VOL. XLVI
No 26
30
The Political Scene (30 June 2003)
Despite optimistic words from the international quartet, little progress has been registered in implementing its “road map” to peace. In Iraq the Americans are pressing ahead with the creation of a political committee to act as an interim administration. US Secretary if State Colin Powell has been harshly critical of Syria’s response to American demands that it fight terror.
Quartet Meets In Jordan
Seen from a certain angle, Israel’s 21 June assassination of a senior Hamas official in Hebron might be seen as a message of sorts for the international Quartet (the UN, US, EU and Russia), whose representatives were due to meet the next day in Jordan to discuss their ‘road map’ to peace in the region. Certainly it did little to improve the road map’s prospects, as US Secretary of State Colin Powell noted the next day when he said that “I regret that we continue to find ourselves trapped in this action and counter action…I regret we had an incident that could be an impediment to progress.” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who evidently did not share Mr Powell’s feelings, went out of his way to drive the message home by issuing a statement on 22 June thanking the security forces “for last night’s successful and very important operation in Hebron.” And as might be expected, a senior Hamas official, 'Abd al-'Aziz Rantisi, replied that “Zionist terrorist operations will not go unpunished…Hamas will respond to this new crime.” This was hardly the most propitious background for the Quartet’s meeting, but the foreign ministers of the US, Russia and the EU and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan went ahead anyway and produced a statement saying that they “deplore and condemn the brutal terror attacks against Israeli citizens carried out by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade” while expressing “deep concern over Israeli military actions that result in the killing of innocent Palestinians and other civilians.” The statement also says that the quartet “fully shares President Bush’s expectation that both parties will meet their obligations in full, and welcomes the initial steps taken by the parties.” As things are going at the moment, however, it is going to require a good deal more than expectations to persuade the two sides to start out on the road to peace.
A “Political Committee” In Iraq
In Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has evidently changed its mind about the wisdom of turning a large body of armed men loose on the streets with no money, announcing on 23 June that it would resume regular payments to members of Iraq’s former army (which was dissolved by coalition fiat on 23 May). At the same time, the occupation authorities – in the form of Walter Slocombe, a senior CPA adviser for security and defense – have also made public their plans to replace the old army with a new and smaller force. Mr Slocombe told a press conference on 23 June that “a division of 12,000 soldiers will be trained and operational in one year” and that the force would increase to three divisions with 40,000 men within two years. “This will be a military force, not a police force, not a security guard force.” Mr Slocombe said. “They will carry out regular military duties. We expect they will be protecting and defending borders of the country, providing military defense for key installations and protecting key facilities.” It was subsequently announced on 25 April that the Pentagon has awarded a $48mn contract to train the nucleus of the new Iraqi army to Vinnell Corp, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman.
Meanwhile sporadic attacks on American patrols and a gunfight with British forces near al-'Amarah, 200 kms north of Basra, on 24 June in which six British soldiers died indicated that relations between the occupiers and occupied continue to be less than happy. On the political front, the Americans appear determined to push ahead with the appointment of a political committee as an interim administration, at least according to Mr Powell, who said in Jordan on 23 June that “Ambassador Bremer…was here yesterday and spoke to the assembled delegates and talked about the desire to put in place a political committee sometime in July.” Mr Powell added that the committee will consist of “Iraqi citizens and leaders who will begin the process of taking over responsibility and begin the process of staffing the ministries,” which does not go very far towards explaining just what the powers of the “committee” will be. Nor is it clear which Iraqis will sit on the committee, since the Americans have not explained their criteria for membership and respectable Iraqi politicians appear undecided as to the desirability of participating in a body which could turn out to be a CPA rubber stamp.
Powell Slams Syria
The Americans are definitely not happy with Syria’s response to their demands for action against “terrorist” groups (such as Hizbollah in Lebanon and the various Palestinian rejectionist groups in Damascus) as part of the war against terrorism. Mr Powell told the press on 20 June that the Syrians “took some limited steps, those limited steps are totally inadequate,” Adding: “We have gone back to the Syrians to let them know that we find their actions inadequate. We will work with our colleagues in the international community to put pressure on Syria. We are going to make it clear to Syria that until they move in this more positive direction that we have outlined for them, there will not be a better relationship with the US, and ultimately it will affect their interests.”
To judge from Mr Powell’s uncharacteristically intemperate language, the Americans are very angry indeed with the Syrians, and it did little to improve relations between the two sides when it subsequently emerged that on 19 June American forces had clashed with Syrian border guards while attacking an Iraqi convoy near the Syrian border – although on which side of the border is not entirely clear – and had detained five wounded Syrians. The official Syrian news agency SANA announced on 25 June that the foreign ministry had immediately lodged a formal protest with US ambassador Theodore Kattouf demanding “an explanation from the US government…and the return of the wounded soldiers for treatment in Syria to avoid any misunderstanding that might lead to an escalation neither side wants,” but that “the ministry is still waiting for a reply.” At MEES press time on 27 June it remained unclear why the Syrians (and the Americans, for that matter) had waited for nearly a week before acknowledging the incident, or even whether the Americans had released their Syrian detainees.
Charles Snow