S
Sid9
Guest
August 21, 2007
Denials in Iraq Governor's Assassination
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:02 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Muqtada al-Sadr's office on Tuesday condemned the
assassinations of two southern provincial governors as the radical Shiite
cleric distanced himself from the killings, seen as part of a brutal contest
among rival Shiite militias for control of some of Iraq's main oil regions.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, meanwhile, said the United States
can't solve Iraq's problems on its own, and that Iraqi officials he has met
during his trip to Baghdad this week are hoping France can play a role in
their troubled country.
Kouchner was speaking to France's RTL radio from Baghdad, where he arrived
Sunday on a highly symbolic, surprise visit seen as marking a shift in
France's relations with the U.S. and Iraq. It was the first visit by a top
French official since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which France fiercely
opposed.
''It was necessary to be here,'' Koucher said as he wrapped up his three-day
trip. ''Everyone knows that the Americans cannot bring this country out of
difficulty all alone.''
And Iraq's Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, sought improved relations
and help in the immediate neighborhood, meeting with Syrian President Bashar
Assad on the second day of a visit to Iraq's predominantly Sunni neighbor.
There were reports that Assad was prepared to offer a security pact that
could tighten the Syrian border against foreign fighters who have crossed
into Iraq since the summer of 2003. Syria and Saudi Arabia are believed to
be a main pipeline for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq, which was blamed for
the deadliest coordinated attack of the war last week when suicide bombers
killed at least 400 people belonging to a small religious sect near the
Syrian border.
Iraqi police had blamed Monday's roadside bombing that killed the governor
of the vast Muthanna province on the powerful Mahdi Army, which is nominally
loyal to al-Sadr but has seen factions splinter away over frustration with
U.S. raids targeting the militia that has been blamed for much of the
sectarian violence in recent months.
The attacks that killed Gov. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani and his colleague Gov.
Khalil Jalil Hamza in neighboring Qadasiyah province nine days earlier
raised fears that showdowns in southern Iraq -- pitting Mahdi groups against
the mainstream Shiite group in parliament -- could intensify as the British
forces overseeing the south gradually withdraw in the coming months.
Both governors were members of a powerhouse among Shiite political
organizations, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC, led by Abdul-Aziz
al-Hakim. His loyalists, who dominate the police in the south of Iraq, have
been fighting Mahdi Army militiamen for dominance in the south -- which may
hold 70 percent or more of Iraq's oil reserves, according to various
estimates.
The reclusive cleric issued a statement late Monday praising efforts against
the foreign forces but condemning the attacks against the Shiite governors,
which he said were aimed at creating a rift among Iraq's majority Islamic
sect.
''The cruel deeds that have been done in Diwaniyah and Samawah are part of
occupation plots that aim to create a climate of pretexts for them to stay
in Iraq,'' al-Sadr said, using the term occupation to refer to U.S.-led
forces.
He also called for committees comprising political and social authorities to
be established under religious supervision in each of Iraq's 18 provinces
''so that these events would not repeated in the south or in any part of
Iraq.''
Al-Sadr also renewed his demand for a timetable to be set for the withdrawal
of the U.S.-led troops.
His office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, was
more direct in its denial.
''We don't have any relation with these acts or have any involvement, we
condemn such acts that aim at destabilizing the situation in the center and
southern Iraq,'' al-Sadr's spokesman Ahmed al-Shibani said Tuesday.
Just a few months ago, the Mahdi Army and its leader, firebrand cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr, were seen as reluctant -- but critical -- partners with
Iraq's leadership. Al-Sadr agreed to government appeals to lessen his
anti-American fervor and not directly challenge the waves of U.S. soldiers
trying to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas.
But now, the once-cohesive ranks of the Mahdi Army are breaking into rival
factions with widely varying priorities.
Meanwhile, a range of initiatives, both political and diplomatic, reached a
near dizzying pace as the Sept. 15 deadline approached for President Bush's
administration to report to Congress on its Iraq policies.
The French foreign minister said the Iraqis are ''expecting something'' from
France, without elaborating.
''I believe that based on what plays out here, the world will be changed
..... And we should be there,'' he told RTL.
Kouchner insisted that the trip was his own idea and was not prompted by new
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with Bush in Maine earlier this
month.
''We have distinguished ourselves very clearly from American policy and we
were not supporters of the American intervention,'' he said, adding that
France has a ''very particular position'' in Iraq.
Iraqi prosecutors opened their third case against former regime officials on
Tuesday, with Saddam's cousin known as ''Chemical Ali'' and 14 others facing
charges of crimes against humanity for the brutal crushing of a Shiite
uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, who gained the nickname ''Chemical Ali'' after chemical
attacks on Kurdish towns during the so-called Anfal campaign, entered the
courtroom wearing his traditional white Arab robe and a red and white
checkered headdress.
He and two other defendants already face the death penalty after being
convicted in another trial for the killing of more than 100,000 Kurds in a
1980s military campaign known as Anfal. Saddam and three others were hanged
for the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail.
