WP Iraq Must Unify Or Face 'Disaster, Premier Warns (Allawi warns of Iran)

[Pirate Smile]

Iraq Must Unify Or Face 'Disaster,' Premier Warns
Allawi Sees Threat of Iran Influence

BAGHDAD, Feb. 17 -- Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has warned that unless Iraq takes steps toward national reconciliation -- "not by words but by deeds" -- the country faces disaster, and he said he feared that Iraq could fall under the sway of neighboring Iran and an austere form of Islamic government that would derail efforts to foster democracy.

-snip
"If the objective of national unity is missed, if the objective of national reconciliation is overlooked, then this will definitely spell out disaster," the 60-year-old former exile said.

"If the right decisions are not taken, yes, the country could really head into severe problems," Allawi warned at another point in the interview. "I wouldn't put it now at the level of a civil war, but it could be heading really toward severe turbulence."

-snip-
"Leaders of the winning Shiite alliance, while speaking about the need for national unity, have stated their determination to revive a campaign to force former Baath Party officials out of government ministries and the security forces. In English, the program is known in de-Baathification; it is referred to in Arabic as ijtithath, a far stronger term that suggests uprooting.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32568-2005Feb17.html

Another article on the same issue

Man Who May Lead Iraq Eyes Ex-Baathists
Jafari Says He Would 'Purify' Government of Many in Former Ruling Party

BAGHDAD, Feb. 17 -- As elections officials certified his Shiite Muslim coalition's majority in Iraq's new National Assembly on Thursday, the leading candidate for prime minister said he was preparing plans to "purify the state's institutions" of former Saddam Hussein loyalists who had committed crimes.

Ibrahim Jafari, currently Iraq's interim vice president, said he wanted to tighten rules on dealing with former members of Hussein's Baath Party -- one of the most divisive issues the new government will face

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has urged restraint in purging former Baathists, warning of potential unrest. Jafari, acknowledging that many Iraqis were compelled to join the party to hold government jobs or enter government schools, said the policy would forgive "the majority of Baathists who did not commit crimes" and allow them to resume work in the army or civil service.

The Iraqi elections commission confirmed Thursday that Jafari's Shiite-led coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, would have 140 seats in the 275-member parliament. The alliance won 48 percent of the vote in the Jan. 30 election, but the complex formula for distributing the seats of parties that failed to gain enough votes to enter parliament gave the alliance a slim majority.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33043-2005Feb17.html

[jazzjunkysue]

1. "the objective of national unity" a.k.a Fantasy Island

People who think the objective of Iraq is national unity:

1. Ronald McDonald
2. Mother Hubbard
3. George Bush
4. Bozo The Clown
5. Zell Miller

[AlCzervik]

2. this part right here says it all

Allawi Sees Threat of Iran Influence


hmmm?? someone took a page out of the Bush book.