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The Week in Germany: Politics April 29, 2005 U.S. official: German counsel valuable for Iraq Germany's pledge to provide Iraq with expertise in nurturing fledging democratic institutions could play a key role in work on a new constitution, the senior Iraq adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested this week. "I think Germany could potentially play a constructive role in helping the Iraqis draft their constitution because of its federal structure," the adviser, Richard Jones, said after meeting with top foreign policy officials in Berlin. "In Germany, you have the 'Laender,'" Jones said, referring to Germany's 16 federal states. "That is a model that could be a very useful for Iraq." Following World War II, a system of checks and balances delegating a considerable degree of independence and influence to the Laender was enshrined in German law. The Allies hoped a federalist system would help avoid the political volatility that helped pave the way for the Hitler regime's rise to power. A similar solution could be attractive in Iraq, where different ethnic groups are all striving for a degree of political autonomy from Baghdad. "Germany may have some expertise to provide the Iraqis as they decide their permanent constitution, as to whether or not they want to continue the kind of system that Saddam had or if their want to develop a more decentralized system," said Jones. Jones praised a pledge by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to provide that kind of expertise — as well as German efforts to train key Iraqi military personnel. Germany began training Iraqi forces last year, and has in the meantime schooled hundreds of senior Iraqi police and military officers as well as army engineers in the United Arab Emirates. Under a three-way agreement signed in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi in March, Germany started training a new group of around 250 Iraqi army engineers earlier this month. The deal fulfils Iraqi requests to intensify Germany's broader training effort. German efforts in helping train Iraqi security forces — and the decision to write off $5bn in debt owed to Germany by Iraq — have won praise and thanks from both Iraqi officials and U.S. President George W. Bush. Links:
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