Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basln Özeti
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.With 'end of an era' in Iraq, Villepin
presses case for UN oversight ..
By Elaüie Sclolino under the international umbrella of the ~tillß coalition, Vùlepin said, "Today,.
Security CounciL' . . . pIeCIng together a system with what
PARIS: Foreign Minister Dominique , President Jacques Chirac has ruled already exists,-adding foreign troops to.
de Villepin of France predicted Thursday
that the killing of Saddam HuSsein's
best way to guarantee security in Iraq."
out any participation of French troops coalition forces, does not seem to us the .
two sons could spark attacks ofrevenge
' .The Bush administration is under inagainst
the United States and .its coalition
partners and reiterated the need for
The UN alone 'can '. tense pressure from Congress to replace
the United Nations to take responsibili- b 'rl-.g a'il the'guarantees' s?me American troops in Iraq with foreIgll
forces, but has so far not been able
.ty for the security of Iraq.
[ for the reconstruction.' to secure cOmmitments for'a major de-
"It's hard to predict the immedÎ31te
C9risequences; as one can imagine some
Ba'athists ,will seek revenge," Villepin
said, referring to the ruling Ba'ath Party .
that was the linchpin of Saddam's rule.
"One can also.imagine resistance to the
coalition, forces intensitY.!~.That's
why, for Franèe, the key is to press
ahead with the political process."
Villepin said that the deaths repre-
$?- sented a positive step toward peace.
, " "The death of the two sons who were
~ the future of Saddam Hussein's regime
....0 marks the end of an era," he said, "and
..::.. we can hope that with the capture of
. ~ Saddam himself the page will be defin-
"1::l itively turned. " . . .
,~ Villepin's comments, made in an in-
. terview with France Inter radio, are
~ .. part of a campaign by France since the
s::
,crisis with Iraq erupted last autumn to
:= .put as much decision-making as possi-
.0 ble for Iraq's future - either securing
.t: .the ~ce or rebuilding the country -
Il
iJA
.~...
.Saddam's sons • By Sandra Mackey
Trouble is you can't
put them on trial
decline immediately only to re-ignite Iat~
,..
For the Iraqis have long memories.
Supporters of Saddam may lie low before
sèeking revenge for what the American
invasion of Iraq bas done to their status
~
in the power structure. Tribal elements
who opposed the regime may hold the
. ATI.ANlA
, United States responiible for denying thém
The. killing of Saddam Hussein's
the opportunity to extract their own ven-'
. . sons, Uday and Qusay,is a'tactical
geance on Ud8y and Qysay Hussein. .
victory for the American occupation
ofIraq, but not a strategic one. meted out to their victims. By denying' States will bë able to tell its story to the
and'subjected to the sort oftreatment they. It is also uncertain whether the United .
By not capturing these odious ~ymbols of Iraq~ their revenge on the sons of Saddam, Iraqi people. The American military may ,
the old regime alive and putting them on the American authorities havé denied the control large parts of Iraq, but it does not
display, the Americanoccupation author- . needs of a society dominated by the rural control the flow of information.
ity has denied itselfthe chance to,give absohlte
proof of their demise to a society much of the country's population.
.own nàrrative of the fireflght, and there's a
values of the diverse tribes that make up The Iraqi media is capable of deVising its .
. that rejects authorjty and thrives on conspiracy
theory., . lie to the optImistic declaratIons by U.S. of-
paint the United States in a favorable light ..
This ba~nd ofreven;e may put the ,good chance that this narrative will not
It has also lost an opportunity to give ficials that the comer. has been turned in (I~may not even confirm that the brothers
Iraqis a chance to purge their bitterness, . the pacificationo,f Iraq. With the!deaths of were killed.) The land ofIraq has been host .
and satisfy a deep-seated need for revenge,' the two brothers. they predict, Saddam's . to 3,000 years of civilization, but suspicion .
by confronting their tormentors in court. followers willlose their will to resist. And and distrust ofauthority is deeply rooted
Wednesday, the United States presente~ ' while the officials concede that. in the in Iraqi' culture. Through Iraq's long hist()ry,
conqueror followed conqueror.
evidence - dental records and identifica-' short run the deaths may result in increased
guerrilla attacks on American . The diverse groups of people who lived
tions by officials of Saddam'sregiiii.e- to !
prove that the brothers were indeed.killed' troops, they also argue that soon those passions
will be spent. .
1921found their only real security in Camily
in what came to be designated as Iraq in
in a firefight wi,th American forces. But .
many Iraqis seemed unpersuaded. . \ Another possible series of reactions cannot
be ignored, however. Strikes against the . Iraq after independence in 1932had urban
and tribe. Even though the elite that ran
Even more telling,others :voiced disappointment
over the two not bein~ cap~re(t American military presence in Iraq may attitudes. the tiès of family and group re-
J
ployment. . . .
Secretary of State Colin Powell on
in a peacemaking or peacekeeping re- Wednesday telephoned Villepin: to ingiDie
unless there is a United ~ations vite him to the United States for talks,
mandate. But France is caught in'a bind: and the two 'men are expected to meet
It opposed the war in Iraq but has to in September, around the edges of the
fmd a w~y to böth rebuild a relationship a.nnual General Assembly meeting at
with thé United States and prove that it the United Nations in New York..
is willing to participate ~n making Vùlepin called for a modification of
peace in Iraq. Security Council Resolution 1483,
Villepin afso said that only a Security. which laid down the conditions for the
Council resolution handing responsi- current joint U.S.-British occupation of
.bility for Iraq to the United Nations Iraq •
could secure the peace. "We must layout clearly the ON
"The conviction of France, as we have mandate and set the UN's taSk with re-
.,said from the beginning, is that we must spect to both the political outlook and
bring back the United Nations at the ' to those conditions of transparency
heart of the system," he said. "The which would allow thé international
United Nations alone can bring all the . community to intervene more actively
guarantees for the reconstruction, al- on the economic and financial fronts,"
lowing the entire international commu- he said.
nity to work to~ether." . "And on the security front, it must be
In an impliCit criticism of the Ameri- a real peacekeeping force," he added.
can plan to add foreign forces to its ex-
Tbe New York nmes
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