Sunday Times: Allawi: Iraq may be on verge of civil war

Iraq's former interim prime minister "Iyad Allawi has warned that his country is facing civil war and has predicted dire consequences for Europe and America as well as the Middle East if the crisis is not resolved," The British Sunday Times reported yesterday.

"The problem is that the Americans have no vision and no clear policy on how to go about in Iraq," said Allawi to The Sunday Times adding "The policy should be of building national unity in Iraq. Without this we will most certainly slip into a civil war. We are practically in stage one of a civil war as we speak."

The Sunday Times said: "Allawi, a secular Shiite, said that Iraq had collapsed as a state and needed to be rebuilt. The only way forward, he said, was through 'national unity, the building of institutions, the economy and a firm but peaceful foreign relation policy". Unless these criteria were satisfied, 'the country will deteriorate'."

Allawi said US Presiden George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, had earmarked $5.7 billion to Iraq to rebuild its military "but I did not receive the money." He said dialog and money need to be part of the solution to Iraq, The Sunday Times reported, while insisting about the US presence that "I cannot see withdrawal based on timing, but based on conditions." The Sunday Times reported noted that Allawi is trying to build a secular coalition ahead of the general elections, where Allawi warned that if Iraq fails, it will be a building ground for terrorism worldwide.

Meantime, secular Shiite politicians called on Saturday for autonomy of southern Iraq, The New York Times reported Saturday. It reported Baqer al-Tamimi, a supporter of autonomy, saying "We want the creation of a regional parliament, elected in a sovereign, democratic way, and the creation of a local cabinet,'' he said.