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Iraqi minister cautions US military

Iraq's foreign minister said the US-led coalition force must consult the new interim government on major military action to avoid a repeat of the bloodshed that followed a US crackdown on both Sunni and Shiite insurgents two months ago.

Hoshyar Zebari said Iraq's former Governing Council -- in which he also served as foreign minister -- would have advised against the early April attacks by US forces targeting two mostly unrelated insurgencies, but it wasn't asked.

US military had tried to target Sunni fighters in the city of Fallujah who had killed US contractors and mutilated their bodies. It also went after Shiite fighters protecting radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf.

The fighting touched off violence nationwide, led to huge US losses and prompted international criticism that the coalition was in over its head.

Zebari said in an interview on Friday that when it comes to offensive military operations, Iraqis can assess the impact and political implications better than the Americans and the British.

"I'll be very honest and candid," he said. "Had the coalition forces listened to our advice or asked us about their intention to attack Fallujah, to attack Muqtada al-Sadr simultaneously ... we would have advised them not to do it, to do it in a different way, in a different time."

Zebari said launching these attacks at almost the same time "gives the impression that there is a Shia-Sunni uprising against the coalition," which he said "was not the case."

The coalition attacks highlighted the importance of including language in the resolution now being debated by the UN Security Council that would ensure that the new interim Iraqi government is consulted before major military operations are launched, he said.

But Zebari stressed that the interim government -- which will assume sovereignty on June 30 when the US-British occupation ends -- was "realistic" and wasn't seeking a veto over major operations by the multinational force because it understands the realities on the ground.

"These forces have come to help us and they are encountering numerous challenges including fatal terrorist attacks," he said. "They have the right to self-defense. They need force protection. They need to protect their operations and facilities, to do the stabilization work the way they feel it necessary. We cannot distract them."

Nonetheless, he said, a sovereign government "should have a say in the final status of these forces."

The views of the new interim government should be "taken into consideration" by the multinational force on "major offensive operations that would have serious political and security repercussions," Zebari said.

"We as Iraqis, we know our society better than the Americans and the British and we know if they would do certain operations in certain areas at certain times, the implications would be serious," he said.

The foreign minister stressed that it is in the best interest of the multinational force to listen to the new government.

"I sincerely believe that we are friends here. We are not adversaries. We are partners. We share the same goals and we want to help each other," Zebari stressed.
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