Cracks in Iraq Shia-Kurd coalition

[bemildred]

Sharp divisions have emerged between Iraq's ruling Kurdish and Shia Muslim factions after Iraq's Kurdish president accused the Shia prime minister of breaking coalition promises and overly dominating the government.

Kurdish officials warned on Saturday they would consider pulling out of the government if their demands aren't met. That would cause the collapse of the government and add a new layer of political instability and fragmentation between Iraq's main communities.

The friction comes ahead of a 15 October vote on a new constitution, which both the Kurds and Shias support. But Iraq's Sunni minority is trying to defeat the charter at the polls, fearing it will give too much power to the other two communities.

Kurdish leaders have complained to Shia Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari that the coalition's Shia parties, known as the United Alliance, have not upheld promises to start work on resettling Kurds in the northern city of Kirkuk or to fairly distribute government positions between the coalition parties.

Al Jazeera

[grytpype]

1. Article says the Kurds' main complaint is Kirkuk.

They say the Shia agreed to start resettling Kurds in Kirkuk but they haven't done anything.

I think it comes as no surprise to those that are following Iraq closely that oil-rich Kirkuk was certain to be a bone of contention, maybe one that splits the "governing" coaltion.

[bemildred]

2. Iraq Kurds set for new constitution oil deal role

Yep. Turkey won't be real happy about this either.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil exploration deals in northern Iraq will be negotiated with both the central Iraqi and the regional Kurdistan governments, if Iraq's interim constitution is agreed through referendum next month, a senior Kurdish official said on Friday.

But the regional government will have control on production in the region and on exports abroad, Omer Fatah, prime minister of the regional Kurdish government, said at a news briefing after an Iraq-Singapore business forum.

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"So far, all oil resources that Iraq has are under the control of the central government. When the constitution is proclaimed, oil resources in terms of production and exports abroad will be under the control of the regional government."

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Oil revenues would be redistributed to the whole Iraqi population under the new constitution, Omer Fatah said, but the Kurdish government hopes to see Kirkuk, Iraq's main oil center in the north, and just south of the Kurdish territory, annexed to the regional government.

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-30T093533Z_01_FLE034510_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&related=true

[Dhampir Kampf]

3. And we didn't see this coming?

Atleast I know I expected this.

[BlueCollar]

6. that's two of us...eom

[Sandpiper]

4. Coalitions based on "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"...

Don't tend to last very long.

[alfredo]

5. The Kurds had it good during the 90's. Saddam was boxed in,

so the Kurds had autonomy.

[The Magistrate]

7. If It Were Not So Serious, Mr. Mildred

It would be an amusing spectacle.

Each faction's interests are completely inimicable to all other factions' interests.

No faction can achieve its interests without co-operation from at least one other faction.

Thus success for any faction can only come from well timed betrayal of another, and all must be alert and expecting that betrayal whenever allied with another.

The approach of any faction towards success must produce an alliance of the other factions to balk it, and keep open at least the possibility of success for themselves, and that whatever grudges and hates lay between them.

"The mind wobbles...."

[bemildred]

8. One can be amused and appalled at the same time.

If fact, it's almost mandatory these days.

It seems clear enough that chaos rules in Iraq, and
one suspects that we are still in the early stages of
this conflict, unfortunately.

I'm fascinated at this point with the question as to
what happens if the new charter is not accepted? I
suppose we must expect that the result will be rigged
to fit, if an honest vote will not do the job, but still
it is a situation that rewards thought.