BAGHDAD, 10 July 2007 — Iraqi leaders warned yesterday that an early US troop withdrawal could tip Iraq into all-out civil war after the New York Times said debate was growing in the White House over a gradual scaling-down of forces. The stark comments from politicians across the sectarian divide followed a wave of bombings and shootings in Iraq at the weekend that killed 250 people.
“This could produce a civil war, partition of the country and a regional war. We might see the country collapse,” Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, told a news conference when asked about the New York Times report. Citing administration officials and consultants, the Times said these officials feared the last pillars of political support among Senate Republicans for US President George W. Bush’s Iraq strategy were “collapsing around them.”
It said debate was intensifying over whether Bush should try to prevent more Republican defections by announcing intentions for a gradual pullout of troops from high-casualty areas. More than 330 American soldiers were killed in Iraq during the April-June quarter, making it the deadliest three months for US troops since the March 2003 US-led invasion. Overall, 3,606 US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died.
Iraqi officials said the country’s own security forces were not ready and warned a premature withdrawal of some of the 157,000 American troops could produce a security vacuum. “We in Iraq believe, not just the government, but all political parties, that the presence of these forces is necessary to prevent increasing violence and to stop the country sliding into civil war,” Sadiq Al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Shiite Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, told Reuters.
Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq Al-Hashemi, speaking to Reuters by telephone, said: “I would be very happy to see the last American soldier leave today... We understand their worry about not seeing much political progress in Iraq. But the problem is: who will fill the security vacuum if these forces withdraw?” Hashemi repeated his comments from Sunday that Iraqis had the right to take up arms to defend themselves in the wake of unrelenting violence that threatens to tear the country apart.
In fresh violence, a roadside bomb killed nine Iraqi soldiers and wounded 20 others as they traveled in a truck near the town of Balad in Salahuddin province, police said. Roadside bombs also killed six people and wounded nearly 30 in Baghdad, police said.
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq has given Iran a two-month ultimatum to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs or face all-out war, according to an audiotape posted on the Internet yesterday. “We give ... the leaders of Iran a period of two months to stop all forms of support to the “rejectionists” of Iraq, and stop direct and indirect interference in the affairs of the Islamic state,” said a voice attributed to the group’s leader Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi.
The term rejectionists is used by Sunni militant groups to refer to Shiites, who dominate the government in Iraq and are in a majority in both Iraq and neighboring Iran. “Otherwise, expect a fierce war that will annihilate you, which we have been preparing for over the past four years and just waiting to issue the orders to wage the campaign,” the voice said.
