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Americans hope that there will be more reform in Kurdistan, but there is a feeling that it is not the job of Americans to bring change. Iraqi Kurds have their own future in their hands, says resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin. He has written several articles about the domestic politics in the Middle-East. Rubin is also a Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School and gave lectures at the Kurdish Universities of Sulaymani, Salahuddin, and Duhok (Iraqi Kurdistan). In the recent years he got a lot of attention for his critical articles in western media aimed...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The United States asked Iraq for permission to keep its troops there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorisation to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said. "It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011. Iraq has the right, if necessary, to extend the presence of these troops," Talabani said in a transcript of an interview with al-Hurra television. ~ snip ~

Iraqi adviser says he quit to speak against Iran BAGHDAD - A former security adviser to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in comments published Tuesday that he had quit his job so he can freely speak about what he called the danger Iran poses in the Middle East. Wafiq al-Samarraie, a Sunni Arab, told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that he wanted to expose the role in Iraq of Iran's elite Quds Force, a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. military has said the Quds Force arms, equips and finances Shiite Muslim militiamen who it says are...

Several members of the Iraqi parliament called on President Jalal Talabani on Friday to apologize for shaking hands with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at Socialist International Conference in Greece on Tuesday. Al Sadr Front MP Ahmad Al Massoudi accused President Talabani of violating the Iraqi law saying the handshake was a slap in the face for the Iraqi people. Ali A Adeeb, Al Dawa party, said the handshake was unacceptable calling on President Talabani to apologize.

President Bush met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani this morning in the Oval Office. (Transcript) President Talabani: I am proud to have the honor of meeting President George Bush, whom we consider the liberator of Iraq from the worst kind of dictatorship, as a great friend of the Iraqi people. Also present for the meeting were Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Later, the President met with United Nations Security Council Representatives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for a discussion on Zimbabwe. (Transcript) President Bush: Friday's elections, you know, appear to be a...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and his US counterpart Georges W Bush are due to meet today in the morning in the White House. Meeting between US and Iraqi presidents was not scheduled on Bush’s agenda until Tuesday night. According to White House Spokesman Gordon Johndroe, security, political and economic developments in Iraq will be discussed during both Presidents’ meeting mainly US-Iraqi pact due between US and Iraq. It is to be noted that Talabani is in the United States for a knee surgery, the President’s Media representative declared.

BEIRUT: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani called on Hizbullah's secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday not to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs. "Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah does not have the right to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs, as we have not interfered in Lebanon's affairs," Talabani said after a large-scale meeting with heads of Iraqi dailies and newspapers. "Iraq is an independent country and is the cradle of civilization. All those preaching Jihad and patriotism have learned from us," he added. "[The Shiite holy city of] Najaf has graduated militants and Shiite clerics, and it is not acceptable that students impose...

Excerpt - The wife of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani escaped a bomb attack on Sunday in central Baghdad, but four of her bodyguards were wounded, security officials said. Her motorcade was passing near the National Theatre in central Baghdad's Karrada district when it was hit by a bomb at around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), Adel Khawis, head of her security told AFP. ~ snip ~

BAGHDAD - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday his landmark visit to Iraq opened a new chapter in "brotherly" relations between the two countries, which were once bitter enemies. Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq. The trip not only highlights his country's growing influence on its Arab neighbor in the post-Saddam Hussein era, but it also serves as an act of defiance toward the U.S., which accuses Iran of training and giving weapons to Shiite extremists in Iraq. The Iranian leader went from Baghdad's airport to a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who gave him a...

<p>Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has blasted the United States for the arrest Thursday of an Iranian and called for his immediate release.</p> <p>The U.S. military said the detainee is a member of an elite Iranian unit that has been accused of training and equipping insurgents in Iraq, but Talabani said he is a civil servant who was on an official trade mission in Iraq's Kurdistan region.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani is ill and has flown to neighboring Jordan for medical treatment, his office said Sunday, adding there was "no cause for worry." The brief statement said only that the 73-year-old Talabani had fallen ill because of "continuing hard work over the past few days." Talabani, a Kurd, appeared in public Saturday in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah where he met with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Massoud Barzani, leader of the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq. In Sulaimaniyah, senior Kurdish politician Barham Saleh said Talabani was on his feet when he headed for...

