Early Handover of Sovereignty in Iraq; Profiles of Key Players in the Iraqi Interim Government and on the Political Scene; Iraqi Tribal and Familial Ties; The Kurds
Early Handover of Sovereignty in Iraq
In a surprise move, the Coalition Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government this morning, Baghdad time. U.S. civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer left the country after a ceremony wherein Bremer handed over legal documents to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Bobby Ghosh, Senior Editor for Time Magazine joins Guest Host Patt Morrison from Baghdad.
Profiles of Key Players in the Iraqi Interim Government and on the Political Scene
Experts Alon ben-Meir, Middle East project director at The World Policy Institute in New York, New School University, and Lawrence Korb, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information, join guest Host Patt Morrison to profile some of the movers and shakers on the Iraqi political scene: Prime Minister Iyad Allawi; President Al-Yawer; Vice President Al-Jaafari; Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Interior Minister Falah Hassan; Oil Minister Thamir Ghadbhan; Justice Minister Dohan Al-Hassan, Muqtada Al-Sadr, Imam Al-Sistani, and Muhammed Latif. Who are all of these people, and what are their backgrounds? How will they work to steer the interim government towards elections?
Iraqi Tribal and Familial Ties
Islam is a tribal religion, born out of a tribe on the Arabian peninsula. The Arab world remains largely tribal, even with the creation of the modern nation-state. This became all the more evident when the insurgency in Iraq heated-up and Sunnis joined Shiites to fight American and Allied forces. In short, Iraqis set aside religious differences, reverting instead to tribal alliances. Experts Ali Al-Arabi, writer on the culture and politics of the Middle East and the National director of United Arab American League, and Patrick Graham, a Canadian freelance writer and author of the cover story in the June issue of Harper's Magazine titled "Beyond Fallujah: A Year with the Iraqi Resistance," join guest Host Patt Morrison to discuss Iraqi, and Arab, tribal and familial alliances.
The Kurds
The Kurds in Northern Iraq are quite nervous about the transfer of power from the U.S. to the new, interim Iraqi government. They have enjoyed relative independence and protection by the U.S. since the Gulf War, but many Kurds fear their autonomy may soon be lost. Patt Morrison talks with Saman Shali, President of the Kurdish National Congress of North America, and Henri Barkey, Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, about what the future holds for the Kurds.