In an interview with the German weekly Spiegel, Dr. Allawi said:Today, we are further than ever from national reconciliation. The ethnic-confessional cleansings continue, especially in central Iraq and Baghdad. The exodus and expulsions of Iraqis has taken on a dimension not seen since the founding of modern Iraq in the 1920s. De-Baathification has become a settling of scores with political opponents. There is also absolutely no solution in sight for how to deal with former members of the disbanded army. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers sit at home, deprived and disenfranchised, without a salary.

Allawi added: A new government must be formed that bundles all political forces to ensure a process of national reconciliation. In order to get things started, there must be a general amnesty with exceptions only for terrorists and serious criminals. An Iraqi government can only provide security if the state institutions take away the influence of the various militias and disband them.

I am not prepared to serve a sectarian regime. If we can achieve a broad, clear mandate for national unity, where it doesn’t matter if someone is Kurd or Arab, Sunni or Shiite, then I am ready to take any post.

I speak regularly with the Turkish leadership — which is a decisive factor in the region. I also meet with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, Egypt’s President (Hosni) Mubarak, and with Gulf state leaders. It’s all about preserving the regional balance, that is, to offset Iran’s growing influence.