Sick Iraq leader flown to Jordan Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has been flown to neighbouring Jordan for medical treatment after falling ill. In a statement, the president's office said Mr Talabani, 73, had become ill as a result of "continuing hard work over the past few days." The president's office declined to say what he was suffering from, but said there was "no cause for worry". Mr Talabani, a Kurd, was last seen in public on Saturday in the northern city of Sulaimaniya, AP news agency said.

The local Kurdish media is reporting that four former spies were re-elected to the leadership of the Jalal Talabani’s PUK. Various Kurdish media sources are reporting this story, which has shaken the PUK grassroots organisation and Kurdish society, prompting outrage and statements that both spies and patriots are working together to lead the PUK. According to local reports, Saadi Ahmad Pira, Aso Almani, Mustafa Chawrash and Shalaw Ali Askari were discovered to be working for the former Iraqi regime while acting as high ranking officials within the PUK. Dismay and anger has been the response of many Kurds upon hearing...

Iran, which will be hosting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani this weekend, claims US troops stood idle while "terrorist and savage action" was being committed in Baghdad, news agency IRNA said. Iran "strongly condemns the wave of bombings in the Shiite Sadr City and considers it a terrorist and savage action which was carried out while the American troops were standing idle," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying by the state news agency. "The occupation and the insecurity which emanates from it has caused continual damage to the Iraqi people, and they have no other choice but...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that the US military presence in Iraq keeps neighbors from invading his country. "The American presence has always prevented any kind of foreign invasion to Iraq," Talabani said. "That's one of the main reasons why we think that we need an American presence, even symbolical, in the country to prevent our neighbors attacking us," he said at a forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington think thank. Talabani also said Baghdad could not "further tolerate" neighbors' interference in its internal affairs. "I think that our neighbors must understand that our patience...

ANKARA, Turkey - A Kurdish guerrilla group claimed responsibility for a weekend bomb attack that wounded 17 people in eastern Turkey, a pro-Kurdish news agency reported Monday. The armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, said on its Web site that it was behind Saturday's attack near a police guest house in the eastern city of Igdir, according to the Firat news agency. The group also claimed responsibility for another bombing Saturday that derailed a freight train in southeastern Turkey. Saturday's attacks coincided with complaints by imprisoned rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan about his prison conditions. The attacks also...

WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he would like to have U.S. military bases in his country for an extended period to prevent foreign interference in Iraq, the Washington Post said on Monday. Talabani was asked in an interview in New York last week if U.S. bases would be welcome in Iraq's Kurdistan region. "Yes, they are welcome," he said. "Kurdistan wants the Americans to stay. In some places Sunnis want the Americans to stay. Sunnis think the main danger is coming from Iran now. There is a change in the mind of the Sunnis. The...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2006 – The Iraqi government is ready to send whatever number of troops is needed to help secure Baghdad, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said today. “The commander and chief of the Iraqi army can move the units of Iraqi army from different parts of Iraq to Baghdad,” Talabani told CNN’s John King, who was sitting in for Wolf Blitzer on “Late Edition.” “Of course our capital is Baghdad, and we are much interested to secure (it).” This would help satisfy U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James Thurman’s recent statement that an additional six battalions of Iraqi soldiers, or...

Dear Americans, As I am visiting the United States for the second time representing free and democratic Iraq, I felt it my duty to give you an update on what has been achieved in Iraq over the past year and on the challenges that lie ahead. The first thing I would like to convey is the gratitude of all Iraqis, who are fighting for a democratic government and a civil society, to the Americans. Without your commitment, our struggle against despotism could not have made the progress that we have achieved. No expression of thanks could be enough for...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani traveled to New York this week for the opening of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly. In a letter to the people of the United States, Talabani describes Iraq’s security situation, challenges and progress, and his country’s special relationship with the U.S. “Dear Americans, As I am visiting the United States for the second time representing free and democratic Iraq, I felt it my duty to give you an update on what has been achieved in Iraq over the past year and on the challenges that lie ahead. The first thing I would...

WASHINGTON — While it’s up to the Iraqi government to make the tough decisions as the country continues its progress, the Iraqi people can continue to count on the United States for help, President Bush said in New York yesterday. Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani spoke with reporters after a bilateral meeting. While praising the Iraqi people for their courage, Bush acknowledged the road ahead is difficult. “These are tough times,” he said. “There's still violence in your midst because extremists want to stop the advance of a free society.” Bush said he and Talabani discussed the way ahead...

