The "new approach" to the Iraqi quagmire looks like it has fallen at the first hurdle, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti At least some Iraqis had been hoping that the Baker-Hamilton report would help end the debacle in their country. But now even the optimists are giving up. So far, most Iraqi politicians have been either sceptical or outright critical of the report. Although the Baker-Hamilton report identified the reasons for violence in the country, recommended the withdrawal of US troops, urged the disbanding of the militia, and counselled dialogue with Syria and Iran, many Iraqis found it disappointing. President Jalal Talabani said the Baker-Hamilton report contained clauses that could undermine the sovereignty of Iraq. The report "overlooks the long struggle of the Iraqi people against dictatorship," Talabani said, adding that he and Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki had always demanded they "assume more security responsibilities". The Baker-Hamilton report said that unless the Iraqi government made "substantive progress" on national reconciliation, security, and good governance, the US would have to reduce its political, military, and economic support to that government. The Kurds were displeased with the report, which recommended that the central government supervise the "distribution" of the oil revenues. Shiites disliked the fact that the report urged dialogue with Baathists and blamed the militia for massacres. And Sunnis were annoyed because the report gave Iran a legitimate role in Iraq. "The strange thing is that those Iraqi officials who often say that Iraq is a sovereign country are the same ones who want the occupation forces to stay in the country. Where is the sovereignty when the US forces killed 17 civilians in Al-Ishaqi, 40 km north of Baghdad, one day after the report? Those who reject the report do so because it conflicts with their own interests. The Kurds, for example, want to annex Kirkuk to their areas -- and the militia leaders want to maintain their grip over the country," remarked Professor Janan Ali of Baghdad University. The disbanded Baath Party posted a statement on the Internet saying that the report was an admission of the failure of Bush's policies. "Those who follow up the situation in Iraq first-hand and who have accurate knowledge of its situation would notice clearly that the main partners, the US and Iran, have been defeated and that the Iraqi national resistance has achieved practical victory. This much was clear in the Baker report. And now Bush has also admitted that America had failed." Iraqi armed groups said that the report offered nothing new and simply reflected the "vision" of the current US administration. A source close to the Ishrin Revolution Brigades told me that it wasn't true that the Iraqi resistance was holding direct talks with the US administration to defuse the situation in Iraq, as some news reports had claimed. In a telephone conversation, Dr Ayadah Al-Jaghifi, chief of forensic medicine at Tikrit Hospital, told me that the hospital has received the bodies of 17 people, including two women and five children. All had been killed with a bullet to the head with a small weapon. A US statement earlier claimed that US planes shelled two houses in Al-Ishaqi, killing 17 terrorists, including two women. This would be the third massacre of Iraqi civilians in Al-Ishaqi since May. The families of the victims are stunned by the silence of the government and the Arab and international media. But some are hoping against hope that a US serviceman would speak out to clear his conscience or that a US or western journalist would pick up the story. Otherwise, the case would never be investigated. Meanwhile, sectarian violence is continuing unabated. According to Iraqi NGOs, up to 400 Iraqis are abducted, killed or wounded daily in sectarian violence. Sources at the office of Dr Adnan Al-Deleimi, chief of the Reconciliation Front, told me that militiamen had been attacking Sunni families in the Al-Hurriya area under the nose of army and police forces. The Sunni inhabitants of Al-Hurriya have staged demonstrations against evacuation and sectarian killings. But so far, the problem persists. Recently, Shiite Ibtisam Farid, a well-known Iraqi actress, had to escape from her home in Al-Khadraa in west Baghdad after receiving death threats. Some people are ignoring the threats simply because they cannot find another home to move to. Others have taken refuge in sports stadiums around the capital. One encouraging piece of news is that Al-Daawa and the Islamic Parties agreed to revive their cooperation inside and outside the parliament. The two parties are known for moderation and their cooperation could help reduce sectarian tensions, claimed Professor Saad Al-Hodeithi from Baghdad University.
