Race is on among factions to fill political vacuum
The race is on among Iraqi factions to fill the political vacuum, with the US Defence Department giving its favourite exile, Ahmad Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), a head start over his many rivals and detractors. Faced with an urgent need to stop lawlessness, forestall acts of revenge, restore public services and hold together a diverse ethnic and sectarian population, the US and Britain are keen to find Iraqis who can share responsibility. But splintered Iraqi political groups are treating each other with intense suspicion as each rushes to create facts on the ground in this crucial period. The INC has established a foothold in central Iraq, Kurdish fighters have captured Kirkuk, while the biggest Shi’ite movement, the Tehran-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, has distanced itself from US occupation.
Chalabi said on Wednesday that opposition leaders from outside and inside the country would meet senior US officials in the southern town of Nassiriya as early as tomorrow to prepare for an interim administration.
