05-06-2008

IF ARABS ISOLATE IRAQI SHIA, THEY WILL PUSH THEM CLOSER TO IRAN
U.S. PREPARED TO AID MYANMAR AFTER CYCLONE; REGIME MUST ACCEPT U.N. CONDITIONS OR CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM WILL LACK CREDIBILITY

Zalmay Khalilzad, a leading neo-conservative intellectual in the Bush administration, is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He was previously ambassador to Iraq and to Afghanistan. He spoke with Global Viewpoint editor Nathan Gardels on Tuesday.

By Zalmay Khalilzad

Nathan Gardels: The U.S. wants to impose ever-tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran, yet the U.S.-backed government in Iraq recently welcomed Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Baghdad with pomp and open arms in an unprecedented state visit. Why does the U.S. see Iran as a greater threat than the government in Iraq?

Zalmay Khalilzad: Iraq is a sovereign country. Iran is its neighbor. We have not sought a hostile relationship between Iran and Iraq. What we have sought is for them to be good neighbors -- for Iran not to assist militants and interfere in Iraqi affairs by training, equipping and financing fighters who work against not only the Iraqi security forces but also the coalition forces that are there under U.N. resolutions at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Regarding the visit of Ahmadinejad, that is a decision the Iraqi government made.

Gardels: But the Maliki government certainly doesn't seem to see Iran as a threat in the way the U.S. government does.

Khalilzad: There is a difference of view among the political forces in Iraq. If you talk with Iraq leaders privately, however, they say they do see the threat. Now there is beginning to be a change where some are willing to talk publicly about the Iranian menace.

Look, they are neighbors. Some in Iraq want the best possible relationship with Iran. But the Iranians have persisted so long in their bad behavior that even those people are reconsidering relations with Iran.

Gardels: So, the Iraqi leaders are more Iraqi than Shia?

Khalilzad: Yes. The Shia of Iraq are more Iraqi with respect to resenting Iranian influence than the fact that they belong to a common religious sect might suggest. That is why it is important for the Arab world to become more involved diplomatically in Iraq -- to have their embassies open and not to isolate the Shia of Iraq. If the Iraqi Shia become isolated from the Arab world, they will be pushed closer to Iran.

Gardels: The U.N. has been trying to engage the Myanmar generals in a reconciliation process with the democratic opposition. The U.S. just imposed sanctions on Burmese state companies doing business in gems and timber to force their hand. Now this devastating cyclone has struck.

Might nature work in opening up the country where diplomacy and sanctions have failed, particularly as the generals will be forced now to accept massive aid from other countries, including the U.S.?

Khalilzad: I certainly hope so. Sometimes these catastrophic acts of nature have that effect.

But I have to say that this regime has been particularly brutal in its campaign against the opposition and has shown no signs of letting up.

We have tried working with others, including the Chinese, the Indians and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries to send a message to the government there that they should move toward reconciliation with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace laureate and opposition leader, as well as other opposition groups, and hold a credible referendum for the constitution. If they do that, we have told them, it is a move in the right direction and they can have better relations with the U.S.

So far, the regime has been quite tough. They have not responded appropriately to the U.N., which has sent a special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister.

Several times he has offered assistance with regard to monitoring the referendum. Fifty-four countries around the world have asked the U.N. for help when they've had elections or referenda in the past, yet the Myanmar regime has turned the U.N. down. Gambari has offered to mediate directly in reconciliation talks, and they turned him down.

The Security Council needs to remind the authorities there that cooperation is essential if the upcoming referendum is to be credible.

As Laura Bush, the first lady has announced, the U.S. is prepared to help in this natural disaster with emergency aid.

We'll have to see what happens as a result. Sometime bad events, like this cyclone, have good consequences. Let's hope for the sake of the people of that country that this is one of those times.

© GLOBAL VIEWPOINT
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. (5/06/08)