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Biden and Brownback Meet with Talabani

October 03, 2007 7:19 PM

ABC News Kirit Radia and Brian Wheeler Report: Sens. Joe Biden D-Del., and Sam Brownback R-Kans., -- who are both seeking their party's presidential nomiation in '08 -- met today with visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to push their plan for a federal Iraq which gained overwhelming, though only symbolic, support in the Senate last week.

According to both Biden and Brownback's offices Talabani expressed his support for the measure, a position in contrast with previous statements from key US and Iraqi officials. Talabani is a Kurd, the one sector of Iraqis that has expressed support for a partition of the country.

"He (Talabani) also emphasized that the amendment is completely consistent with the decision Iraqis have made to adopt a federal form of government in their Constitution," a statement from Biden's office said.

The plan received stinging criticism over the past week from both the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In response Senator Biden sent letters to both U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Maliki, asking them to correct their "mischaracterizations of the federalism amendment."

On Friday Maliki said "dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe." The embassy on Saturday released a statement that said "attempts to partition or divide Iraq…would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

Since then Biden has sought to portray his plan, not as one of partition, but instead of a federal Iraq in the mold of the United States whereby regions have power but answer to a national constitution.

Biden's office pointed to comments by Prime Minister al-Maliki today on Iraqi television as proof that the Iraqis support his amendment. "They said they welcomed federalism. If federalism is what they really meant, why not? Federalism, after all, is stipulated in the Constitution. We, too, talked about federalism as this is a constitutional issue," Maliki told al-Iraqiyah Television.

Biden’s letters attempted to clarify the difference between partition and federalism: "The amendment does not attempt to "partition" Iraq or divide it along ethnic or sectarian lines…it calls for keeping Iraq together by bringing to life the federal system enshrined in its constitution. A federal Iraq is a united Iraq, but one in which extensive powers devolve to the regions, with the central government responsible for truly common concerns, such as the integrity of Iraq’s borders and the equitable distribution of its oil revenues."

In his letter to Ambassador Crocker, Biden said of the embassy’s contention that federalism would result in more suffering and bloodshed, "It is hard to imagine a more irresponsible statement."

October 3, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Susan Wilson | Oct 7, 2007 5:09:01 PM

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