February 20, 2010

In the wake of Iraq's parliamentary elections on March 7, Iraq's main Sunni party has dropped out. The Iraqi Front for National Dialogue dropped out because they say that Iran is interfering in the election (Iran is largely a Shiite country). A party spokesman said the party "cannot continue in a political process run by a foreign agenda." They believe Iran's influence in the political process will only result in a vote that is not legitimate. The National Dialogue Party stopped short of calling on Sunnis to boycott the election, but they did ask other political parties to join them in withdrawing. The National Council for Tribes of Iraq (a party that includes both Sunnis and Shiites) said they will also drop out.

This decision came after a candidate-vetting panel, led by two Shiite politicians (Ali al-Lami and Ahmed Chalabi), banned more than 440 candidates whom they described as loyalists to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party. Most of the blacklisted candidates were Sunni. One of the barred candidates is Saleh al-Mutlaq -- the head of the National Dialogue Party (he said he quit the Baath party in the 1970s). The two Shiite politicians in charge of the candidate-vetting panel are believed to be influenced by Iran.

The U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and Army General Ray Odierno (who is the top American military commander in Iraq) each described the Shiite leaders of the candidate-vetting panel as having ties to Iran. General Odierno said in a speech last week at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington that U.S. has direct intelligence that al-Lami and Chalabi "are clearly influenced by Iran." He also accused al-Lami of having been "involved in various nefarious activities in Iraq for some time." The next day Ambassador Hill told reporters in Washington that "absolutely, these gentlemen are certainly under the influence of Iran." He continued, "We remain concerned about Iran's behavior towards its neighbors. Iran should have a good relationship with its neighbor, but it needs to do a much better job of respecting its neighbor's sovereignty."

U.S. and U.N. diplomats fear that if Sunnis boycott the election and Shiites are handed the victory, then the election will not be seen as legitimate. This could result in more divisions or violence in the country. There is a fear that this could set back progress that has been made since 2007 when the insurgency, which threatened a civil war, was reversed. A breakdown in security could also hinder U.S. plans to withdraw all combatant troops by the end of August. (Full Story)