Published: September 14, 2005
Zoellick Calls for Iraqi Unity Through Political Process
Says Syria must stop flow of foreign fighters into Iraq
The future of Iraq depends on the ability of all its ethnic and sectarian communities to come together through the political process and work in the interests of the entire nation, according to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.
"There's obviously Kurds, there's Sunni, there's Shia, but one hopes that what comes out of this crucible is a sense of a center, of a group of people that stand for the future of Iraq," Zoellick told Al Arabiya television in an interview September 13.
The deputy secretary pointed to the high voter registration numbers in the Sunni Arab community as a sign that even this group, which until now has stood at the margin of the political process, has seen its own interest in participating.
"You get a debate about whether they will support the new constitution or not. But regardless of the views on their new constitution, they clearly don't want to repeat the experience of the last time where they didn't vote in the election, so you see this huge increase in registrations," he said.
Iraqis will go to the polls October 15 to decide the fate of the proposed constitution. If approved, the constitution will serve as the basis for national elections in December.
Zoellick said that the Iraqis’ task of building consensus through the political process and turning back the insurgency is complicated by the lack of cooperation from Syria in preventing foreign fighters from using its territory to enter Iraq and carry out terrorist operations.
"The world knows that you've been having a transit of people from Syria into Iraq that have been killing themselves, and often others, as part of the terrorist network, and it has to be stopped," he said. "When you have people coming from outside your country to attack innocent people and blow themselves up, you can see why everybody doesn't like the results, so I hope the Syrians get the message."
He said that Syria should have no problem stanching the flow of foreign fighters as many of them are passing through Damascus airport, a facility over which the government has complete control.
Zoellick also spoke about the opportunity facing the Palestinians in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. He said it is important for the Palestinian Authority to create a noncorrupt government capable of generating economic opportunities for the Palestinians "so people don't have to live in the past of hate, that they can look to a future of having a chance to make lives better for their children."
Israel completed its removal of settlers from Gaza and withdrew its last military forces September 12, more than 38 years after its army first occupied the territory.
Source: U.S. Department of State
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