Hassan says U.S. unable to manage conflict in Iraq

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The recent violence in Iraq has proven that the United States is incapable of managing conflict in the country and needs participation from the international community to improve the situation, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda.

Hassan said on Monday that the U.S. authority had fully realized their lack of capability and had asked for assistance.

"We have seen the situation deteriorate in Iraq and it shows that the U.S. unilateral approach has failed to settle the problem," Hassan said.

He was commenting on the worsening security situation in Iraq punctuating in a bomb attack last Friday that killed more than 100 people. This is so despite Bush's declaration on May 1 that the war between U.S.-led coalition troops with Saddam Hussein's had ended.

The presence of the coalition forces -- the U.S., Britain and Australia -- has failed to ensure the safety of the Iraqis, following a series of bomb attacks in the past few weeks.

These attacks had claimed the lives of United Nations special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim.

Earlier last week, America's top military man in Iraq Gen. John Abizaid said that Iraq needed Muslim peacekeepers to tackle the hit-and-run attacks plaguing the coalition force.

"The U.S. also recognized the need to include other countries to improve the security situation in Iraq," Hassan said.

When asked whether Indonesia would participate in such a multinational force, Hassan said that it would depend on the status of the peacekeeping troops.

He said Indonesia would refuse to join a U.S.-proposed multinational peacekeeping force to Iraq and that it would only take part in such a force under the auspices of the United Nations (UN).

"Our position is clear that we will join peacekeeping efforts in Iraq only under the auspices of the UN," Hassan said.

"Even if the U.S-led peacekeeping troops were endorsed by the UN Security Council, we would still not participate," the minister said.

Hassan said that the UN Security Council was currently discussing the possibility of endorsing a multinational peacekeeping force led by the U.S.

"However, we will wait for the results of the discussion and if the ongoing debate results in the establishment of a UN peacekeeping force then we will participate," Hassan stressed.

Washington has led multinational peacekeeping forces several times such as in Somalia and received endorsement from the UN Security Council.

Hassan said that Indonesia had consistently rejected any form of unilateralism.