Iraq's president appealed for national unity and the renunciation of sectarian violence ahead of a parliament meeting set for Wednesday, saying he had met with Sunni Arab insurgent leaders and observed a "great change" in their war aims. The insurgents "do not think that the Americans are the main enemy," President Jalal Talabani said in an interview on al-Hurra television Tuesday night. "They feel threatened by what they call the 'Iranian threat.' " He referred to the insurgents' fear of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, which many Sunnis believe is dominated by the neighboring Shiite theocracy in Iran. Despite their worries...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani met with representatives of seven armed groups and is optimistic they may agree to lay down their weapons, his office said Sunday. It was the first time a senior Iraqi official has acknowledged talks with insurgents. However, Talabani did not identify the groups or specify when and where the meeting took place. The spokesman of one major insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, said his organization had not taken part in such a meeting. Last year Talabani offered to talk with insurgents but it was unclear if any took up the offer. U.S....

President Jalal Talabani met recently with representatives of armed groups and is optimistic they may agree to lay down their weapons, his office said Sunday. "I think we may reach an agreement with seven armed groups that visited me and I met with them," his office said in a statement, without indicating when the meeting took place. It was the first time a senior Iraqi official has acknowledged meeting with figures from the insurgency, although U.S. officials have said privately they have conferred directly with Iraqis who claimed to have contacts with insurgents.

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq - After months of political deadlock, Iraq's parliament convened Saturday and filled top leadership posts, starting the process of putting together a new government aimed at pulling the country out of insurgency and sectarian strife.</p> <p>President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, was elected to a second term, and the post of parliament speaker went to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab. Al-Mashhadani's two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.</p>

Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, believes the power of a centralized government in Baghdad should be "lessened," and that more autonomy should be given to the 18 provinces that comprise Iraq. It’s a relatively new concept, the younger Talabani told an audience at the University of South Carolina, last week. It is an idea that will put his country on a governing fast-forward, and one in which Iraq’s neighbors are watching with particular interest, perhaps even concern.

Talabani: War-torn Iraq can learn from Poland Apr 6, 2006, 12:17 GMT Warsaw/Baghdad - Poland's conservative President Lech Kaczynski began a surprise visit to Iraq Thursday in talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, whom he officially invited to visit Poland this fall, according to Polish media reports. 'Poland is a great country with a thousand years of history, which survived many wars and destruction,' Talabani said, as quoted by the Polish PAP news agency. 'Today we are in a similar moment and we can learn a lot from Poland,' said the Iraqi leader following the 40-minute meeting with Kaczynski. 'Our...

Iraq's president issued a highly optimistic report Friday on progress among politicians trying to hammer out the shape of a new unity government. At least 51 more people, including two U.S. soldiers, were reported dead in rampant violence. President Jalal Talabani said the government could be in place for parliamentary approval by the end of the month, though he acknowledged "I am usually a very optimistic person." He spoke to reporters after a fifth round of multiparty talks among the country's polarized political factions. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad brokered the sessions, with the Bush administration applying extreme pressure on Iraqi...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - President Jalal Talabani on Saturday underscored the need for a unity government in Iraq after a spasm of sectarian killing and said he had been assured U.S. forces would remain in the country as long as needed - ``no matter what the period.'' His comments came after a bomb exploded at a minibus terminal during morning rush hour in a southeastern Baghdad suburb, killing seven people and wounding 25, one of a string of explosions in the capital and elsewhere. The violence shattered the relative calm brought by Fridays' driving ban in Baghdad and its outskirts,...

<p>BASRA, Iraq (AP) - Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed ``Chemical Ali'' by opponents of the Iraqi regime for ordering a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds, has been found dead, a British officer said Monday.</p> <p>Maj. Andrew Jackson of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment told The Associated Press that his superiors had confirmed the death of the man who is also President Saddam Hussein's first cousin.</p> <p>Jackson said the body was found along with that of his bodyguard and the head of Iraqi intelligence services in Basra.</p>

Saddam's nephew finds sanctuary in Syria By Con Coughlin in Baghdad (Filed: 18/05/2003) A leading member of Saddam Hussein's family has been discovered living in Damascus under the protection of the Syrian government after fleeing Iraq last week, The Telegraph can reveal. Fatiq al-Majid, one of Saddam's nephews, entered Syria last Monday after leaving Iraq at the al-Rabie'a checkpoint, which is under the control of American troops. Majid was given a Syrian visa and made his way to Damascus, where he is now living in exile. Majid confirmed his presence in Damascus when contacted by telephone by The Telegraph last...

