These attacks are widely seen as the work of al-Qa’ida, which is trying to exact revenge on the Sunni militias that drove the extremist organization out of several Iraqi provinces. As several media outlets pointed out in recent weeks, al-Qai’das military defeats have pushed it – anew – into the underground, and have prompted it to renew its tactics of suicide bombings and assassinations against its enemies.
In political developments, Kull al-‘Iraq said that a “major political agreement” was signed yesterday between the two mainstream Kurdish parties on the one hand, and the – Sunni – Islamic party on the other. According the paper, the new pact includes an agreement pertaining to the application of the 140th article of the constitution, which calls for a referendum in the city of Kirkuk that might allow the city’s population to opt for the affiliation of Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Region. The 140th article also calls for the “normalization” of the city, which consists in bringing back Kirkuk’s Kurdish population that was exiled by the regime of Saddam Husain, while resettling the Arab families – that were brought into Kirkuk by the old regime – in their areas of origin.
However, al-Hayat pointed out, the Kurdish-Sunni agreement is destined to have far-reaching effects that go beyond the issue of Kirkuk (much of Kirkuk’s Arab population is Shi'a, which means that the position of the Islamic Party holds little importance in the oil-rich city.) The paper argued that the new pact represents a shift in the structure of political alliances in Iraq, where the Kurdish parties were often seen as the natural allies of the Shi’a parties that occupy the positions of power in the central government. But in the face of recent debacles between the Kurds and the Shi'as (especially over the issues of Kirkuk and the Oil Law,) the Kurdish leadership is hoping to circumvent the Shi’a parties by allying itself with the Sunni blocs in the parliament.
In parallel, the paper added, the agreement paves the way for the return of the Islamic Party into the government, after a collective Sunni withdrawal from the cabinet in August. The reasons behind this shift in positions are numerous: as the Awakening militias gain power in the Sunni street, and as the Awakening tribal leaders are expressing readiness to furnish Sunni ministers to replace those that abandoned the cabinet, the Islamic Party (which has proven a track record of pragmatism) is fearing that it will be marginalized in the new political context. As many sources had previously pointed out, the original decision to withdraw from the cabinet was taken by the extremist wing within the Sunni IAF alliance, led by ‘Adnan al-Dulaimi, with the Islamic Party half-heartedly following their lead.
As a response, al-Hayat said, al-Dulaimi was lukewarm vis-à-vis the recent agreement, commenting that the pact is no more than “a declaration of general principles,” adding that “it does not pertain to the real problems afflicting the political crisis” in Iraq.
In other news, the Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani finally proclaimed that his government does not acknowledge the – contested - 1975 Algiers agreement between Iraq and Iran, which determines the border line between the two countries. The old Iraqi regime had annulled the treaty at the outset of its war with Iran, and while negotiations are currently underway to demarcate the borders of the two countries, predictions were abound as to whether the Iraqi regime will accept to use the 1975 treaty as a basis for the negotiations.
In response to Talabani’s statements, al-Jazeera reported, the Iranian government protested Talabani’s position on the treaty, and described it as “illegal.” According to al-Jazeera, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manushahr Muttaki, said that the treaty “is registered at the United Nations, has juridical power and cannot be fiddled with.” In parallel, the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “relations between Iran and Iraq are dependent on the treaty,” adding that “the Iraqi President should stick to his country’s commitments in accordance with International laws and treaties.”
