Iraq’s ambassador to Washington, Samir Sumaida’ie, yesterday called on the United States to be patient and use its influence to push the country’s fractious political parties together.
“The Americans can help various political factions to moderate their demands, and I think they have a lot of influence on individual leaders,” Mr. Sumaida’ie said.
“I’m not here advocating strong-arms tactics, but I think messages can be delivered very clearly. And the Americans can influence our neighbors,” added the ambassador.
His comments came as America’s top military commander in Iraq told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that troop withdrawals be slowed after nearly 30,000 “surge” troops have left, or the U.S. will risk losing security gains there.
Meanwhile, Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday demanded a timetable for U.S. troops to leave or he would again unleash his fighters, ending a seven-month truce by his Mahdi Army militia.
The militia wields vast influence in Shi’ite areas of Iraq, including the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City and the nation’s oil-rich southern states.
Mr. Sumaida’ie said Sheik al-Sadr’s intentions for Iraq have never been very clear.
“He is in a difficult position because if he disarms, he loses a very important factor of his power. If he does not, he has to deal with the government and the Americans. He is trying to have it both ways, and it is going to be difficult,” Mr. Sumaida’ie told a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The situation will be resolved over the next several months,” he said.
Sheik al-Sadr, who is thought to be dividing his time between Iran and Iraq, called off a mass march planned for Baghdad today — the fifth anniversary of the U.S. capture of the capital, the Associated Press reported.
Iraqi security forces imposed a vehicle ban in the capital today. Unauthorized cars, trucks and motorcycles will not be allowed on the streets from 5 a.m. to midnight, according to a statement broadcast on Iraqi state television.
One Baghdad resident told The Washington Times that the government also had announced Iraqi forces would start combing the city’s neighborhoods for weapons.
“They are starting with Khadamiya,” a Shi’ite neighborhood in northern Baghdad, said Firas, a young man who asked that his last name not be used for safety concerns.
“They already gave a warning for Khadamiya residents to hand off their weapons to the security forces within three days, and the same thing will happen in the other districts,” he said.
The weapons clearance comes on the heels of recent government security operations against Shi’ite militias, including the Mahdi Army, in southern Iraq and in Baghdad. In some cases, Iraq police reportedly switched sides during battles in Basra and elsewhere.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday peppered Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker over the uneven performance of the Iraqi police in those battles.
The Iraqi ambassador acknowledged there were problems.
“Until now, there has been an obsession by the Americans with numbers: How many policeman they have trained. They don’t talk a lot about what kind of policeman they have trained, but it’s how many,” he said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.