Sabah al-Nasseri: Washington cannot dictate politics in Iraq
July 28: In a five part interview, The Real News senior editor Paul Jay sits down with Iraqi-born professor of political science, Sabah al-Nasseri, to discuss the political situation in Iraq. Watch Part 1 here.
President Bush has recently changed his position on troop withdrawal from Iraq agreeing to a "general time horizon", while McCain remains firm that "any withdrawal must be conditions-based and that the troops would come home with victory and not through a set-timetable." Senator Barack Obama on the other hand, said that "he wants most US combat troops out of Iraq by mid-2010", opposing permanent US military bases, but agreeing to leave a residual force in Iraq for an "unspecified amount of time."
Al-Nasseri says that the difference in opinion between the current president and the presidential candidates is of little importance to the issue, as the choice is not theirs to make. He agrees with Patrick Cockburn's statement that if "the grand ayatollah Al-Sistani says, 'No. The occupation must end,' then [it] will end."
Paul Jay and Professor al-Nasseri move on to discuss the upcoming October election, and who is going to gain power over Iraq. Maintaining the current balance of forces is the best case scenario for the United States at the moment, but al-Nasseri says that Muqtada al-Sadr is being underestimated. "Sadr may be weaker militarily, but he will still be a force in the elections," due to his "legitimacy and credibility within Iraq."
The professor also says that "if the al-Sadr movement would win the election in Baghdad, in Al Kut, Basra etcetera, they will have not only the majority within the provincial parliament, but also they can decide about oil contracts and about the US military bases in their province." This could "jeopardize the whole project of al-Maliki and the United States."
As the political rest continues and a postponement becomes more likely, "all eyes [are] on these Iraqi elections".
For the full 5-part interview and more stories, visit TheRealNews.com today