When the number of US troops in Iraq would have been reduced according to the agreement signed between the governments of both countries, Iraq will need all the help it can get to pacify itself and implement the agreements between the various tribal groups and religious and political factions.

In this light, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calls for the reconciliation among all Iraqis, including the former supporters of Saddam Hussein’s regime. al-Maliki said that tolerance for supporters of Saddam is the means to close ‘a black chapter of Iraqi history,’ referring to the regime that was in force from 1979 to 2003. “National reconciliation is necessary to build a strong front,” said the head of the Shiite-dominant government.

This is the strongest message of the Iraqi Prime Minister in favor of reconciliation with the supporters of Saddam’s regime, in an apparent attempt to increase his popularity with the Sunni minority. “We may have differences in election, but these differences do not have to be at the expense of Iraq,” said al-Maliki.

National reconciliation may very well be Iraq’s salvation. After all, the prevailing divisiveness in the nation was the rationale used by George W. Bush to invade it. If Iraqis can prove that they can stand united, there will no longer be a single iota of reason for the US to meddle in its affairs. Their fate is in their hands.

Image

Via USA TODAY