Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam received in Damascus a delegation of tribal notables in Iraq led by Sheikh Hussein Ali Al-Shaalan. Khaddam stressed that assassination operations are not the correct way to confront the American occupation
He said in a press conference, "Iraq is now a country that does not have a state, and therefore when the state is absent, security is absent and the country turns into a forest." The statement came hours after an attempt to assassinate Aqila Al-Hashemi, a member of the Transitional Governing Council in Iraq, failed
Khaddam announced that he discussed with the delegation of the Iraqi tribes everything that Syria could offer to help the Iraqi people. He also stressed Damascus' readiness for dialogue with all political forces and ethnic segments there, pointing to the history of relations between the two countries, the future and the great common interests.
The Syrian Vice President said that a large number of members of the Iraqi Governing Council are friends of Syria. He explained that most of them still have their offices in Damascus, referring to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by Jalal Talabani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masoud Barzani, and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.
In response to a question about the possibility of dividing Iraq, Khaddam said, “The Iraqi people have always been stronger than all attempts at disintegration and internal conflicts and realize the importance of national unity.” For his part, Sheikh Hussein Ali Al-Shaalan called on the United States to quickly end its occupation of Iraq and return power to the Iraqis.
