Posted on 07/24/2007 11:28:17 AM PDT by nuconvert
U.S., Iraq, Iran plan security committee
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA,
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD - The United States, Iran and Iraq have agreed to set up a security subcommittee to carry forward talks on restoring stability in Iraq, the U.S. envoy said Tuesday at the end of a second round of groundbreaking talks with his Iranian counterpart.
"We discussed ways forward, and one of the issues we discussed was the formation of a security subcommittee that would address at an expert or technical level some issues relating to security, be that support for violent militias, al-Qaida or border security," Ambassador Ryan Crocker said after the meeting that included lunch and spanned nearly seven hours.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said experts would meet as early as Wednesday to work out the structure and mechanism of the committee.
"We hope that the next round of talks will be on a higher level if progress is made," he said at a separate news conference after the talks.
But underscoring the rising tensions between the two foes, Crocker reiterated accusations that Iran is fueling the violence in Iraq by arming and training Shiite militias. He warned that no progress could be made unless Iranian actions change on the ground.
"The fact is, as we made very clear in today's talks, that over the roughly two months since our last meeting we've actually seen militia-related activity that could be attributed to Iranian support go up and not down," Crocker said, citing testimony from detainees and weapons and ammunition confiscated in Iraq as evidence.
"We made it clear to the Iranians that we know what they're doing (and) it's up to them to decide what they want to do about it," he said.
For his part, Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi countered that Tehran was helping Iraq deal with the security situation but Iraqis were "victimized by terror and the presence of foreign forces" on their territory.
He said his delegation also demanded the release of five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in Iraq. The United States has said the five were linked to Iran's elite Quds Force, which it has accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. Iran says the five are diplomats who were legally in Iraq.
"There are also Iranian citizens who have been detained on legally entering Iraq. We demanded their release too. We discussed the creation of a mechanism to implement what we achieved in the first round of talks. They (the Americans) acknowledged making mistakes and this is a step forward in itself and it's now up to the Americans to rectify their mistakes," Qomi said.
The meeting was opened by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who issued an impassioned appeal for help from the two nations to stabilize Iraq and warned that militants from al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in Iraq were fleeing and finding refuge elsewhere.
"We are hoping that you support stability in Iraq, an Iraq that doesn't interfere in the affairs of others nor want anyone to meddle in its own affairs," he said, according to excerpts of al-Maliki's remarks released by his office.
"It's Iraq's right to call on everyone to stand beside it to counter the scourge of terror and extremism," he said. "The world ... must stand together and face this dangerous phenomenon and its evils, which have gone beyond the borders of Iraq after terror and al-Qaida groups received strong blows and are now running away from the fight and moving to other nations."
An Iraqi official who was present at the meeting room said Crocker and Qomi were involved in a heated exchange early in the talks.
It began when Crocker confronted the Iranians with charges that Tehran was supporting Shiite militiamen killing U.S. troops, providing them with weapons and training. Qomi dismissed the allegations, saying the Americans had no proof, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to disclose the information.
The detention of four Iranian-Americans in Iran has deepened tensions between Washington and Tehran, whose relations were already strained over Iran's nuclear program and its support for radical militant groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas and by U.S. military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. Washington has called for their release and says the charges are false.
The first round of Iran-U.S. talks, on May 28 in Baghdad, broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran.
Iran had said this second round would happen last month, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S officials delayed because Iran had not scaled back what Washington alleges is a concerted effort to arm militants and harm U.S. troops in Iraq.
Iraq's fragile government has been pressing for another meeting between the two nations with the greatest influence over its future.
Howe Dumb. Who in their right mind would believe anything the Iranians say. They are all dying laughing in Teharan
Insiders now say that Iran figures that the US is going to pull out, regardless. Thus, they don’t take negotiations seriously.
Thank you, US Congress. /s
More on this at strategypage.com.
If it takes just one more argument (whine) from the mouths of the LIB/DEMs then I am all for it.
Rather than sit down at a table with them, we should target their command and control with laser guided munitions until new leaders who have not proven by their very actions what their intent is, come to the fore as a result of the death or maimin of the others, with whom we can then have a rational discussion, and one based on the abject object lesson we would have at that point provided.
The state department and other members of the administrationare insane on this IMHO.
Like I said. It’s for show.
What an absolute crock and rediculous thing to say. If they are sending militia units over to kill our boys, then it is UP TO US to decide what WE are going to do about it. My God, they instead propose to form a committee that includes the very people sending the fighters to kill our troops and to "negotiate"?
This would be laughable, three stooges laughable, if it were not so deadly serious.
It is time we treat these coyotes like the animals nad enemy they are and plant a few LGMs on their heads.
The Iranians have already decided what they are going to do about it. They are sending their own militias to fight against us...and increasing it. It is now time for us to stop screwing around and make them pay a heavy price for it...in blood.
“The Iranians have already decided what they are going to do about it.”
And I think we have to.
that should be “And I think we have too.”
I agree. We have evidence the Revolutionary Guard has hired thugs who directly killed US troops in combat, along with mountains of evidence of US troop death by Iranian made IED’s. Iran declared war on the West almost 30 years ago and only Reagan had some balls to exact payback on their fleet to send the message.
“Talking” at this point should have been cruise missle into an Iranian building one block from Parliment. If deaths continue the entire government center is destroyed along with some power grids, etc. etc. etc. Jeff, your the China expert, I do remember Clinton doing the same thing to the Chinese. Either an insider or drudge mentioned it had something to do with Chinese of shipping missle technology expertise to the North Koreans and breaking a deal with Clinton. Do you remember that?
We are appeasing abject enemies. They are still communists. Dangerously, they have developed an economic system that (to me) is fascist in nature and has allowed them to overcome the failed Stalinist, Maoist, economies. And they are doing it on our backs...and we are allowing it willingly.
China is building up its military rapidly, qualitatively, and across the board and is doing so to ultimately be in a position to confront us. They are in league with our enemies. IMHO, we are building up to a situation that will be an order of magnitude more dangerous than World War II. And we are in the mid-to late 1930s by comparison.
Yes and completely agree with your assessment and understand China’s ties to radical Islam. I believe China will wait until after the Bejjing Olympics, then face their massive market correction they are stalling on. When that occurs they will shut off food aid to North Korea and North attacks South and the conflict spreads regionally, then globally from there as WWIII scenerio. Hell, we are both preaching to the choir to each other and in any event, this is probably already in your books :) My question was more pointed about the ‘stray’ cruise missle (think it was 1999) that hit a Chinese building and if you feel this was a warning shot for China proliferating missle technology. Such a strategy might be a good wake up call for Iran.
It was during the Serbian conflict and we “accidently” bombed their Embassy. In my books, there is a reflection back on that event where it is explained fictionally that that was our “payback” for their helping the Serbians shoot down our Stealth Fighter during that conflict, and an attempt to destroy stealth technology and material that they had taken from the aircraft to ship back to China, but were storing in their embassy...all fictional of course.
I agree. Karl Marx strategy of selling us the rope to hang ourselves comes to mind. Our elite leadership blinded by greed probably sees the big picture but doesn’t care or they don’t see the big picture and are incompetent. Same net result in the end.
Rottweiller, Sheep and Wolf plan security committee.
Criminy, satire practically writes itself these days.
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