Success in Iraq depends on rapid transition to new government
March 18, 2003
KALAMAZOO -- At the behest of the U.S. Department of State, Dr. Emanuel Kamber, a Western Michigan University professor of physics, has been traveling the world recently to help lay plans for a post-war Iraq.
Kamber, an Iraqi exile and opposition leader who as been asked to serve in an advisory capacity to help speed Iraq's recovery from the coming war, says the people of Iraq "will be more than happy to get rid of Saddam," but a welcoming reception for American troops will only come if the war is quick, with minimal casualties and little damage to that nation's infrastructure.
"We need to get in and get out quickly, set up a transitional government and get a new constitution in place," he says. That's the advice Kamber has been sharing with his fellow opposition leaders and with members of the U.S. administration.
Kamber was in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to take part in a presentation at the American Enterprise Institute and to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Of particular concern to Kamber are the prospects of post-war ethnic clashes in Iraq. As an Assyrian Christian, an Iraqi ethnic group numbering about 2 million, Kamber is concerned that Iraq's new constitution must safeguard the rights of minority groups. Part of his work as a member of post-war planning groups has been focused on developing a "Bill of Rights" that could be part of a new constitution.
Media representatives may contact Kamber for comment at (269) 387-4944 or <emanuel.kamber@wmich.edu>.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu