Schröder: Let's Build a Free, Democratic and Stable Iraq

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder returned home on Thursday from the UN meeting on the future of Iraq with Germany's diplomatic star in the ascendant again, after months of strife with the United States over Iraq.

The Chancellor's plane had hardly finished taxiing into a Berlin airport before a tired-looking Schröder was on his way to the German parliament to report the good news. The month-long diplomatic rift between the U.S. and Germany over Iraq was, in the words of U.S. president George W. Bush, "over," and the international community was on its way to taking decisive steps to secure future stability in postwar Iraq.

A free democratic future

Addressing the German parliament, Schröder drew a line in the sand over the arguments over war in Iraq which had soured U.S.-German relations and focused solely on the future in the Persian Gulf region.

"Independent of whether countries were for or against the war (on Iraq), it is now paramount that the international community ensures the new Iraq is free, democratic and stable," he told German parliamentarians.

Germany is in agreement with France and the United States that a new Iraqi constitution must be drawn up as soon as possible and free elections, under the auspices of the UN, should take place, although no timescale for that has been set as yet.

No German military involvement

But although Schröder said Germany was ready to provide humanitarian, technical and economic aid for the reconstruction efforts and train up Iraqi security personnel, he rejected sending German troops to the region and said he did not support plans to beef up the numbers of foreign troops already there to increase security.

"My personal view is that, in this current phase, it's not about increasing the numbers of foreign troops in the region, rather that security can be ensured by training Iraqi security personnel," Schröder said. "Iraqis have the ability to communicate with their own people and have the necessary understanding of the Iraqi mentality and culture to be able to ensure long term security in the region (better than foreign troops)."

Tough times ahead

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer -- who cut short his trip to the States to return to German for Friday's first crucial first vote on the German government's Agenda 2010 reform package -- warned that the toughest times for Iraq have yet to come.

"The reality today is this: If reconstruction in Iraq goes wrong; if irresponsible or terrorist powers flourish, then we will have an awful price to pay, regardless of whether we were for or against the war," Fischer said. "However, it makes no sense to pursue a strategy that only makes the problems bigger, rather than reducing them."

Fischer called for the UN to play greater role in postwar Iraq, although cautioned it was not realistic for U.S. and allied troops to pull out of the region immediately. That would be, he said, a move which would lead to the "opening of a vacuum" and could be exploited. Singing from Schröder's hymn sheet, he said the discussion on the sidelines of Tuesday's UN meeting in New York had brought all involved closer along the road to making difficult decisions.

"Whether the presence of occupying forces is really perceived as a liberating force in the reconstruction of a democratic state, is a decisive political question," he said. "We should do everything in our power to ensure that the second part of this is prioritized. This is going to be difficult and a long term effort: We have already experienced it in Afghanistan, but these basic decisions are of central importance."

Permanent Security Council seat

Fischer added that he believed now that Germany's role in the UN had now grown it would now only be a matter of time before the country gains a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"(We should) do our part as well as we can, shoulder our responsibility for the international community and I think it (a permanent seat on the Security Council) will come as a matter of course, he said, but cautioned. "We shouldn't pursue it as a policy of national prestige or rush ahead with it -- that's my advice."