Denials in Iraq Governor's Assassination
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:02 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Muqtada al-Sadr's office on Tuesday condemned the
assassinations of two southern provincial governors as the radical Shiite
cleric distanced himself from the killings, seen as part of a brutal contest
among rival Shiite militias for control of some of Iraq's main oil regions.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, meanwhile, said the United States
can't solve Iraq's problems on its own, and that Iraqi officials he has met
during his trip to Baghdad this week are hoping France can play a role in
their troubled country.
Kouchner was speaking to France's RTL radio from Baghdad, where he arrived
Sunday on a highly symbolic, surprise visit seen as marking a shift in
France's relations with the U.S. and Iraq. It was the first visit by a top
French official since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which France fiercely
opposed.
''It was necessary to be here,'' Koucher said as he wrapped up his three-day
trip. ''Everyone knows that the Americans cannot bring this country out of
difficulty all alone.''
And Iraq's Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, sought improved relations
and help in the immediate neighborhood, meeting with Syrian President Bashar
Assad on the second day of a visit to Iraq's predominantly Sunni neighbor.
There were reports that Assad was prepared to offer a security pact that
could tighten the Syrian border against foreign fighters who have crossed
into Iraq since the summer of 2003. Syria and Saudi Arabia are believed to
be a main pipeline for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq, which was blamed for
the deadliest coordinated attack of the war last week when suicide bombers
killed at least 400 people belonging to a small religious sect near the
Syrian border.
Iraqi police had blamed Monday's roadside bombing that killed the governor
of the vast Muthanna province on the powerful Mahdi Army, which is nominally
loyal to al-Sadr but has seen factions splinter away over frustration with
U.S. raids targeting the militia that has been blamed for much of the
sectarian violence in recent months.
The attacks that killed Gov. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani and his colleague Gov.
Khalil Jalil Hamza in neighboring Qadasiyah province nine days earlier
raised fears that showdowns in southern Iraq -- pitting Mahdi groups against
the mainstream Shiite group in parliament -- could intensify as the British
forces overseeing the south gradually withdraw in the coming months.
Both governors were members of a powerhouse among Shiite political
organizations, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC, led by Abdul-Aziz
al-Hakim. His loyalists, who dominate the police in the south of Iraq, have
been fighting Mahdi Army militiamen for dominance in the south -- which may
hold 70 percent or more of Iraq's oil reserves, according to various
estimates.
The reclusive cleric issued a statement late Monday praising efforts against
the foreign forces but condemning the attacks against the Shiite governors,
which he said were aimed at creating a rift among Iraq's majority Islamic
sect.
''The cruel deeds that have been done in Diwaniyah and Samawah are part of
occupation plots that aim to create a climate of pretexts for them to stay
in Iraq,'' al-Sadr said, using the term occupation to refer to U.S.-led
forces.
He also called for committees comprising political and social authorities to
be established under religious supervision in each of Iraq's 18 provinces
''so that these events would not repeated in the south or in any part of
Iraq.''
Al-Sadr also renewed his demand for a timetable to be set for the withdrawal
of the U.S.-led troops.
His office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, was
more direct in its denial.
''We don't have any relation with these acts or have any involvement, we
condemn such acts that aim at destabilizing the situation in the center and
southern Iraq,'' al-Sadr's spokesman Ahmed al-Shibani said Tuesday.
Just a few months ago, the Mahdi Army and its leader, firebrand cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr, were seen as reluctant -- but critical -- partners with
Iraq's leadership. Al-Sadr agreed to government appeals to lessen his
anti-American fervor and not directly challenge the waves of U.S. soldiers
trying to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas.
But now, the once-cohesive ranks of the Mahdi Army are breaking into rival
factions with widely varying priorities.
Meanwhile, a range of initiatives, both political and diplomatic, reached a
near dizzying pace as the Sept. 15 deadline approached for President Bush's
administration to report to Congress on its Iraq policies.
The French foreign minister said the Iraqis are ''expecting something'' from
France, without elaborating.
''I believe that based on what plays out here, the world will be changed
..... And we should be there,'' he told RTL.
Kouchner insisted that the trip was his own idea and was not prompted by new
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with Bush in Maine earlier this
month.
''We have distinguished ourselves very clearly from American policy and we
were not supporters of the American intervention,'' he said, adding that
France has a ''very particular position'' in Iraq.
Iraqi prosecutors opened their third case against former regime officials on
Tuesday, with Saddam's cousin known as ''Chemical Ali'' and 14 others facing
charges of crimes against humanity for the brutal crushing of a Shiite
uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, who gained the nickname ''Chemical Ali'' after chemical
attacks on Kurdish towns during the so-called Anfal campaign, entered the
courtroom wearing his traditional white Arab robe and a red and white
checkered headdress.
He and two other defendants already face the death penalty after being
convicted in another trial for the killing of more than 100,000 Kurds in a
1980s military campaign known as Anfal. Saddam and three others were hanged
for the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail.