January 2, 2005 New YorkTimes Suicide Car Bombing in Iraq Kills 19 By ERIK ECKHOLM
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 2 - In a surprise press conference today, leaders of the Shia-dominated coalition that is expected to prevail in national elections sought to dispel fears that they are under the secret sway of Iran, or have any desire to create an Islamic theocracy. Speaking in offices that were damaged by a car bomb just six days before, leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance urged disaffected Sunnis to join in the elections for a national assembly, scheduled for Jan. 30. They also said that if their coalition gains power it will not demand the immediate withdrawal of American troops, instead waiting first for a stronger Iraqi military. But insurgents continued today their unrelenting campaign to demolish the fledgling Iraqi forces, killing 18 members of the national guard and 1 civilian with a suicide car bomb near the town of Balad, to the north of Baghdad. "Our group believes in sharing power with all Iraqi factions," Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the Shia cleric who heads the election slate of the powerful alliance, said at the news conference in Baghdad. "We have rejected the idea of a sectarian regime and we believe that Iraq is for all Iraqis." Appearing with Mr. Hakim at the briefing was Ahmed Chalabi, a secular Shia and former exile who ranks high in the alliance slate of candidates. Mr. Chalabi said he had just returned from Tehran, where he told Iranian leaders that they must not interfere with Iraq's elections. The charge of secret Iranian influence over the alliance, which is led by two huge Shia religious parties, has been voiced loudly by the king of Jordan and some prominent Sunni politicians. These critics fear that as the Shia religious groups assert power, Iraq could be steered toward an Iranian-style theocracy. Mr. Hakim, like many Shia leaders, lived in exile in Iran during the reign of Saddam Hussein. He heads the largest single Shia party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and enjoys the blessing of Ayatollah Sistani, Iraq's most revered cleric. Mr. Hakim and Ayatollah Sistani have repeatedly said they do not want clerical control of government, but suspicions run wild among Iraq's Sunnis, who are anxious about the prospect of losing their historic dominance in Iraq. Mr. Chalabi said in an interview that he had just returned from a visit to Tehran where he told senior officials, including President Rafsanjani, three things: "First, we do not want any interference in the Iraqi elections; second, the alliance is not about an Islamic republic or a theocratic state, it is about democracy and pluralism, and third, we will need American forces to be in Iraq for the foreseeable future." The Iranian leaders accepted these points, he said. "They understand that the situation in Iraq is very different from Iran," he said. Mr. Chalabi and other alliance officials pledged that their coalition will not accept any election money from Iran. Mr. Chalabi said he had traveled to Iran as head of his own party, the Iraqi National Congress. But his rare, prominent appearance beside Mr. Hakim suggested that he has gained a strong position within the coalition of Shia groups and independents that make up the United Iraqi Alliance. A onetime favorite of the Pentagon, Mr. Chalabi last year saw a rival exile, Ayad Allawi, take over as interim prime minister. He fell out of favor with the Americans, who alleged he gave sensitive secrets to Iran, and saw his offices here raided by police. But he has cultivated ties with Shia groups, and political experts here say that the mainstream clerics now taking center stage appear to value Mr. Chalabi's wide international contacts and political experience. When American occupation forces will leave Iraq is one of the touchiest political issues. The Shia clerics know that many of their supporters would like to see foreign troops leave sooner rather than later, but they also know that American protection is needed to hold elections and create a new, Shia-led government. Haitham al-Husseini, a top aide to Mr. Hakim, said in an interview that the various factions in the alliance had not discussed any strategy or timetable for sending American troops home. "But we all see the necessity of American troops for the time being," he said. The car bomb that killed 18 national guardsmen riding in a bus near Balad, 36 miles north of Baghdad, came one day after the Iraqi affiliate of Al Qaeda, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, released a video showing five guardsmen being executed. In a statement, the insurgents promised to "slaughter, slaughter, slaughter" Iraqis who served in the national guard or police. Scores of national guard and police officers have been killed in the last few weeks alone, as insurgents seek to cripple the interim government and disrupt the Jan. 30 elections. The United States Army said that elements of the 82nd Airborne had arrived in the beleaguered northern city of Mosul to reinforce troops there. Troops have been bolstered in Baghdad as well in preparation for the elections, and total American forces in Iraq are projected to rise this month to 150,000, from a previous total of 138,000. An American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Saturday, the army said. Two other soldiers were reported wounded in Baghdad today in a suicide attack by a car bomber.
