Posted on 08/06/2004 9:58:43 PM PDT by HAL9000
LONDON, Aug 6 (AFP) - Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari implicitly criticised the United States on Friday, saying the reported deaths of 300 insurgents in Najaf was "not a civilised way" to rebuild his nation."Of course, when I hear of the deaths of Iraqi civilians, I cannot find any justification for the killings," Jafari, on an official visit to London, told BBC television`s "Newsnight" programme.
"So my reaction (to US claims of 300 insurgents killed in Najaf) is negative," he added.
"I think that killing Iraqi citizens is not a civilised way of building the new Iraq, which is based on protecting people and promoting dialogue, not bullets."
In the worst clashes since a June truce quelled a spring uprising spearheaded by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, the US military said 300 insurgents had been killed.
"We estimate we`ve killed 300 anti-Iraqi forces in the past two days of fighting. We`ve had a total of three killed, 12 wounded (in the Najaf clashes)," US Marine Corps Captain Carrie Batson said.
A spokesman for Sadr, Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani, disputed the claim, saying only nine militiamen were killed and 20 wounded.
Najaf`s governor Adnan al-Zorfi issued an ultimatum to Sadr`s militia to leave the city in 24 hours, branding them criminals.
But Jafari appeared to criticise Zorfi for his initiative, saying: "I think decisions like this should have been taken centrally... in Baghdad" rather than locally.
The vice president also said that, being abroad, he was unable to say whether the United States had sought authorisation from the fledgling Iraqi government before launching its assault on Najaf.
"Maybe this is what happened, or maybe not," he said. "But I am not aware of the details of such an agreement."
Jafari is to hold meetings next week in London with Foreign Office ministers, "Newsnight" reported.
It's all political talk. He fully supports everything going on... smart move to act independent.
Hey dude. Who said they were all Iraqis? From what I've been reading, most of these guys are from out of town.
The initial news was that the Iraqi locals called the U.S. troops for help. The U.S. troops were reported to be 30 miles out of town.
Yeah, A clear head would deduce to that. I'll calm down.
Looks like he's not in the loop on decisions being made in Iraq by the new government.
The guys is probably hiding out in England.
This is awesome. 6 weeks after Iraq becomes sovereign and they already have politicians.
I think the "body count" could usefully be dropped from mainstream reports, it often serves to inflame opinion and in a general sense contributes little to the news, keep it a little vague, mess with their minds...
"Jafari is to hold meetings next week in London with Foreign Office ministers, "Newsnight" reported. "
Which one of our liberal dims will attend this meeting?
Yeah, let's look for the silver lining. ;)
Your so right
Good view! When Al-Sistani comes back his front yard will be pleasant!
"I tought I taw a Waki Iwaqi"
No, the body count is important. That's exactly why 1200 surrendered. They need to realize this is useless. A man will do a lot for money for his family (most are being paid by the Iranians) but you have to be pretty stupid to go up against the US when you're not really on the side you are fighting on.
BTW, I read on one of the Iraqi blogs that in that 300, there were 80 Iranian intelligence officers (complete with ID)
Tough Shiite, raghead.
Sweet.
Too bad this didn't get shown on Fox/CNN/PBS etc.../sarcasm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.