A MASS grave containing the bodies of 22 people believed to have been killed during a failed Shiite uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991 has been found near one of Iraq's holiest cities, security officials said overnight. The discovery was revealed as Iraq remained shrouded in political uncertainty following the December election, with Sunni Arab leaders angry over a decision to annul less than 1 per cent of the votes because of fraud, although they did not rule out taking part in the new government. At least 12 people were killed in attacks across the country, including seven workers slain...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY As is their custom when in Washington on a weekend, the President and First Lady attended St. Johns Episcopal Church this morning. The President will address the nation this evening from the Oval Office. In the meantime, Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq on the first leg of his Middle Eastern trip. QUOTE OF THE DAY: From the Vice President's remarks to the troops at Al-Asad Air Base, Al-Asad, Iraq, Sunday, December 18, 2005. (Click here to read the entire transcript.) THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not Jessica Simpson. (Laughter.) But...

From AFX via Forbes: TEHRAN - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani wrapped up a landmark visit to neighbouring Iran today, saying he had won promises of support for his bid to end the insurgency ravaging his country. 'Iran is interested in our security just as it is interested in its own security. We should use all means to establish security in Iraq,' Talabani said as he was seen off by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Talabani is the first Iraqi head of state to visit Iran since the late 1960s. He said he had received pledges of support in his closed-door talks...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met Thursday with Pope Benedict XVI amid tight security that closed down the main boulevard leading to the Vatican.Talabani is on a weeklong visit to Italy and has met with the country's top officials, including Premier Silvio Berlusconi.Benedict met with Iraq's foreign minister in August and discussed religious freedom in Iraq and the country's constitution.The Vatican has expressed concern about Iraq's constitution, fearing that any legal system based on Islamic law might not guarantee the rights of religious minorities.Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after his Aug. 25 meeting with the pope that he had sought to...

EVENTS OF recent weeks have reaffirmed the need for the alliance between the new Iraq and Britain. The lesson of the ghastly drumbeat of terrorism, the rioting in Basra and the vile murder of the leadership of the Iraqi Anglican Church is that the battle of Iraq cannot be won by retreat or compromise, but by the vision and determination for which Britain is renowned. Above all, Britain owes no apology for delivering the enslaved people of Iraq from the hands of a callous tyranny. The challenge is to show fortitude in the face of horror so that we can...

KIRKUK, Iraq - Iraq's Kurdish president called on the country's Shiite prime minister to step down, the president's spokesman said Sunday, escalating a political split between the two factions that make up the government. President Jalal Talabani has accused the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance, which holds the majority in parliament, of monopolizing power in the government and refusing to move ahead on a key issue for Kurds, the resettlement of Kurds in the northern city of Kirkuk. "The time has come for the United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdistan coalition to study Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's stepping aside from his...

BAGHDAD--There is no more important international issue today than the need to defeat the curse of terrorism. And as the first democratically elected president of Iraq, I have a responsibility to ensure that the world's youngest democracy survives the inherently difficult transition from totalitarianism to pluralism. A transformation of the Iraqi state and Iraqi society is impossible without a sustained commitment of soldiers from the United States and other democracies.

Without American forces, the vision of American leadership and the quiet fortitude of the American people, Iraqis would be almost alone in the world. With its allies, the United States has provided Iraqis with an unprecedented opportunity. Iraqis have responded by enthusiastically embracing democracy and volunteering to fight for their country. By giving us the tools, your troops help us to defend Iraqi democracy and to finish the job of uprooting Baathist fascism.

Please don't leave before the job is done. BAGHDAD--There is no more important international issue today than the need to defeat the curse of terrorism. And as the first democratically elected president of Iraq, I have a responsibility to ensure that the world's youngest democracy survives the inherently difficult transition from totalitarianism to pluralism. A transformation of the Iraqi state and Iraqi society is impossible without a sustained commitment of soldiers from the United States and other democracies. Americans should be proud of what its soldiers have achieved. The presence of foreign forces has prevented a renewed civil war in...

