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Length: 4:41
TOM FOREMAN: We'll go to
CNN's Michael Ware in Baghdad and look at the
deteriorating state of politics there. What, if
anything, are Iraqi leaders doing to bring peace?
FOREMAN: Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq,
was quoted in The New York Times on Thursday as
saying: "If 20 people killed a day is good news, that
tells you how bad things were previously. The
challenges here at just every level remain just
huge." That is the current situation in Iraq. Things
are a bit better, but we are far, far from a real
solution by every account.
Even with thousands more U.S. troops, are the Iraqi
politicians capable of rebuilding their shattered
country? That's the question. Michael Ware is in our
Baghdad bureau and he joins us right now.
Michael, is there yet any real progress from the
politicians there?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends on
how one defines progress. I mean, if you're using an
American frame of reference or, say, the
congressional benchmarks, then, no, it's not even an
issue. They really don't have their hearts in it, and
even if they did, I doubt that they'd actually have
the capability to meet many of those things.
The other thing, or the other way of looking at it
perhaps, is that what is it that the Iraqis want?
What are the Iraqi benchmarks? And I can tell you
that the Iraqi government right now is very keen on
establishing its own sense of sovereignty with
regards to the United States. So are they making
progress on American benchmarks and American ideas of
success? Not so much. Meanwhile, they're fighting for
their own concept of success.
FOREMAN: Michael, I want you to listen to something
that Kimberly Kagan wrote in The Wall Street Journal,
an opinion article this week. She said: "Provincial
and local government is growing stronger. Local and
tribal leaders in Anbar, Diyala, Salah ad-Din, and
North Babil and even Baghdad have agreed to fight
insurgents and terrorists as U.S. forces have moved
in to secure the population alongside their Iraqi
partners."
Now that speaks to a local response, people locally
wanting to protect their neighborhoods. But is there
yet a national sense among Iraqi politicians that
they are a nation?
WARE: Oh, absolutely not. There's not even a real
pretense except from the mouth of the prime minister.
I mean, it's very clear, you don't have to scratch
the surface too hard with any of the major Iraqi
political figures or their blocs that they're really
not that interested in pursuing the interests of
other factions or other sections of the community.
And, indeed, let's have a look at this glorious
success with the provinces and local counsels and
groups defending their homes. You're talking about
one of two things here. Either you're talking about
the homogenous control of an area by probably an
Iranian-backed militia force that either the Brits in
the south or the Americans here in Baghdad or the
center of the country either can't or don't want to
confront militarily; or we're talking about in the
Sunni areas essentially the Baath resistance, and the
tribal leaders who are the social fabric of that
resistance...
FOREMAN: Michael, I want to go to a map...
WARE: ... cutting a deal with the U.S.
FOREMAN: I want to show people on a map what you're
talking about in particular. This area down here
we've talked about before, largely the Shia area.
This is largely the Sunni area. This is largely the
Kurdish area up here. But look at this. These little
drops indicate also one of the big issues that has
not been resolved at all.
That's where the oil is and most of the oil is not in
the Sunni area, does that remain a serious issue
there, because people talk about it here, the idea
that the Sunnis, if they agree to peace now without a
deal to share the oil, are agreeing to poverty.
WARE: Yeah, there's no way they're going to make any
sort of compact with the central government -- a
central government they regard as Shia-dominated,
Iranian-influenced, and hostile to them anyway --
without any kind of guarantees about the oil.
And honestly there's no guarantees to begin and
there's no real guarantees on offer. The Kurds are
claiming 17 percent of the national oil and the
government's prepared to give them that. The question
then is about distribution elsewhere, particularly to
the Sunni. And it's to be based on a formula that
really hasn't been buttoned down with the details,
and certainly won't go to the interests of the Sunni.
FOREMAN: Michael, very quickly...
WARE: So, no. The Sunnis aren't going to buy into
this at all.
FOREMAN: One last point quickly here, Michael, is
there any sense from Iraqi politicians that they
appreciate the fact that American lives are being
lost to give them time to sort out their affairs?
WARE: By and large, no. No, beyond lip service, not
really. Not at all.
FOREMAN: Thanks so much, Michael Ware, for that
assessment.