Posted on 12/01/2006 8:22:30 PM PST by TexKat
Mullah Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a top Iraqi Shiite leader with close ties to Iran, will meet with President Bush next week, the White House confirmed Friday. Mullah leads the powerful Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, a rival group to the political movement led by firebrand Shiite mullah Muqtada al-Sadr.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the meeting was set for Monday.
"President Bush looks forward to an exchange of views and a discussion of important issues facing Iraq today," Johndroe said.
Also, a senior administration official said Bush will meet with a Sunni leader -- Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi -- in January at the White House.
The visits come against a backdrop of deadly Sunni-Shiite sectarian warfare in Iraq that has led some observers to say a civil war has engulfed the country.
Bush returned from a summit Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan focusing on the deteriorating security situation.
Al-Hakim and Bush will discuss the political crisis in Iraq, said mullah's aide, Haitham Husseini.
If your 'title' starts with mullah you get locked up. Consider releasing your demented a$$ later but...
High level negotiations between arab regimes of Iran and Iraq
Dec 1, 2006
Negotiations between the arab regimes of Iran and Iraq headed by both sides, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Jalal Talabani were held. In this meeting Iran's arab-parast President while insisting that an independent and powerful Iraq was to the benefit of the region, noted that the Islamic Republic was ready to transfer all its experiences in all fields to Iraq.
"Without doubt the hard days will end for the Iraqi nation and enemies will not profit from their acts," Ahmadinejad added.
Talabani on his part while forwarding his appreciation, because of the warm Iranian welcome, commented that this time as before the Iraqi nation would prevail.
"I assure you that the nation of Iraq as they have before through the aid and help of their Iranian brothers, will prevail," said Iraq's President.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_19217.shtml
Iran arab-parast president issue "$1 billion Line of Credit" to Iraq
Dec 1, 2006
...plus "hundreds of millions of dollars" worth of no-bid contracts and trade pacts for Iraqi reconstruction...
Iran's arab-parast president reached out to Iraq by giving the Baghdad government a $1 billion line of credit. The financial arrangements were revealed on the third and final day of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's meetings with Iran's mullahs. Ahmadinejad made clear that Iran would support Iraq's government in setting a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in Tehran, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that in addition to the line of credit, Ahmadinejad and Talabani had signed "hundreds of millions of dollars" worth of no-bid contracts and trade pacts for Iraqi reconstruction. Under the agreements, Iran will help rebuild schools, hospitals, pipelines and power plants.
Mullahs' gestures underscored its deep religious bond with its Shiite-majority arab neighbor. Ahmadinejad said that he invited Talabani to Tehran this week to explore possible ways to bring calm to Iraq but end up handing over 'billions of dollars' of Iran's national treasure.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_19220.shtml
Hey,TK,,,,How damn many moolass have they got anyway,? ;0)
If you say allaha akbar 3 times then you are deamed a moolass.
Everybody's been screaming for the Pres to meet with these people .. and now that he is .. they're still whining.
As usual!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ALLAH~~~ALLAH~~~FUBAR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!
(rag on head,,jumpin' up-n-down shootin' off the gun)
Now I git to issue Fat-Wars,?...LOL;0)
This one is the top dawg of the Shiites, the SCIRI; also met with Abdullah in Jordan this past week. Posted on the MELDT thread too.
Iran is not an Arab country!
That's where I saw that (Duh),,;0)
I don't know who's whining, but I think it's all very interesting. There have been a lot of unusual meetings this past week and, now, going into next week and next month*. This may produce some fresh approaches, and "movement," in Iraq.
*President Bush will also receive a the Sunni vice president of Iraq in January.
I think this is great. I think they need to meet GW first hand and see his fierce commitment to Iraq being a success. Maybe if some of the other leaders within Iraq get ahold of that idea - it could help to smooth out some of the issues.
I'm just praying for that to be the case.
Praying as well.
They might be getting a bit tired of all the killing and dying.
psssst, Bush is meeting with these guys because he is willing to compromise with them. His "fierce committment to Iraq" is crumbling faster than a Mexican can run over the U.S. border and yell "Amnesty for all".
I don't agree with you!
I saw that, too. But notice they said "Arab regimes" and "Iran's Arab-parast President". I've seen anti-mullah Iranians refer to the leadership as "Arabs" or "Arabist" as a term of derision and contempt.
You are correct, and arab-parast means arab worshiping. Iranians think of of arabs as invaders and pillagers of their land and culture. Nothing riles Iranians more than being called arabs.
I'm Wolf Blitzer.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Right now pondering the path toward peace, as many debate the best ways to put Iraq's worst days behind it. There are fresh reports regarding what the Iraq Study Group will recommend next week. It involves a goal of bringing thousands of U.S. troops from Iraq home.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre is standing by with the latest details -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reaction from Pentagon officials, Wolf, is that a plan to gradually withdrawal U.S. troops based on conditions on the ground sounds a lot like what the Pentagon is doing now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The Iraq Study Group reportedly will advocate an ambitious goal of bringing as many as 70,000 U.S. troops home by early 2008, by shifting American forces out of combat and into support roles and redoubling efforts to train Iraqi troops to take their place.
MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL DIVISION- NORTH: I think it certainly reflects what we're going now.
