Two visions of Iraq struggle to take hold

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20040816/wl_oneworld/4536919351092684274&cid=655&ncid=1480


Events this week put the two opposing visions of Iraq (news - web sites)'s future in sharp relief. But it's unlikely either will be able to lay claim to much progress as the fighting in Najaf resumes - threatening to overshadow the conference and ignite a wider Shiite insurgency in the country, say analysts.


In fact, the Baghdad meeting got off to a rocky start. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi told the delegates that "your presence here today is the biggest challenge to the forces of darkness that want to tear this country apart. This is not the end of the road, it is the first step on the way to democracy." The goal is to choose a 100-member assembly, or national council, to oversee the interim executive branch until elections are held in January.


But few outside observers consider this a representative gathering of the Iraqi people. Key players such as Mr. Sadr and the Muslim Clerics Association, an influential grouping of Sunni religious leaders, have boycotted the conference.


Indeed, shortly after Mr. Allawi's opening remarks, Nadim al-Jadari, an official with the Shiite Political Council, threatened to leave the conference unless negotiations were restarted to end the fighting in Najaf.


In an attempt to assuage the complaints, the Associated Press reported that a working committee was formed to find a peaceful solution to the tension in Najaf.