Iraqi archbishop: U.S. pact is step forward, but instability remains

Published: 2008-12-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Iraqi parliament's approval of a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal represents "a step forward," but the country still faces deep divisions and serious risks, an Iraqi archbishop said. "Iraq is still profoundly divided within itself," Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk told the Rome-based agency AsiaNews Nov. 28. "One cannot speak of national unity, and even the government recognizes this. Everyone is trying to gain greater influence in his own territory, and even the capital, Baghdad, which should represent the symbol of unity, is in reality subdivided into sectors controlled by very specific factions," Archbishop Sako said. He made the comments the day after Iraq's parliament voted to approve a security pact that requires U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq no later than the end of 2011. Under the pact, the United States would remove combat forces from Iraqi cities and villages by the end of June 2009.

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