ANOTHER terrible suicide attack on civilians in Baghdad and, of course, it's yet more proof US President George W. Bush is a bloody bungler. You saw footage of this latest Iraqi carnage on Wednesday, just as Bush took responsibility for mistakes back home in responding to Hurricane Katrina. Can you doubt the man's a natural disaster himself? After all, media reports seem unanimous in declaring Iraq a monument to his astonishing incompetence. Indeed, what could there possibly be to say about Iraq in Bush's defence? Well, plenty. But as democratic Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, has found, the media isn't...

...There are good reasons to believe the current operation in Tal Afar -- a largely Turkoman city near the Syrian border -- will be a model of things to come. Previous attempts to clean the terrorists out of Tal Afar and other cities in northern and western Iraq have too often seen the insurgents melt away only to return when the U.S. spearhead withdrew. This time Iraqis are leading the fight and, most important, many will stay so the people of Tal Afar can begin to believe they can live free of terrorist intimidation. As of last night, a force...

On Tuesday September 13, there was a momentous press conference at the White House. President Bush and Iraqi President Talabani, fresh from a private meeting, stepped up to the microphones to deliver their statements to the waiting media. Luckily, the Roberts Confirmation Hearings were on break when the statements began so the news networks shifted the coverage. President Bush reiterated our commitment to finishing the job in Iraq. He told the media “America will always be proud that we led the armies of liberation.” President Bush vowed to bring the troops home but sadly for the liberal media, he did...

I hope that we can get a transcript of Talabani's remarks. He repeated over and over "Thank you President Bush" with tears in his eyes. Gave me chills and made me so proud!

Sep 13 2005 11:38AM Jalal Talabani: Russia must reexamine its policies toward today's Iraq 13 September. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has urged Russia to become a friend of the current Iraqi authorities and linked this to prospects for Russian companies' return to the Iraqi market. "Russia's current policy [regarding Iraq] is not a realistic policy. I would say this position conveys a rather unfriendly look," Talabani said in an interview with Interfax. "Russian companies must understand that if their government does not pursue a consistent policy towards Iraq they will not be able to return [to the Iraqi market.] Only...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has accused Russia of pursuing an unfriendly policy toward his country. He has also openly stated that, if that policy does not change, Russian companies will have no place in Iraq. Talabani made those statements in an interview with Interfax correspondent Nikolay Kudryashov especially for Kommersant.Three years ago, when you were the chairman of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, you said that Russia was making a big mistake by placing all its eggs in one basket when it supported the regime of Saddam Hussein. How do you evaluate the current policy of Russia toward Iraq?I think...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2005 – Iraq's president today thanked "all the brave American Army" for its sacrifices and losses in liberating Iraq and said his country mourns the loss of American lives in exchange for Iraq's freedom. "We owe to those American heroes who came to liberate us from the worst kind of dictatorship," Jalal Talabani said at the Pentagon after meeting with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and other officials. "Thanks to your brave Army, now Iraqi people (are free)," he said, adding that for the first time Iraqis have freedom of expression,...

Talabani won't sign Saddam death sentence Sun Aug 28, 2:56 PM ET AFP/IST-HO/File Photo: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks that he would not sign a death sentence against his ousted predecessor Saddam Hussein even if it costs him his job. "Once his (Saddam's) interrogation is over, he will go before a tribunal," Talabani told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel in an interview. Should a death sentence be issued against the former dictator, "I will not sign it," he said. "I am a man of principles. I cannot forego my principles for the sake of my post. If there is...

BAGHDAD, July 13 (KUNA) -- Iraqi president Jalal Talabani called on Wednesday for a speedy rebuilding of Iraqi forces capable of shouldering the responsibility of safeguarding the nation's security and stability. The fact that the Iraqi forces are ready will pave way for the departure of the US-led coalition forces, Talabani was quoted by a statement while meeting the Iraqi army chief of staff General BaBaker Zebari. Zebari briefed Tabalani about the process of the reconstruction of the armed forces to reach a very qualified level.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the deadly explosions that hit London prove that terrorism is an global plague that can strike anywhere. "What is happening in Iraq can happen in any country," Talabani -- whose country is the scene of daily insurgent bombings -- told reporters following attacks on London's public transport earlier in the day. "I'm telling my Arab brothers that terrorism today in Iraq will tomorrow affect other Arab countries, as has already happened in Yemen and Saudi Arabia," he also warned on Thursday. Iraq's government is seeking support from Arab neighbours in its fight...