After handover: Security top priority in Iraq
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- The biggest task facing the interim government of Iraq will be bringing security to the nation, according to one terrorism expert.
For the interim government -- facing threats ranging from car bombings aimed at officials to sabotage attacks on crucial oil pipelines -- the top priority should be to create an environment where the citizens feel secure in the leadership and its ability to protect the public, according to Bruce Hoffman, terrorism analyst at RAND Corporation.
"It is exactly the strategy of the terrorists to create a vacuum of disorder and lawlessness, and the way to do that is to attempt to eliminate precisely the dedicated civil servants like the prime minister, the president and the senior members of the interim government," Hoffman said.
With the handover of sovereignty complete, the interim government led by Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar will be challenged to form a unified, democratic system and to take care of Iraq's people and resources.
"This is a historic day," al-Yawar said when the handover was made. "We want a free, democratic Iraq that will be a source of peace and stability for the region and the whole world. We would like to express our thanks to our friends in the coalition for the efforts and dedication they have spent."
He added, "We want to tell them all their sacrifices will not go in vain. We are determined, we are committed, there is no way to turn back."
But with fierce fighting in cities across Iraq, threats against the newly installed government and increased terror attacks, rebuilding the country and keeping the oil flowing will be a constant challenge. Prime Minister Allawi has condemned the string of recent attacks and said the new government is prepared to deal with terrorists.
"We were expecting such an escalation, and we will witness more in the next few weeks," Allawi said. "We will deal with it and crush it."
One terrorist target that the government will aim to secure is the country's system of oil pipelines. In seven months, there have been more than 130 attacks on Iraq's oil pipelines -- the country's main source of income. And according to Allawi, these attacks have cost Iraq $1 billion in lost revenue.
John Kingston, global director of oil at Platts, an organization that tracks the energy industry, says Iraq was expected to be exporting 2.6 million barrels a day by now, and to be well on the way to exporting 3 million barrels a day by the end of the year. Instead, he notes, Iraq actually is exporting close to 1.7 million barrels a day.
"The industry was found to be in worse shape" than previously believed, said Kingston. "They're certainly not getting any investment from the outside" with the country's continuing instability.
Kingston also added that he is concerned that the pipeline attacks may become a regular occurrence. "It's the obvious place to target, it's vulnerable, it has an immediate impact and it draws attention," he said of the nation's oil industry.
Noah Feldman, a former adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority, agrees that protecting the 4,350 miles of pipeline is critical to the Iraqi economy and to rebuilding the nation. "If they can't protect the pipelines they can't protect the flow of cash, and that's their lifeline," said Feldman.
According to Feldman, the interim government will need to do three things in order to secure the pipelines. First, he believes, the Iraqis need sufficient manpower to protect vulnerable points with regular patrols. Second, they need to have the intelligence necessary to know when attacks are planned. And finally, the interim government must convince the Iraqi people that an attack on the pipelines is an attack on Iraq and not the Americans.
