| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq-Jordan |
| US confirms direct meetings with insurgent leaders |
| 2005-06-27 |
| Asked to respond to a report that US military representatives met with several Sunni Iraqi insurgents twice in June, Rumsfeld told Fox News ''there have probably been many more than that" and described the contacts as an effort to ''split people off and get some people to be supportive" of the political process in Iraq. Other parts of the US government, including the State Department and CIA, have also been holding secret meetings with Iraqi insurgent factions in an effort to stop the violence and coax them into the political process, according to US government officials and others who have participated in the efforts. The military plan, approved in August 2004, seeks to make a distinction between Iraqi insurgents who are attacking US troops because they are hostile to their presence, and foreign insurgents responsible for most of the suicide bombings -- which have killed more than 1,200 people in the last couple of months -- and whose larger political aims are unclear. General John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command who is in charge of the war in Iraq, told CNN yesterday that ''US officials and Iraqi officials are looking for the right people in the Sunni community to talk to in order to ensure that the Sunni Arab community becomes part of the political process. And clearly we know that the vast majority of the insurgents are from the Sunni Arab community. It makes sense to talk to them." But, Abizaid added, ''We're not going to compromise with Zarqawi," a reference to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who is believed to be leading that part of the insurgency involving foreign fighters, particularly Islamic extremists arriving from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and elsewhere. Citing two Iraqi sources, the newspaper said that among the Sunnis in attendance was a representative from the Ansar al-Sunna Army, which claimed responsibility for killing 22 people in the dining hall of a US base at Mosul, and another from the Islamic Army in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for the murder of Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #14 "...the newspaper said that among the Sunnis in attendance was a representative from the Ansar al-Sunna Army, which claimed responsibility for killing 22 people in the dining hall of a US base at Mosul... " Better not be true. Wouldn't want to be carrying that history into a room full of war widows/widowers. |
| Posted by: jules 2 2005-06-27 22:34 |
| #13 I thought it was currently against the rules to use napalm as a war weapon. If that's the case, of course we wouldn't use it, regardless how satisfying Mr. F. Thinker might find it. Besides, smart bombs are so much more effective when one is committed to rebuilding a society afterward. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-27 21:37 |
| #12 Ima say Doom. Better look out. ;-) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-06-27 18:38 |
| #11 Nothing scarier than a Baby LeMay. Please don't laugh BAR, it's unkind. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-27 18:26 |
| #10 toughguy-a-rama: Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? |
| Posted by: Free Thinker 2005-06-27 17:50 |
| #9 you should take a name that matches your actual level of beligerence (cough). If a decision was made for the USAF to begin widely using napalm canisters when attacking insurgents/terrorists, I'd have no objections whatsoever. ;) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-27 17:26 |
| #8 LOL! A Baby LeMay in our Midst! Good going! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-27 17:08 |
| #7 Magnesium is the main ingredient in Fire bombs, as 200,000 former citizens of Tokyo couldn't possibly tell you. Surprise: peat moss (no kidding) was the second main component. |
| Posted by: Free Thinker 2005-06-27 16:48 |
| #6 Magnesium cluster? LOL! Cheap thoughts indeed. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-27 16:16 |
| #5 I knew it. Bush's Iraq policy makes a good case for banning smart bombs. Give me a B52 magnesium cluster drop over whimp war, any day. "bomb-a-rama": you should take a name that matches your actual level of beligerence (cough). |
| Posted by: Free Thinker 2005-06-27 16:14 |
| #4 It'd be nice if they'd leak a few names...particularly if they weren't the names of the folks with whom we're really negotiating. Could stir things up, no? |
| Posted by: Captain Pedantic 2005-06-27 15:28 |
| #3 "US officials and Iraqi officials are looking for the right people in the Sunni community to talk to in order to ensure that the Sunni Arab community becomes part of the political process. And clearly we know that the vast majority of the insurgents are from the Sunni Arab community. It makes sense to talk to them." While a proper response would be to tell the Sunnis to phuque off due to them blowing off the elections when they did, it would only be fair to give them one more chance, but only after hitting the bastards with a massive club and exacting a heavy price. They aren't in a position to run the show anymore, and this point should be driven home. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-27 10:04 |
| #2 divide and conquer |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-27 09:17 |
| #1 Ansar al-Sunna was negotiating. They didn't agree to terms, though, apparently. Now we've caught their leader. Things seem to be happening in Iraq fast. Keep the negotiating going with the remaining groups. Continue to honor the negotiations. Separately, keep up the intensity on the insurgents. Keep hitting them hard. |
| Posted by: Whomong Shavique3752 2005-06-27 08:49 |