BAGHDAD – US vice-president Joe Biden arrived in Iraq on Saturday amid dangerous tensions following an election in March that produced no clear winner and as yet no new government.
The failure to agree on the war-damaged country’s next government four months after the vote, and continuing attacks by insurgents, have raised questions about US plans to end combat operations in August ahead of a withdrawal next year.
Mr Biden, appointed by US president Barack Obama to take the lead on Iraq issues for Washington, was expected to hold talks with Iraqi leaders, including prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and the top vote-winner in the election, former prime minister Iyad Allawi.
“The United States is the country that is the most worried about the situation, but the one that interferes the least in internal Iraqi affairs,” said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. “It wants to offer advice but its impact in solving the problem will be limited,” Mr Dabbagh said.
Mr Biden played down US concerns, saying lengthy coalition talks were common elsewhere, such as the Netherlands, and US officials said they were not in Iraq to pressure its leaders.
“Let me be very clear, there is no American plan, there is no secret plan, we don’t have a sway over candidates, we don’t have favourites; this is up to the Iraqis,” a senior administration official travelling with Mr Biden told reporters.
The last time Mr Biden visited was before the March 7th parliamentary election, when a controversy raged over attempts by Shia politicians to ban mainly Sunni candidates over alleged links to Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath party.
Iraqis had hoped the vote would lead to stability and economic recovery seven years after the invasion set off a bitter war between once dominant Sunnis and majority Shias.
Overall violence has fallen sharply since the peak of the sectarian carnage in 2006-07, but attacks by a determined Sunni Islamist insurgency continue on a daily basis.
Instead of setting Iraq on a path to greater security and prosperity, the election has been followed by political uncertainty after no one won the vote outright and agreement over forming the next government proved elusive.
Sunni insurgents linked to al- Qaeda have sought to exploit the political vacuum through suicide bombings and killings, raising questions about the US military’s plan to end combat operations in August ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011.
A cross-sectarian bloc headed by Mr Allawi took a two-seat lead on strong backing from Sunnis, who view Mr Allawi, a secular Shia, as a strongman capable of defending their rights.
However, a union between the Shia blocs, including Mr Maliki’s State of Law, is expected to beat Mr Allawi’s Iraqiya in the tussle to gain the majority needed to form a coalition government.
“We believe our problems should be solved by Iraqis,” said Osama al-Nujaifi, a senior Sunni member of Iraqiya. “This includes the formation of the government.
“Contributions from others, whether from Americans or not, should be framed as advice. Their efforts shouldn’t be a magnetic pole determining the direction of talks and the creation of alliances.”
Sunnis could react angrily if Mr Allawi fails to become prime minister, reinvigorating a wounded but still lethal insurgency.
Any increase in violence could put pressure on Mr Obama to slow down the US plan for redeploying troops and material to the war in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is staging a resurgence.
US officials said their military plans were not tied to the formation of a government in Iraq.
“The nature of our engagement is changing. As our military presence ramps down, our diplomatic, political and economical engagements are ramping up,” the official with Mr Biden said.
- A suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday in the governors compound of Iraq's western Anbar province, killing three people and wounding 39.
A police source said the blast occurred in the reception area of the heavily fortified compound in Ramadi, 100km west of Baghdad. A hospital source said the 39 wounded included 13 police officers. – (Reuters)