Washington and London 'not' imposing new leader on Iraq
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Britain's Jack Straw flew in secret into Baghdad today in a dramatic bid to break a deadlock over forming a unity government that can halt a slide to civil war.
A day after senior figures in the ruling Shiite Alliance bloc broke ranks and turned publicly on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Dr Rice and Foreign Secretary Straw will certainly add to the pressure on the controversial premier to step aside.
The chill was palpable when Dr Rice and the embattled Mr Jaafari exchanged small talk on a rainstorm raging outside as reporters looked on. The smiles were frosty, the body language awkward.
However, no breakthrough is likely to be announced during the two-day trip, officials said - both Iraqi leaders and their visitors are anxious not to give the impression that Washington and London are imposing a new leader over the elected Mr Jaafari.
"The fact that we're going out to have these discussions with the Iraqi leadership is a sign of the urgency which we attach to a need for a government of national unity," Dr Rice told reporters who travelled with the two ministers from Britain.
The flight from Liverpool, where the pair had spent two days of "backyard diplomacy" in Mr Straw's home region, was shrouded in a secrecy far greater than typical unannounced visits to Iraq.
"This is in many ways a time of testing for the Iraqi nation and for the Iraqi people and they need a government that can act on their behalf in this time of testing," Dr Rice said. Read more
db: It's apparently a form of democracy [lite] where a measly one vote is not sufficient to win a majority [the margin by which Jaafari won the UIA nomination to be PM]. With so many better 'approved' candidates waiting in the wings - that Ayad Allawi seems a nice man - it's no suprise that the criminals Straw and Rice have arrived in Iraq to apply some imperial pressure. Jaafri is the 'wrong' result - much like the election of Hamas.
A day after senior figures in the ruling Shiite Alliance bloc broke ranks and turned publicly on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Dr Rice and Foreign Secretary Straw will certainly add to the pressure on the controversial premier to step aside.
The chill was palpable when Dr Rice and the embattled Mr Jaafari exchanged small talk on a rainstorm raging outside as reporters looked on. The smiles were frosty, the body language awkward.
However, no breakthrough is likely to be announced during the two-day trip, officials said - both Iraqi leaders and their visitors are anxious not to give the impression that Washington and London are imposing a new leader over the elected Mr Jaafari.
"The fact that we're going out to have these discussions with the Iraqi leadership is a sign of the urgency which we attach to a need for a government of national unity," Dr Rice told reporters who travelled with the two ministers from Britain.
The flight from Liverpool, where the pair had spent two days of "backyard diplomacy" in Mr Straw's home region, was shrouded in a secrecy far greater than typical unannounced visits to Iraq.
"This is in many ways a time of testing for the Iraqi nation and for the Iraqi people and they need a government that can act on their behalf in this time of testing," Dr Rice said. Read more
db: It's apparently a form of democracy [lite] where a measly one vote is not sufficient to win a majority [the margin by which Jaafari won the UIA nomination to be PM]. With so many better 'approved' candidates waiting in the wings - that Ayad Allawi seems a nice man - it's no suprise that the criminals Straw and Rice have arrived in Iraq to apply some imperial pressure. Jaafri is the 'wrong' result - much like the election of Hamas.
posted by exoplanet at 1:00 PM
<< Home