Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Saddam's foes want federated Iraq after his fall Date: Fri, 30 Oct 92 15:33:28 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD;NEWS ANALYSIS \HD Saddam's foes want federated Iraq after his fall \BY Andrew Borowiec \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES The foes of Saddam Hussein yesterday mapped a plan to fill a political vacuum after his hoped-for downfall, including a call for a federated Iraq that raised concerns about its possible fragmentation. The very venue of the unprecedented meeting - the Kurdish-controlled mountains of northern Iraq - underscored a tangle of explosive issues, including the Kurds' push for autonomy and Iraq's possible split along ethnic lines. For the time being such considerations were brushed aside by the so-called Iraqi National Congress, which gathered some 120 delegates in the Kurdish town of Salahuddin, for the largest meeting of opponents on Iraqi soil in Saddam's 24 years in power. Participants included Kurds, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims, as well as Iraqi Christians. Exiled groups sent delegations from Syria, Turkey and Iran. Some opponents reportedly came from southern Iraqi marshland, the scene of bitter fighting between Shi'ites and Saddam's army. In an agreement representing a compromise between Kurds and other Iraqi factions, the congress outlined a federal formula that would replace Saddam's autocratic rule - but only after a national referendum to be held after the dictator's death or overthrow. Congress members spoke of the possibility of as many as 10 regional entities that would be linked in a federal structure. No additional elaboration was immediately available. The Congress "respects the will of the Kurdish people to choose the shape of their relationship with the rest of their partners as represented by a federal state," a spokesman told Reuters news agency in Salahuddin. Another official attempted to attenuate fears that Iraq's disintegration would cause a chain reaction in the area. "We assure our neighbors that this [federal system] will be a healthy choice, a very good solution for Iraq based on democracy, freedom and human rights," the official said. The deliberations lasted 20 hours as allied warplanes roared overhead, part of Operation Poised Hammer intended to keep Saddam's troops and aircraft out of the Kurdish area after the abortive uprising of the spring of 1991. The congress said it would change its name to "Iraqi National Assembly" and elect a 25-member executive committee and a three-member leadership council to better coordinate opposition against Saddam. The idea of a fractured Iraq is considered destabilizing by its neighbors, particularly Turkey, which recently launched massive ground and air assaults on communist Kurdish guerrillas seeking shelter on Iraqi territory. In Turkey itself, the increasing restiveness of its 10-million-strong Kurdish population is regarded by many as political dynamite. Turkey opposes permanent autonomy for Iraqi Kurds, considering it a prelude to independence for some 20 million Kurds in the area where Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria converge. According to a special report on the area by the Carnegie Endowment, "the [Western] allies, Iraqis, Turks and the Kurds' other neighbors are all caught in a situation from which they can neither disengage nor resolve." Although the Iraqi Kurds recently solidified their quasi-autonomous mountainous entity under the protection of U.S., British and French warplanes, the Carnegie report stressed that "despite Kurdish aspirations for self determination, they are still tied closely by geography, economics and demography to Iraq." Arab diplomats in Washington said Iran's arms program and its quest to become the dominant power in the area represent another complicating factor in any post-Saddam planning. They consider the effort extremely vague and premature. The Salahuddin meeting took place amid reports of a growing decay in Iraqi society. Last week, Amatzia Baram, an Israeli expert on Iraqi affairs, said that the Iraqi army "was increasingly demoralized, compressed and reshaped," and incapable of a major offensive action. But Laurie Mylroie, Iraqi affairs specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, cautioned that despite some weakening of his authority, Saddam did not appear to be in imminent danger and is likely "to survive his enemies." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM