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| Iraq-Jordan |
| US 'in talks with Iraq with Iraq rebels' |
| 2005-06-26 |
| AT a summer villa near Balad in the hills 40 miles north of Baghdad, a group of Iraqis and their American visitors recently sat down to tea. It looked like a pleasant social encounter far removed from the stresses of war, but the heavy US military presence around the isolated property signalled that an unusual meeting was taking place. After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies. The talks on June 3 were followed by a second encounter 10 days later, according to an Iraqi who said that he had attended both meetings. Details provided to The Sunday Times by two Iraqi sources whose groups were involved indicate that further talks are planned in the hope of negotiating an eventual breakthrough that might reduce the violence in Iraq. Despite months of American military assaults on supposed insurgent bases, General John Abizaid, the regional US commander, admitted to Congress last week that opposition strength was âabout the sameâ as six months ago and that âthereâs a lot of work to be done against the insurgencyâ. That work now includes secret negotiations with rebel leaders, according to the Iraqi sources. Washington seems to be gingerly probing for ways of defusing home-grown Iraqi opposition and of isolating the foreign Islamic militants who have flooded into Iraq to wage holy war against America under the command of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The talks appear to represent the first serious effort by Americans and Iraqi insurgents to find common ground since violence intensified in the spring. Earlier informal contacts were reported but produced no perceptible progress. Zarqawiâs group, which has been blamed for many suicide bombings and beheadings, has not taken part. According to both Iraqi sources, preparations for this monthâs meetings were supervised by Ayham al-Samurai, a Sunni Muslim and former exile who lived in America for 20 years. He returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein to become electricity minister in the interim government. One of his main challenges was to persuade both sides that they could meet without being ambushed. Both eventually provided pledges that no hostile acts would be attempted. The American contingent is said to have arrived in a convoy of four armoured Humvee vehicles and at least two armoured personnel carriers. The military escort remained outside the compound while the four US negotiators were greeted by tribal sheikhs who had agreed to host the meeting. The Pentagon had no immediate comment to make on the Iraqi claims despite repeated requests for confirmation. The Iraqi sources, who have proved reliable in the past, said the American team included senior military and intelligence officers, a civilian staffer from Congress and a representative of the US embassy in Baghdad. On the rebel side were representatives of insurgent groups including Ansar al-Sunna, which has carried out numerous suicide bombings and killed 22 people in the dining hall of an American base at Mosul last Christmas. Continued at the link. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #8 given the arab psyche--just the fact that the fre wanted to meet is a victory of sorts--'rabs don't pow wow when they perceive any chance of victory[following mr. mo]--its a cultural sign of weakness and a small not to mention needle dick--they are also having red on red problems with their jihadi brothers--this "enemy of my enemy" shit is getting tired--and the collateral damage to ordinary civilians is grating--these meetings are a good thing nyt--idjits |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2005-06-26 15:57 |
| #7 I hope that we meet with these leaders and tell them exactly what will happen to them if they fail to cooperate. These guys make deals. They lie, they cheat, they have no honor. So you tell them to cooperate or they will be hunted down and killed like stray dogs. Look what happened in the so called negotiations between allied forces and Saddam's forces in Operation Desert Storm. Promise anything and do not deliver. If you approach the problem that these guys are all a bunch of lying POS, then the answer presents itself right away. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-06-26 14:09 |
| #6 After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies. "..a small group of insurgent commanders apparently came face to face with.." I would hazard a guess that these turds [insurgent commanders] were tracked after the face to face, just like the jehadis were tracked last month after the first border fights to Ramadi and Mosel. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-06-26 13:32 |
| #5 both. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-06-26 12:51 |
| #4 Cut the deal. |
| Posted by: Engerese Kalter9260 2005-06-26 12:47 |
| #3 Drop the nuke. |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2005-06-26 09:19 |
| #2 Graceful exit policy? |
| Posted by: gromgorru 2005-06-26 08:26 |
| #1 The key to the terrorism is, and has always been, ending Sunni support, however that can be accomplished. I shouldn't have to detail, yet again, how Turkey's perfidy created the conditions that have led us, one bloody step after another, to the current situation. Back to the Sunnis - at first it was fodder from the Ba'athists (ex-Iraqi military, etc), but many authoritative sources have said the manpower / fodder component has shifted to foreigners. The same is probably true of most monetary support - there's not an endless supply and, with Saddam obviously never coming back to power, and the same for the Ba'athists, it's clear that financial aid to the terrs is a black hole with no spectacular payback. It's clear enough (that even a blind man can see it) that almost everything except simple logistics (cover / hiding for men and matériel) is now of foreign origin. And why is clear, as well - the success of a bona-fide democracy in Iraq (or Afghanistan, for that matter) is truly the death knell for the traditional Arab dictatorship (with or without Kingy Thingys) / Islamic theocracy regimes. And there are a bunch of them willing to donate whatever they can to defeat the emerging Iraqi Republic. There are multiple ways to deal with the situation - and removing the Sunni support piece would be the masterstroke to undermine the terrs: no cover, no caches, no place to run when confronted head-on, etc. Border control would certainly help, too - but it would never be nearly as perfect as some seem to think. Pure and simple, it's the damned Sunnis who allow the terrorism to continue. One by one their illusions (read: reasons for providing support) fall. Saddam's return. A Ba'athist resurgence to power. Gone. Dead. Now they hope to delay or end the new Iraq by fomenting civil war / endless sectarian strife. Gaining what in the process? Hard to say - except maybe partition / Federation? Obviously, an Iraqi Republic could not allow this to continue forever. Is there any option left, after this? That's a tough one. They're Arabs. They only seem to have one mode: violence. Just like the Paleos, they've wasted every opportunity offered to participate in the peaceful process - and have relied upon violence. They seem to be a one trick pony. The tribal leaders are the key to the Sunnis. It's been talked about here at length several times. The reporter should have stopped by here, oh a year or more ago, and listened in. What they're serving up here is old news to most RBers. So sure, meet with them, yet again, explain the situation. It's been going on, at different levels, for 2 solid years, Mr Reporter. But it wears thin. Simply put, if you can't get their cooperation by asking nicely and offering them a place in the peaceful process, then they must be treated exactly as a bunch of Mafia "dons" who've declared war on society, for that is what they are. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-06-26 04:59 |