The Hindu : International : Rumsfeld warns against purge in Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005

International

International

Rumsfeld warns against purge in Iraq

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, APRIL 12. With the Iraqi Parliament choosing a Shia as Prime Minister and a Kurdish leader as President, the visiting U.S. Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has warned that the new dispensation should not carry out any political purges.

Many officers in the new army once served under the former President, Saddam Hussein, and there are fears that leaders of the Shia and Kurdish communities, which were once persecuted, may dismiss them.

A special force of 10,000 commandos, established last year, has drawn heavily from the former army.

Mr. Rumsfeld, who has paid a surprise visit, urged the newly appointed Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and the President Jalal Talabani not to delay the setting up of the administration. "It's important that the new government be attentive to the competence of the people in the Ministries and that they avoid unnecessary turbulence," he told journalists travelling with him to Baghdad.

Mr. Talabani said the Cabinet would be in place by the end of the week. Mr. Jaafari acknowledged there would be problems ahead but the government would be able to meet those challenges.

Poland to pull-out

Poland, a key U.S. ally in Iraq has confirmed that the contingent of its 1700 troops would withdraw at the end of the year.

Poland's Defence Minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, said the troops would withdraw "at the time of the expiry of the Security Council's mandate."

Many other U.S. allies have also set timetables for the pull out of their forces from Iraq. Italy, which has a little over 3,000 troops, has said it wants to withdraw its contingent at the earliest.

The Netherlands and Ukraine have already begun to pull out their forces in a phased manner.

At least five Iraqis have been killed and three others injured during a car bomb attack on a U.S. convoy in the northern city of Mosul. The incident took place just before Mr. Rumsfeld's visit to the city.

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