages in the future by rewarding military conquest…..<\/p>\n

In order to achieve peace and a lasting two-state solution, Israel must be willing to give as well as take. A first step should be the immediate removal of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Only this would show the world that Israel is serious about peace and not just stalling as it adds more illegal settlers to those already occupying Palestinian land.<\/p>\n

….<\/p>\n

There have been increasing well-intentioned calls for Saudi Arabia to \u201cdo a Sadat\u201d: King Abdullah travels to Israel and the Israelis reciprocate by making peace with Saudi Arabia. However, those urging such a move must remember that President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt went to Israel in 1977 to meet with Prime Minister Menachem Begin only after Sadat\u2019s envoy, Hassan el-Tohamy, Sadat\u2019s envoy, was assured by the Israeli foreign minister, Moshe Dayan, that Israel would withdraw from every last inch of Egyptian territory in return for peace. Absent a similar offer today from Israel to the leaders of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, there is no reason to look at 1977 as a model.<\/p>\n

President Obama\u2019s speech in Cairo this summer gave the Arab and Muslim worlds heightened expectations. His insistence on a freeze on settlement activity was a welcome development. However, all Israeli governments have expanded settlements, even those that committed not to do so.<\/p>\n

No country in the region wants more bloodshed. But while Israel\u2019s neighbors want peace, they cannot be expected to tolerate what amounts to theft, and certainly should not be pressured into rewarding Israel for the return of land that does not belong to it. Until Israel heeds President Obama\u2019s call for the removal of all settlements, the world must be under no illusion that Saudi Arabia will offer what the Israelis most desire \u2014 regional recognition. We are willing to embrace the hands of any partner in peace, but only after they have released their grip on Arab lands.<\/p>\n

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, is a former director of Saudi Arabia\u2019s intelligence services and ambassador to the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Iraq says Syria must show will to stop militants<\/h1>\n
Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:36pm EDT<\/div>\n