Iraq badly in need of peaceful way out
Wu Yixue  Updated: 2004-08-18 08:38

The latest deadly showdown between US troops and the militiamen of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf is casting a heavy shadow over Iraq's efforts to chart a new beginning.

When 1,300 Iraq's political and religious leaders gathered in Badgdad for a three-day conference to select a 100-member assembly to become a watchdog over the Iraqi interim government, the country's steps towards democracy as Washington has designed them seemingly made a substantive headway.

However, Iraq's security situation following the latest resumed violence between US troops and al-Sadr's fighters in Najaf on Sunday - after ceasefire talks broke down - once again has posed a serious challenge.

The conference is divided over how to deal with al-Sadr, the famous Shi'ite cleric who has taken the lead in spearheading Iraqi anti-American forces since Saddam's ouster.

Some delegates threatened a walk-out in protest of the interim government's policy of cracking down on militants who are determined to provide a human shield to protect al-Sadr, a "hero" in their hearts. Al-Sadr has also vowed to fight until the last drop of his blood has been spilled.

The 1,300-member conference has already sent a delegation to persuade the cleric to withdraw from Najaf and join their political arrangement.

Despite his willingness to sit down for talks with the Iyad Allawi government, how far the anti-US Shi'ite cleric can go in co-operating with the pro-US Iraqi government remains under deep doubt.

Al-Sadr's concessions, if possible, will mean a symbolic victory for the Iraqi interim government in uniting various Iraqi factions in the post-Saddam era.

Iraq does need peace and stability. The country has been in a mess since the US-led coalition forces' uninvited entering to "liberate" its people. And Iraqis have suffered no less bitterness than during Saddam's rule.

It seems very necessary for various Iraqi factions to seek a way of ending the current confrontation and to bring their country out of its sadly chaotic situation.

But al-Sadr's intransigence in the face of American military forces in Iraq mainly comes from the US policy toward the country.

Washington's failure to find a convincing excuse so far for its war in Iraq and its great involvement in the country's postwar political and economic affairs have made everyone, certainly including al-Sadr, deeply doubtful about its real intentions in Iraq.

(China Daily)

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