US, Iraq leaders reach out to Sunnis to counter Iran ..... (Juan Cole too)

[RedEarth]

this is really incredible ...such a mess....... thank you george

US, Iraq leaders reach out to Sunnis to counter Iran

Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD, january 26 Three years after Washington ousted Saddam
Hussein from power, some Shi’ite leaders and US allies say it is switching favour to the ex-leader’s Sunni minority to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions. US officials say the efforts to “reach out” to Sunni Arabs are needed to undermine a violent insurgency they are waging and to foster a stable government.

But Shi’ite leaders brought to power by the US-led invasion also see an attempt to clip their wings because of the influence over them of neighboring Shi’ite Iran.

“The Americans are focusing on the Sunnis and trying to get them into the political process even at the expense of others,” said an official in the Shi’ite Alliance bloc, which won a near majority in the parliament elected last month.

“We’ve been talking a lot about this. The Americans are so focused on Sunni interests that their motivation goes beyond just promoting national unity.” The impression comes as US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad sits down at the negotiating table with rival groups jockeying for power in a coalition cabinet.

Western diplomats in Baghdad also see an interplay with US policy toward Iran in those talks. “The increased tension between Iran and the US on the nuclear issue is affecting relations between Washington and the Shi’ites here,” one European diplomat said. “They are trying to find someone else, some other allies who will not turn against them (in Iraq) if things heat up with Iran.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=86704



Reuters reports that some Iraqi Shiites and other observers believe that the Bush administration is shifting away from its earlier alliance with the Iraqi Shiites, preferring the Iraqi Sunni Arabs. The rationale is said to be a dawning realization in Washington that the Iraqi Shiites would not react positively to a US attack on Iran. Given the increasing focus on Iran's nuclear energy program by Bush, his allies in the Iraqi South are becoming increasing liabilities, given their own warm relations with Tehran.

http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/minister-of-industry-almost-killed-us.html

[tocqueville]

1. call back Saddam and arm him

he will straighten things out... :sarcasm:

[enigma000]

2. whine, whine, whine

The big bad Americans are making me negotiate with those bad Sunni/Baathist/Saddamite/Terrorists. The official in question is just playing to his base.

We are going to hear this for the next few weeks from the Shiites, Sunni, religious parties, secular parties, and even, to a lesser extent, the Kurds.