Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie sets out the case for regional federalism in the country in the Gulf Times. At the moment, the beleaguered government and squabbling parliament have been unable to overcome fundamental differences in the creation of a new sustainable system of governance for Iraq. The political stalemate suggests that the "objectives of Iraq's three main communities are unrealisable within the framework of a unitary, centralised state." Al-Rubaie proposes the creation of five regional units, each with its own parliaments and powers. The Kurdish north would be granted a status equivalent to Quebec's distinction as a "nation" within Canada. The tasks of foreign policy, defence, and elements of monetary policy would be left to a much weakened central government.
Iraqi lawmakers have approved a new national flag which removes the three stars that represented "unity, freedom and socialism", the principles of Saddam Hussein's Baath party. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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The toD verdict: How old can a new country be? The new flag purges from it the last traces of Saddam's rule while suggesting the continuity of Iraq; a previous proposal, under the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, was discarded for signalling too much of a break from the past.
Similarly, al-Rubaie's proposed regional federalism - popularly received in US policy circles - seeks to retain the previous shape of Iraq while restructuring from within. Yet, the federal solution is tinged with a nostalgic sadness for many Iraqis; it heralds the death of secular, plural Iraqi nationalism. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, politics were "never couched in sectarian terms", Ali A. Allawi, special adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, told openDemocracy last year.
Regionalism was never inevitable. Of course, Saddam's brutal repression of Shia and Kurd dissidents was in effect a form of Sunni authoritarianism. But Shia, Sunni and Kurd could live side-by-side in much of Iraq without much fuss and ethnic self-consciousness. It was in large part the consequences of the American invasion and the accompanied backing of explicitly Shia and Kurdish political forces that have pushed Iraq towards this bloody, parochial compromise.
How not to look at Pakistan
American military analyst James Galloway warns in the Miami Herald that Pakistan is only now waking up to its internal Islamist threat. According to the author, Islamabad has dithered in confronting the Taliban and al-Qaida elements in its rugged western border regions. Defeating Islamist fighters in Pakistan is crucial for the struggle in Afghanistan, and vice-versa; both conflicts are now intrinsically linked. Admiral William J. Fallon, the US military commander in west Asia, arrived in Islamabad for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani.
The toD verdict: It goes without saying that Islamist militants pose a significant threat to stability and security in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the article is emblematic of a somewhat simplistic approach to Pakistan's problems. Islamabad has long been aware of the problem on its borders; indeed, it far predates the "war on terrorism" era. There is no military solution in the border regions, a fact that the Pakistani military has long known. At best, militancy can be contained in the tribal areas. Serious military action, especially if it involves US or European support, will only further stoke the fires of insurgency.
US commentators and observers of Pakistan tend to see the crisis there as one pitting the "state" against Islamists. Many analysts within Pakistan, on the other hand, see the country's main fault-line between the state (run, sustained, and shaped by the military) and reformers (which include moderate Islamist parties). The difference lies in the emphasis of the Islamist threat. Most Pakistanis laugh away the notion of an Islamist take-over of their country. Nevertheless, Islamist militants strike cities across the country, and must be dealt with. But Pakistan's abiding problem remains its civilian-military imbalance. Blind short-term support for the military will only entrench that imbalance further.
Padilla's sentence a blow to government
Brooklyn-born Muslim convict Jose Padilla was handed a 17-year term in prison by a US court. Padilla was sentenced for his role in an Islamist militant conspiracy to help jihadi fighters abroad. Accused by former Attorney General John Ashcroft of planning a "dirty bomb" attack on US soil, Padilla spent three and a half years in detention on a navy brig for suspicions that were eventually discarded by the government. The verdict is seen as a blow to the government, which was seeking a full life term for Padilla. In her sentencing, the judge accounted for the "harsh" treatment Padilla had received at the hands of interrogators and government officials.
EU refuse to budge on FARC status
The EU has refused to remove the Colombian rebel group FARC from its list of proscribed terrorist groups, despite the requests of the Venezuelan government. Late last year a Danish court ruled that FARC was not in truth a terrorist group because its "actions were not meant to intimidate the population or destroy a political or economic system".
