| |
|
Fragen an US-Botschafter im
Irak, Zalmay Khalilzad, Foreign Press Center, 13.7.2005
QUESTION: Raimund Loew, from
Austrian Television ORF. Ambassador, more and
more Europeans are leaving Iraq. The last country that has now put a
timetable on leaving Iraq is Italy. The coalition seems to be weakening.
Is that -- how big a problem is that for American policy in Iraq?
And let me ask you a second question. Can we understand from what you
said
that you would not exclude negotiations with parts of the insurgency?
Because there seems to be different currents -- al-Qaida-type currents
but
nationalist currents. Would you be open to the idea to negotiate with
some
of these nationalist currents in the insurgency in Iraq? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR ZALMAY KHALILZAD: In regard to the first one, in terms of
a military
component of the coalition, there are changes that take place. Countries
adjust their forces. But we have to look at the problem of the transition
in Iraq in a comprehensive way, which has not only a military dimension
but
it also has building Iraqi institutions, training Iraqi security
institutions or security forces.
On the economic front with regard to reconstruction, or on the political
track with regard to the constitution, I think you'll find the opposite,
that there is an increased engagement. I was in Brussels, for example,
at
the conference there. More than 80 countries participated and there was
a
kind of a new partnership with Iraq that was announced. We know that NATO
-- has got an academy near Baghdad to train Iraqi officers, for example.
We
have more Europeans interested in playing a positive role with regard
to
funds that will contribute to Iraqi reconstruction.
So I see the trend overall, although if you take any one part of the
elements you could maybe come to a different judgment, but if you do a
net
assessment of the various instruments, an increase toward multilateralism
in
terms of efforts to help Iraq stand on its own feet. And certainly, I
will
encourage that and I'll try, when I'm in Baghdad, to coordinate and
cooperate more with our colleagues from Europe and from Asia. The Japanese
obviously are playing a very big important role in Iraq and with the United
Nations. I did that in Afghanistan. We worked very well together, the
international community, and I hope to duplicate that in Iraq as well.
QUESTION: And the question of the negotiations with --
AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD: Well, I think we want to isolate the foreign
terrorist element and the very hard-line Baathists who are seeking to
restore the old order. And the old order will not come back. The old order
is dead; it's finished. The foreign terrorists, as I said before, have
no
interest in Iraq. The worse the situation in Iraq, the more Iraqis get
killed, civil war in Iraq, the better from their sort of more global agenda
perspective. So we want to isolate those. But Iraqis who have an interest
in a successful Iraq, who would like to live in a situation where minority
rights are protected, where Iraq can work for Iraqis -- yeah, we're willing,
in cooperation with the Iraqi Government and others, to talk to them.
nach oben,
Fenster schließen
|