Iraqi leader asks for international help
Iraq’s president today appealed for help in fighting terrorism and called for patience as his country’s people try to overcome widespread violence and establish a modern state.
“Today, Iraq is facing one of the most brutal campaigns of terror at the hands of the forces of darkness,” President Jalal Talabani told a UN summit of world leaders.
Terrorists want to turn Iraq into a base to carry their fight into the rest of the Middle East and the world, he said, calling on the international community to help end the threat.
Insurgents are killing Iraqis by the hundreds and are trying to stop their march toward deciding on a new constitution and a modern state, he said in reference to the insurgents.
Acknowledging the political difficulties his government is facing, Talabani urged patience.
The shape of a democratic, pluralistic and federal Iraq is not quite clear yet, he said. “All need time.”
Since the US-led invasion that drove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power in 2003, Iraq has seen insurgents push to overthrow the US-backed government and drive US and other coalition forces from the country.
Even those within the US-backed government – the Shiite Arabs and the ethnic Kurds who dominate – have differences over the constitution and other political issues, while the minority Sunnis who wielded power in the previous regime have refused to participate in the process.
Talabani appealed for international help, saying “We are in desperate need of your experience, investment and your moral support for the effort to fight terrorism.”
He said Iraq’s war on terror requires diverse international help, “not only for the sake of Iraq but also for the sake of the whole world.”
He renewed Iraq’s call on the international community to write off its debts, provide economic expertise and participate in its reconstruction. A prosperous Iraq would help defeat terrorism, he added.
Seeking to allay some Arab fears that a US-backed Iraq might be breaking away from the rest of the Arab world, he stressed that Iraq is a member of the League of Arab States and supports its charter.
