Sunday, July 15, 2007

Iraq leader dismisses U.S. doubts - American troops can leave 'any time they want,' al-Maliki says

Iraq leader dismisses U.S. doubts - American troops can leave 'any time they want,' al-Maliki says
By Bassem Mroue
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published July 15, 2007

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts about his government's military and political progress Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."

One of his top aides, meanwhile, accused the United States of embarrassing the Iraqi government by violating human rights and treating his country like a lab "experiment."

Al-Maliki sought to display confidence at a time when pressure is mounting in Congress for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces. On Thursday, the House passed a measure calling for the U.S. to pull out its troops by spring, hours after the White House reported mixed progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting 18 benchmarks.

During a news conference, al-Maliki shrugged off the progress report, saying that difficulty in enacting the reforms was "natural" given Iraq's turmoil.

"We are not talking about a government in a stable political environment but one in the shadow of huge challenges," al-Maliki said. "So when we talk about the presence of some negative points in the political process, that's fairly natural."

Al-Maliki said his government needs "time and effort" to enact the political reforms that Washington seeks -- "particularly since the political process is facing security, economic and services pressures, as well as regional and international interference."

But he said that if necessary, Iraqi police and soldiers could fill the void left by the departure of coalition forces.

"We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want," he said.

One of al-Maliki's close advisers, Shiite lawmaker Hassan al-Suneid, bristled over the American pressure, saying in an interview that "the situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American laboratory [judging] whether we succeed or fail."

He sharply criticized the U.S. military, saying it was committing human-rights violations and embarrassing the Iraqi government through such tactics as building a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah and launching repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in Sadr City.

He also criticized U.S. overtures to Sunni groups in Anbar and Diyala provinces encouraging former insurgents to join the fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq. "These are gangs of killers," he said.

In addition, he said that al-Maliki has problems with the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, who he said works along a "purely American vision."

"There are disagreements that the strategy that Petraeus is following might succeed in confronting Al Qaeda in the early period, but it will leave Iraq an armed nation, an armed society and militias," al-Suneid said.

Al-Suneid's comments were a rare show of frustration toward the Americans from within al-Maliki's inner circle as the prime minister struggles to enact the U.S.-drawn list of legislative benchmarks.

In other developments, two more American soldiers were killed Saturday in bombings in the Baghdad area, the U.S. military reported. One of the bombs used was an explosively formed penetrator, high-tech devices that the U.S. military believes are smuggled from Iran. The Iranians deny the accusation.

In other violence, a car bomb leveled a two-story apartment building, and a suicide bomber plowed his explosives-packed vehicle into a line of cars at a gas station. The two attacks killed at least eight people, police said.

Also Saturday, the U.S. military said it captured an alleged cell leader for Al Qaeda in Iraq at Baghdad's international airport. The suspect, believed to have organized mortar and roadside bomb attacks in the capital and nearby area, surrendered "without a struggle," the military said.

It did not give details on the suspect or say whether he was traveling in or out of the country when seized.

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