The Washington Post reports that several prominent Iraqi leaders are taking a new approach on the matter of reconciliation among Shiites and Sunnis. The strategy is to promote fair and efficient government and let reconciliation take care of itself.
"I don't think there is something called reconciliation, and there will be no reconciliation as such," said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, a Kurd. "To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power."
Humam Hamoudi, a prominent Shiite cleric and parliament member, said any future reconciliation would emerge naturally from an efficient, fair government, not through short-term political engineering among Sunnis and Shiites.
"Reconciliation should be a result and not a goal by itself," he said. "You should create the atmosphere for correct relationships, and not wave slogans that 'I want to reconcile with you.' "
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, one of Iraq's most influential Sunnis, has drafted a 25-point national compact that condemns extremism and sectarian discrimination, while calling for candid dialogue among Iraq's various factions. He recently met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's highest Shiite religious leader, who, according to Hashimi, Sistani said he would support for the national compact with some minor editing.
An obstacle to reconciliation has been fear among Shiite leaders of a return to Sunni rule and loss of Shiite power. For example, U.S. efforts to recruit Sunni tribesmen to join the police force and fight al Qaeda was opposed by Shiite officials, who claim that new recruits were killing innocent people under the guise of fighting insurgents.
The prospects for streamlining the government and creating a climate in which reconciliation can go forward may have improved with the disintegration of the Shiite parliamentary coalition. There are plans to consolidate in the cabinet and install skilled technocrats in place of inexperienced political appointees, according to an unidentified official. Humam Hamoudi, a prominent Shiite cleric and member of parliament, said he expects 37 cabinet seats to be reduced to 22 or 23 in coming months, with public service ministries, in theory, becoming independent from political parties.
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