EDITORIAL: Iraq's 'unity' Cabinet

Nine months after parliamentary elections in March, Iraq finally has a "national unity" Cabinet that represents all sectors of the nation's major political groups.

Ethnic and sectarian violence erupted in the country after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 toppled the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein. Now, the people of Iraq are finally in a position to unify their nation by democratic means. This is a welcome development.

It is especially significant that Iraq's Sunni Muslims, who supported the Saddam regime, are participating in the new Shiite-led government practically as equals.

After being targeted by the U.S. "war against terror," the Sunni presence in Iraqi politics diminished. But in the March elections, a secular bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi secured Sunni votes and became the largest force in the national assembly. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki managed to remain in power by reviving an alliance with Shiite blocs with which he had been at odds before.

One could say that the new unity government is the result of intense maneuvers for a majority of votes by both the Maliki and Allawi camps that ultimately involved all of Iraq's political forces.

Allawi has secured his position in the Maliki government. He will be chairman of the new national council for strategic policies that will handle diplomacy and national security.

However, the enormous challenges that lie ahead for the new administration are all too evident in the fact that the ministers of defense, internal affairs and security have yet to be appointed.

Iraq's future hangs on whether this national unity can succeed. Only the Iraqis themselves can improve security--which is crucial to nation-building--by transcending their ethnic and sectarian differences and working together.

Even after U.S. combat units withdrew from Iraq at the end of August, terrorist attacks continued against Shiites and Christians. And the 50,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq to train Iraqi security personnel and aid in national reconstruction will go home at the end of next year.

The dramatic improvement in security over the last two years is owed to the Sunnis cooperating with the U.S. military to fight the international terrorist organization al-Qaida. However, the Shiites are still deeply mistrustful of the Sunnis.

Now that the unity government is in place, they will have to work together. We hope solidarity will develop through their collaboration on security.

Iran has political influence on Maliki and the Shiites in the new administration, while Allawi will continue to have the support of the United States and the rest of the Arab world.

The international community must stand together to support Iraq and prevent it from fragmenting again.

Japan is not without responsibility for the worst postwar chaos Iraq has experienced in history. Japan helped the occupation of the United States and Britain by dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq for reconstruction purposes.

Iraq is the world's third-largest oil producer in terms of estimated crude reserves. The country shares its borders with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Syria, all major players in the Middle East. Iraq's stability is indispensable to the region's stability.

To contribute to that stability, Japan must demonstrate its readiness to aid Iraq through social and economic development projects.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 28