Pat Dollard | Young Americans

September 11, 2008

The United States is now in the “end game” in Iraq but should proceed cautiously with further reductions in troops in Iraq, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday in a congressional briefing. Gates said President George W. Bush’s decision to draw down only 8,000 troops from Iraq by February “represents not only the right direction but the right course of action.”

“I believe we have now entered that end game and our decisions today and in the months ahead will be critical to regional stability and our national security interests for the years to come,” he told lawmakers.

Washington has set political reconciliation as a key benchmark for increased military drawdowns in Iraq.

In a sign that this political rapprochement may not be developing as the US desires, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said on Wednesday that Iraq may hold provincial elections in late December using old legislation if MPs cannot agree on a new electoral bill.

If the elections are not held, the country’s provincial councils will be “rendered dysfunctional,” Salih said.

The polls were scheduled for October 1, but the law has been held up in Parliament over questions of how to treat the disputed northern oil city of Kirkuk, home to Kurds, Arabs and ethnic Turkmen.

The elections are a test of Iraq’s democracy, and Washington hopes they will help reconcile rival groups, especially minority Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last local polls in 2005 and feel marginalized.

“The presidency must announce the date of the elections. If there is no new legislation, existing law will be used to conduct the elections,” said Salih. “They’re talking late December,” he added.

The presidency council comprises the country’s president and two vice presidents.

One of those officials, Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, said last week the existing legislation could be used if needed.

The UN special representative to Iraq has warned that delays to the elections risked “delegitimizing” current provincial councils.

The new law would change some voting procedures. It would also prevent any party that has a militia from competing. One significant difference is that the new law uses an open list electoral system - where voters can choose specific candidates. Under the old law, a closed list system was used, where they can only select political parties.

The Electoral Commission has said the new law would need to be passed by mid-September to allow time for the polls to be held this year.

President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, in July rejected an earlier version of the new law passed by Parliament which would have divided council seats equally between Kirkuk’s ethnic groups. Kurdish MPs had boycotted that hearing in protest.

Kurds believe they are numerically superior in Kirkuk, which they consider their ancient capital and want to fold into their largely autonomous northern region.

To facilitate the passage of the new electoral bill, leaders of Iraq’s various political blocs on Wednesday were reported to have formed a panel to try to resolve the dispute. - AFP, Reuters