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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...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's Kurdish president backed his Shiite allies Wednesday by openly supporting a militia that Sunni Arab leaders have accused of killing members of their minority. Clashes in Baghdad and other attacks around Iraq killed at least eight people as the Sunni-dominated insurgency pressed on with its campaign against the Shiite-led government. The bloody wave of violence that broke out after the April 28 announcement of Iraq's new Shiite and Kurdish dominated government has killed more than 874 people. During the spree, more than 10 Sunni and Shiite clerics have been killed in apparent tit-for-tat slayings that raised...

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II vowed Saturday to do all he can to "quash" terrorists targeting neighboring Iraq as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani made his first foreign visit since becoming president last month. The Iraqi leader's visit to Amman marked an improvement in relations between the two neighboring countries. The ties deteriorated after a Feb. 28 suicide bombing south of Baghdad that killed 125 people was erroneously blamed on a Jordanian. The two leaders met for 25 minutes at a hilltop palace, and Abdullah told Talabani that he will return Jordan's ambassador to Baghdad - a move...

Through their democratically elected representatives, the people of Iraq have entrusted me with the office of the presidency. After 50 years of political struggle against discrimination and dictatorship, this is a grand honor and a humbling moment. As we look ahead to a new Iraq based on tolerance and equality, federalism and unity, democracy and freedom, we remember those whose sacrifice made this possible -- Iraqis, Americans, Britons, Poles, Italians, Czechs and so many others from around the world. 'snip' The choice of peace or war lies not with the Iraqis who ignored terrorism and intimidation to vote in their...

Iraq's new president Jalal Talabani has restated his support for a continued US and Australian military presence in Iraq, one day after large demonstrations by supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demanded US troops leave the country. "I think we are in great need to have American and other allied forces in Iraq until we will be able to rebuild our military forces," Mr Talabani told CNN. Branding Sadr a "criminal" who should be arrested, Mr Talabani said he opposed setting a timetable for the US military's exit from the country. Mr Talabani, an Iraqi Kurd who was elected president...

Iraq's new president Jalal Talabani restated his support for a continued US military presence in Iraq, one day after large demonstrations by supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demanded US troops leave the country. "I think we are in great need to have American and other allied forces in Iraq until we will be able to rebuild our military forces," Talabani told the CNN news program Late Edition. Branding Sadr a "criminal" who should be arrested, Talabani said he opposed setting a timetable for the US military's exit from the country. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Sadr's followers marched...

Zarqawi 'rejects amnesty offer'   Zarqawi is Iraq's most wanted insurgent A militant group led by Jordanian rebel Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has rejected a call from the new Iraqi president to lay down its arms.President Jalal Talabani was an agent of the US, it said, and he would never be forgiven for his "infidelity" and "spilling of the blood of Muslims". The statement, which could not be verified, was posted on a website used by Islamist militants. Mr Talabani had said that some insurgents could be offered an amnesty. Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted rebel, has claimed responsibility for many...