MCINTYRE: Major General Benjamin Mixon commands troops in northern Iraq and he's using the proposed strategy already, increasing the number of U.S. trainers in his area of Iraq from 2,000 to 4,000 and forecasting that in the next three to six months, Iraqi forces will take complete control in six northern provinces, which, in turn, will allow for substantial U.S. troop readiness.
MIXON: I can certainly see a great opportunity to reduce the amount of combat forces on the ground in Multinational Division-North.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon has no problem with the call for quickly cutting the size of the U.S. force in Iraq by half in as little as 16 months, so long as it's at the discretion of military commanders. The incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee thinks the Study Group recommendations will go much farther, calling for a partial U.S. pullout whether or not Iraqi troops are ready for the Americans to go.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: And this would represent some significant pressure, finally, on the Iraqis, to face the reality, which is that they must achieve a political settlement and that there is no military solution that can work unless they achieve a political settlement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials say there's nothing wrong with calling for deep troop cuts, so long as it's based on reality and not just wishful thinking. And they say it's unlikely that President Bush would approve any plan if U.S. commanders believe it will lead to more chaos in Iraq -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre.
What a story this has become.
Thank you for that.
And many are anxious for anything that may speed Iraq toward more stability and less slaughter on the streets. Yet whatever the Iraq Study Group may recommend, some feel the time to fix what's happening there may have long since passed.
Joining us now, our correspondent in Baghdad, Nic Robertson -- Nic, you're there. You're on the ground. You're meeting with top Iraqi leaders right now.
Give us a sense how desperate their mood might be.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, there's real concern, Wolf.
They were hoping that Prime Minister Maliki's visit with President Bush in Jordan would produce, perhaps, some changes, something new.
That hasn't happened. Clearly, a lot of politicians here now see the pressure being on Prime Minister Maliki to deal with Muqtada al- Sadr, the firebrand Shia cleric, deal with his large, unruly Mahdi Militia, who are accused, in some cases, of being part of the death squads killing people here in Iraq.
He is under pressure to deal with them, to disarm them. And a lot of the politicians here say that is impossible for Prime Minister Maliki to do. His power base is built on Muqtada al-Sadr, built on these people. Some people very senior in the government here now believe it is time for a change of -- in the government at this time. They don't believe that Prime Minister Maliki can last a lot longer.
There is, of course, support for the prime minister, support for him if he's going to push ahead with this. Certainly, that is what we've been hearing from the United States side, President Bush saying he will give Prime Minister Maliki all the support he can have. We've heard about additional troops being moved to Baghdad to help support the Iraqi government, to help support Prime Minister Maliki.
But the wide and broad assessment here among the leadership of politicians is that this is a very challenging job and one perhaps, perhaps, that Mr. Maliki can't achieve -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And there are some analysts here in Washington who are telling me, Nic, that events on the ground seem to be spiraling out of control and irrespective of whatever recommendations the Iraq Study Group comes up with, any specific military steps the U.S. may make, it might be a case of too little too late.
ROBERTSON: The rationale here is that that is very possibly the case, that whatever the Study Group has envisioned for Iraq may be coming too late, maybe because they began their study earlier this year, that events have changed so much over the last six or seven months.
But the real -- the real concern is, is that the pressure that's being put on this government is a load that it can't bear. That Muqtada al-Sadr's militia -- to go back to that issue -- has grown so large in the past year, since the time when the Study Group began its study, that it's too hard to disarm and disable, despite everyone's best efforts.
Politically they can be -- the radical elements in it can be isolated, that perhaps Muqtada al-Sadr can still be brought on board. But you still have to deal with all those armed militants with the weapons -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic, be careful over there.
Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thank you.
And amid all of this, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command is staying focused on the military mission in Iraq.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is traveling with General John Abizaid and has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're traveling with General John Abizaid in Iraq, but tonight, due to security concerns, we cannot say our exact location.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): On his way into Iraq, General John Abizaid huddles with his advisers, reviewing the latest information about the sectarian violence that is tearing this country apart. He strongly believes that the violence in Iraq cannot be dealt with in isolation, that Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran's growing backing of insurgent groups both pose threats the U.S. must deal with, while it continues to fight in Iraq.
And Abizaid dismisses any talk that the U.S. military is ready to abandon its efforts in the most violent areas of western Iraq's Al Anbar Province.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We have to put our priorities on where our operations need to be, just like any military force. But the only people that are writing this country off seem to be people that are uniformed and really haven't studied the situation.
STARR: Abizaid arrives here just days before the Iraq Study Group is scheduled to make its recommendations. Here on the ground, there is growing anticipation that President Bush will now order an accelerated turn over of security to the Iraqis.
But there is no that turn over in Al Anbar and in Baghdad is months away. Baghdad, for now, remains the central front in this war. More U.S. troops may be headed to the capital in the days ahead.
Abizaid is taking a long-term view.
ABIZAID: You can't do all things at all times, but you can have an effort. You can stabilize the country. You can improve the Iraqi security forces over time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: General Abizaid is determined to stay out of the political fray and continue to focus on the military strategy for Iraq -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr doing some exclusive reporting for us. Thank you.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/01/sitroom.02.html
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