MIDDLE EAST: As the death count spirals, efforts to set up regional blocs are frustrated, writes Michael Jansen
Iraq's parliament is set to debate tomorrow the contentious issue of a law providing a mechanism for the formation of autonomous regions. Deputies brought Thursday's meeting to a stormy end when the subject was introduced by the Shia Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri) with the backing of the Kurds.
The Sunnis and three other Shia factions - the followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Dawa and Fadhila - argue that the country must be stabilised before the process of creating regional blocs can be addressed.
Sunnis also insist on the promised review of the controversial constitution before parliament passes any new laws that could be abrogated by amendments and a census to reveal the communal composition of Iraq's 18 governorates. Sciri is determined to form a nine-province "super region" in the south, while the Kurds seek to strengthen their autonomy in the three Kurdish-majority provinces in the north.
If such regions emerge, Iraq would be divided into three sections - an oil-rich north, an oil-rich south and an oil-poor centre.
Stabilisation remains a distant prospect. Although the US military transferred command of Iraqi forces to the government on Thursday, this involved only one of the 10 army divisions and the minute airforce and navy.
No timetable has been provided for the handover of control over the other nine divisions. There are currently 140,000 US troops in Iraq, an increase of 8,000 over last year's deployment, and it is unlikely that Washington will be able to draw down the number to 100,000 by the end of the year. The number of fatalities among foreign troops is rising: 63 died in June, 46 in July, and 66 in August. Roadside bombs, the main cause of foreign deaths, have risen to record numbers in spite of the efforts of a 269-member Pentagon team with a budget of $3.47 billion (€2.74 billion) to discover and neutralise the devices.
Following the revelation that 1,535 Iraqi civilians were killed in August rather than the 550 initially reported by US and Iraqi officials, Prime Minister Nuri al-Malaki extended the state of emergency, imposed in 2004, for another month.
His plan for improving security in Baghdad has failed to reduce violence in spite of the intensive deployment of 8,000 US and 3,000 Iraq troops.
The operation, dubbed "Together Forward", involves sweeps of specific neighbour- hoods to capture or kill insurgents and sectarian militia elements. Chosen quarters are quiet as long as US and Iraqi soldiers are in place but attacks soon resume once the troops have moved on.
Yesterday it was revealed the US embassy in Baghdad has an office of hostage affairs to deal with kidnappings of US and other foreign nationals. Such abductees amount to a fraction of the number of Iraqis of all stations who are seized by criminals and insurgents on a daily basis.