Recently with the tense confrontation in places such as Najaf as a sign the situation in Iraq keeps on worsening. On August 12 the US troops stationed in Iraq and Iraqi armed police made a large joint attack on Najaf, the holy city of the Shiites in order to clean up al-Sadr's anti-US forces there.

The continued intensification of the violent clashes in Iraq after the war roused the general concern of the international community. Moussa, Secretary-general of the Arab League issued a statement calling on the various sides in Iraq to put the people's interest first, open dialogues, relinquish force and stop conflicts. He also stressed that considering the current situation in Iraq extensive political dialogues and withdrawal of foreign troops are the best way to restore stability in Iraq. The stand of the Arab League not only represents the will of the international community but also reflects the voice of the Iraqi people who have suffered enough from chaos caused by war.

Since the US handed over the power to the Iraqi interim government on June 28 foreign troops continued to use force in Iraq and to be involved in the conflicts and this aroused great dissatisfaction among the various circles in the Iraqi society. On August 11 the authorities of the Basrah region decided to shut down oil exporting pipelines to oppose the continued occupation of Iraq by foreign troops, their involvement in Iraqi affairs and the interim government's resorting to force to settle domestic disputes.

Some local analysts believe every time the foreign troops resort to force to intervene in Iraqi conflicts the reputation of the interim government is lowered somehow. Pressures within and without have forced the Iraqi interim government to express recently the intention of asking the gradual withdrawal of foreign troops. After the official power transfer the Iraqi interim government and Iraqi people all look forward to resuming sovereignty as soon as possible and building a democratic and free new Iraq. However the severe actuality of Iraq after the war proved that the continued stay of foreign troops is the main source of Iraq's turbulent situation.

Iraq after the war is in need of a full-scale reconstruction, which requires the various sides of Iraq to join hands in discussing national plans of lasting importance. For a long time the Iraqi political and religious factions exist in great numbers. As for now the various sides in Iraq should abandon old scores and apply themselves to the reconstruction of the country. It should be pointed out that the war not only changed the nature of the state political power and national system, it also left post-war Iraq with unprecedented difficulties and activated the long harbored political, religious and inter-tribal conflicts. Only the double stability of politics and society can provide guarantee for the economic reconstruction.

The post-war Iraq is in urgent need of a political system that can make the various sides shelve differences and solidify in cooperation. Unfortunately under the control by foreign troops post-war Iraq is unable to realize the mutual respect and equal treatment among various sides. On the other hand the limited function of the Iraqi interim government and the involvement of foreign forces turned political dialogue that should be in place in Iraq into armed conflicts. From this perspective the Iraqi interim government who has important tasks on its shoulders is in a difficult situation.

It must be pointed out that the problems of post-war Iraq are extremely complicated and difficult to unravel. To hope for a miracle in a short term is unrealistic. The important thing is that the international community and relevant parties should earnestly help Iraq and let the Iraqi people exercise real sovereignty so that the reconstruction of Iraq can get on the right path at an early date.

By People's Daily Online