Iraq problem: Devising a govt for all

From his suite at the Ritz-Carlton overlooking Georgetown, Sharif Ali bin Hussein spoke passionately last week about bringing the royal fami...

From his suite at the Ritz-Carlton overlooking Georgetown, Sharif Ali bin Hussein spoke passionately last week about bringing the royal family back to Iraq 8212; and putting himself on the throne. 8216;8216;Our belief after 40 years of failed republics is that the people want a return of the monarchy. This is what we8217;re being told by Iraqis themselves,8217;8217; said the dapper chief of Iraq8217;s Constitutional Monarchy Movement, who fled the capital, Baghdad, after his cousin King Faisal II was assassinated in 1958.

In Ritz-Carlton at Pentagon City, Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani opined about a new Iraq that is democratic and parliamentary 8212; and provides 8216;8216;more than autonomy8217;8217; for the Kurds. As the US begins plotting the country8217;s future after the anticipated fall of President Saddam Hussein, the biggest challenge might be designing and sustaining a government suited to Iraqi society.

Such a government has never existed in modern Iraq, a nation with artificial borders delineated by colonial masters. And, despite the new show of unity during talks with the Bush administration this week, Iraq8217;s widely diverse opposition still has widely diverse visions of the future.

8216;8216;A military operation in Iraq will be comparatively easy. The hard part will be constructing a truly representative system afterward. It will take long-term US hand-holding to keep Iraqis focused on the prize,8217;8217; said Henri J. Barkey, a former Iraq expert in the US State Department who is chairman of Lehigh University8217;s international relations department. 8216;8216;This is not your dad8217;s Germany or Japan,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;It8217;ll be much harder to politically rebuild Iraq.8217;8217;

Yet the Bush administration now holds out hope that the opposition can be crafted into a viable force 8212; and a potential weapon against Hussein. US officials who criticized the opposition for its squabbling, and accounting, were almost giddy with enthusiasm last week after a session with opposition leaders. 8216;8216;It8217;s a turning point, absolutely,8217;8217; said a senior administration official who requested anonymity. 8216;8216;Certainly those of us sitting in the room were all impressed with the dynamic of coordination and consultation among the six groups.8217;8217; LATWP