“People are protesting not for regime change, but for services, against corruption, for better government response to their needs,” Michael Corbin, deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq, told a Washington think tank"
March 9, 2011
US sees more Iraq protests but no govt threat
Iraq will see more protests as citizens demand official accountability but the United States believes they are not aimed at toppling the fragile coalition government, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
“People are protesting not for regime change, but for services, against corruption, for better government response to their needs,” Michael Corbin, deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq, told a Washington think tank.
“We have to watch what the government is doing going forward, but we also have to watch what the protesters are doing,” Corbin said. “But basically you are going to continue to see protests in Iraq, especially as the summer months come and people want electricity.”
Corbin noted that some recent protests had turned violent as Iraqi security forces dispersed demonstrators who have been inspired by political turmoil elsewhere in the Arab world to demand jobs, electricity, water and other basic services and condemn official corruption.
Unlike countries where protesters have demanded the ouster of long-ruling autocrats, Iraq saw dictator Saddam Hussein removed eight years ago by a US-led invasion.
But despite having the power to elect their leaders, the public is still widely unhappy with a political system that has left figures with ethnic and sectarian power bases entrenched in office and failed so far to restore basic services.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who secured a second term late last year as the head of the coalition government, last month gave his ministers 100 days to step up reforms or face the sack.
Decentralization helps
Corbin said the US government had urged Iraqi officials to deal with the protests in “an even-handed and forthright manner” and was keeping an eye on political maneuvers by figures such as firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has called for protests against possible US intervention in Libya.
He added the United States would also seek to help Iraqi officials to improve basic services — noting that in some cases the protests were primarily about local issues.
“The fact that this country does have a certain amount of decentralization we think is a good think because the local governments can deal with the situation according to what the local people are demanding,” he said.
The United States is on track to complete the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq this year, putting civilians in charge of relations with the important oil producer.
US officials say a large US presence will nevertheless be needed for three to five years for political, economic and security work, such as helping Iraq professionalize its police and step up operations against al Qaeda.
Corbin said work on the transition was moving forward, but warned that Republican moves in Congress to cut State Department funding could complicate the US strategy.
“One thing that we’ve learned in over eight years in Iraq is that you can’t do Iraq on the cheap,” he said.
US sees more Iraq protests but no govt threat
Iraq will see more protests as citizens demand official accountability but the United States believes they are not aimed at toppling the fragile coalition government, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
“People are protesting not for regime change, but for services, against corruption, for better government response to their needs,” Michael Corbin, deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq, told a Washington think tank.
“We have to watch what the government is doing going forward, but we also have to watch what the protesters are doing,” Corbin said. “But basically you are going to continue to see protests in Iraq, especially as the summer months come and people want electricity.”
Corbin noted that some recent protests had turned violent as Iraqi security forces dispersed demonstrators who have been inspired by political turmoil elsewhere in the Arab world to demand jobs, electricity, water and other basic services and condemn official corruption.
Unlike countries where protesters have demanded the ouster of long-ruling autocrats, Iraq saw dictator Saddam Hussein removed eight years ago by a US-led invasion.
But despite having the power to elect their leaders, the public is still widely unhappy with a political system that has left figures with ethnic and sectarian power bases entrenched in office and failed so far to restore basic services.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who secured a second term late last year as the head of the coalition government, last month gave his ministers 100 days to step up reforms or face the sack.
Decentralization helps
Corbin said the US government had urged Iraqi officials to deal with the protests in “an even-handed and forthright manner” and was keeping an eye on political maneuvers by figures such as firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has called for protests against possible US intervention in Libya.
He added the United States would also seek to help Iraqi officials to improve basic services — noting that in some cases the protests were primarily about local issues.
“The fact that this country does have a certain amount of decentralization we think is a good think because the local governments can deal with the situation according to what the local people are demanding,” he said.
The United States is on track to complete the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq this year, putting civilians in charge of relations with the important oil producer.
US officials say a large US presence will nevertheless be needed for three to five years for political, economic and security work, such as helping Iraq professionalize its police and step up operations against al Qaeda.
Corbin said work on the transition was moving forward, but warned that Republican moves in Congress to cut State Department funding could complicate the US strategy.
“One thing that we’ve learned in over eight years in Iraq is that you can’t do Iraq on the cheap,” he said.
