Secretary General of the Wifaq party and member of Iraqi Interim council - Dr. Iyad Alawi - has recently asserted to Al Bawaba that the internal security issues of Iraq should be handed over to the Iraqis as soon as possible for them to be dealt with more efficiently.
"Dialogue [amongst Iraqis] would be more constructive if done between Iraqis rather than between Americans and Iraqis," Alawi explained.
Alawi also explained how the US-led occupation’s biggest mistake was when they removed Ba'ath party members from all leading positions.
"The Coalition made a fatal mistake when it dismantled all government institutions. We advised then that they should only dismantle the Republican Guard and the more senior generals in the former Iraqi military as well as high ranking government officials - Iraq is not a small country that can be handled by tens of thousands of security personnel," Alawi explained.
About the challenges Iraq is now facing, Dr. Allawi said that he could sum them up into three main points.
“The main issue is the rebuilding of the government and its various branches and institutions including the army, police and intelligence…citizens do not know were to go or whom to refer to should they be faced with a [compromising] situation. The second challenge facing Iraq right now is its transformation into a functioning civil society…all institutions were closed after the war due to financial reasons. Lastly, there is a big need to foster political democracy in Iraq… most Iraqis were members of the Ba'ath party against their will and these people need time before they get used to [political] freedom again" Alawi explained.
Alawi also stressed on the importance of having normalized relations with the neighboring countries as well as others including Jordan, Egypt and the UAE.
"Arab countries have a vital role at this stage. The neighboring Arab countries will benefit from an independent and stable Iraq - otherwise the entire region will suffer…we have all seen what has happened recently in Jordan and Syria. Arab countries should seriously consider participating in the peace keeping force that the UN will be sending to Iraq."
"We are demand unconditional support from those countries that are willing to help rebuild the new Iraq. Remember - we have been suffering from 35 years of destruction [under Saddam’s regime] and 20 years of war and isolation…we need tolerance and understanding from our allies. Regretfully however, there are some countries using the absence of security Iraq to try to inflict harm on us by not controlling their borders properly," Alawi concluded. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
