Published: December 31, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor
Crossfire War: Kurds Lead Serious Negotiations with Iraqi Politcal Leaders
By Willard Payne 
TEHRAN WATCH: Middle East Theatre; Kurdistan - Dr. Fuad Masum - Member of Kurdish Coalition Leads Serious Negotiations with Iraqi Politcal Leaders - An Attempt to Form National Unity Government
Night Watch: KURDISTAN - In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat Dr. Fuad Masum, a member of the Kurdish coalition, stated that Kurdish political groups are not forming an alliance with just one political grouping as they were assumed to have done after the Dec. 15 election. But rather they are holding serious negotiations with every political division in the country. [
Asharq Alawsat]
A series of meetings are scheduled. The two most important Kurdish political leaders President Jalal Talabani and the President of the Kurdistan Region Masud Barzani will meet with Abdulaziz al Hakim, leader of the Shi'ite bloc - the Unified Iraqi Coalition. Then the two Kurdish leaders will meet with the head of the most prominent liberal bloc - Dr. Iyad Allawi of the National Iraqi list. After that the next negotiations will be conducted with the leaders of Sunni Arabs.
Dr. Mausm outlined the priorities that must be taken care of first. The choosing of the Parliament Presidium- the speaker and his two deputies and then the President, with Jalal Talabani being the most likely choice, who would then designate a Prime Minister, who I assume will be a Shi'ite as is the current one. Dr. Masum also mentioned that the Kurdish community will retain the portfolio of Foreign Minister, "We will not give that up."
With that portfolio as a vehicle the Kurdish leadership will be able to make constant official visits to Tehran to inform the Iranian government of the latest developments and to present-represent Tehran's view to Baghdad as Tehran assists in arbitrating disputes within competing Shi'ite divisions and in finding-supporting the more useful Sunni leaders. Adding weight to Tehran's argument will be massive investments and increased weapons supply to whomever they favor.
Visits to Riyadh and other Islamic capitals will provide the same information and an active platform to discuss regional issues. Despite the apparent differences, between the Council of Guardians - House of Saud, this is all being done with the House of Saud's blessing. Whenever they pretend to complain about Tehran's growing influence it's all they can do to keep from laughing. They are actually laughing at the lost alliance, London-Washington.
He also added that Sunni political parties and Dr. Allawi will have prominent roles in the new government. I suspect that Dr. Allawi will be one of the deputies and the Sunni's providing the other deputy and speaker. The Council of Guardians, and all of their contacts throughout Iraq, want to prove wrong all the predictions of the lost alliance, London-Washington, who are not trying to be to obvious in wanting to see a civil war in Iraq.
If civil war broke out, after the occupying forces withdraw, that would give the lost alliance and their myopic foreign policy analysts the satisfaction of saying that as long as the occupation remained civil war did not happen. In the meantime attacks against the occupation and the trained Iraqi units fighting for it will come under increased attack. The lost alliance, flying its Halliburton flag, will remain true to form, they lied their way in they'll lie their way out. Some elements of the current Baghdad government, if not all of it, have already been absorbed by Tehran, which has been making no secret of increasing their economic ties to Iraq.
But the Council of Guardians do not want the lost alliance to leave under peaceful conditions and definitely wants them less anxious to experience action on other fronts like the Balkans and Caucasus. Iran's Defense Ministry will concentrate more of their war effort on those two fronts and also against India.
Night Watch Information Service
http://www.crossfirewar.com
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