Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari has angrily dismissed US warnings to shun sectarianism in the country's new government. Speaking after talks with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who echoed the US call for a government of national unity in Iraq, the normally calm and diplomatic Jaafari, a Shiite Islamist, said Iraq knew its own best interests. "When someone asks us whether we want a sectarian government the answer is 'no we do not want a sectarian government' — not because the US ambassador says so or issues a warning," he told a news conference. "We do not need anybody to remind us, thank you." US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Monday the United States was investing billions of dollars in Iraq and did not want to see that money go to support sectarian politics. His comments were echoed less bluntly on Tuesday by Straw, who said after a meeting with Iraq's Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, that Iraq's parliamentary elections in December showed that no single group can dominate Iraq's new political landscape.
Sunni accusations that Jaafari's Shiite-led government has sanctioned death squads have tarnished the image of post-war Iraq, which US and British officials hoped would shine as an example of democracy in the region. Straw reiterated that Britain was working to push democracy forward in Iraq, where the Sunni insurgency of bombings and shootings has killed thousands of security forces and civilians. "The international community, particularly those of us who have played a part in liberating Iraq have an interest in... a prosperous, stable and democratic Iraq," Straw said.