Pacification one step closer in Iraq?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Reuters

Report: U.S. in Secret Talks with Iraqi Insurgents

Sun Feb 20, 1:55 PM ET Top Stories - Reuters


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers are conducting secret talks with Iraq (news - web sites)'s Sunni insurgents on ways to end fighting there, Time magazine reported on Sunday, citing Pentagon (news - web sites) and other sources.

The Bush administration has said it would not negotiate with Iraqi fighters and there is no authorized dialogue but the U.S. is having "back-channel" communications with certain insurgents, unidentified Washington and Iraqi sources told the magazine.

The magazine cited a secret meeting between two members of the U.S. military and an Iraqi negotiator, a middle-aged former member of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime and the senior representative of what he called the nationalist insurgency.

A U.S. officer tried to get names of other insurgent leaders while the Iraqi complained the new Shi'ite-dominated government was being controlled by Iran, according to an account of the meeting provided by the Iraqi negotiator.


"We are ready to work with you," the Iraqi negotiator said, according to Time.


Iraqi insurgent leaders not aligned with al Qaeda ally Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi told the magazine several nationalist groups composed of what the Pentagon calls "former regime elements" have become open to negotiating.


The insurgents said their aim was to establish a political identity that can represent disenfranchised Sunnis.


The White House had no immediate comment on the report.


When asked about the contacts, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska, a member of both the Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees, said it was important to "reach out" in Iraq.


"We've got a very complicated and dangerous situation over there and you are going to have to reach out, you are going to have to develop some relationships and networks," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."


Controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi said on Sunday the outcome of any negotiations between insurgents and the U.S. military would not be binding for a new Iraqi government.


"I know nothing about such negotiations. Those negotiations will in no way bind the elected government of Iraq," he said in an interview with ABC's "This Week." "The issue here is not negotiating with the killers who are killing the Iraqi people."

also


AP - Sunnis Seek Place in New Iraqi Government

[Spiffor]

Wow

Maybe the sucess of the elections has actually shown the Sunnis that the past order was gone, and that if they wanted to be present in the new Iraq, they had to play ball.

Like with all other topics that mix the word "diplomacy" and "Iraq", I am very cautious, because there's no way to trust either side not to **** it up, but the mere fact that a backdoor negociation channel is (alledgedly) established is good news. That actually means some Sunnis want to talk, and that some Yanks don't respond by wanting to kill'em all

[DRoseDARs]

Yay, we're turning yet another corner in Iraq...

[alva]

Bleh, beat me to ze punch.

[Sava]

you mean, WE'RE NEGOTIATING WITH TERRORISTS?!?!?!?? OMGOMGOMGOMG BUSH IS TEH APPEASER!!

[Dinner]

It would be nice if they could whittle away the insurgency with a combination of diplomacy and military action. Time will tell if that will happen.

[Dr Strangelove]

Many Sunnis believe that they are the majority in Iraq. Will the insurgents demand the right to appoint the majority of delegates to the national assembly?

[Ramo]

The AMS, publicly, was intransigent as ever in yesterday's conference. Dunno how successful these talks will be, but it's good to see that we're finally trying.

[Patroklos]

What makes you think the insurgents were willing to talk before getting their asses handed to them militarily and politically?

[Ramo]

How does incessant violence, and a successful Sunni Arab election boycott constitute "getting their asses handed to them militarily and politically?"

And who said that I ever thought such talks would be very successful?

[Patroklos]

How does not reaching any of their goals through their violent campaigns, and then realizing after the fact that not only have you alienated yourselves from the rest of your country for no gain, and then on top of that denied yourself the guarunteed seats in a new government that will succeed despite your childish temper tantrum equal anything else but "getting their asses handed to them militarily and politically?"

Successful Sunni Arab election boycott. HA. Priceless. You are correct Ramo, they successfull shot their cause in the head

[Ramo]

No, they shot the moderate Sunni Arabs like Pachachi's and Yawar's cause in the head. The boycott helped to insure that Sunni Arabs wouldn't see themselves represented in the new gov't or the Constitution, adding fuel to the insurgency. They don't want to settle for being a small player in the new gov't, that's the entire point of the insurgency.

[Patroklos]

adding fuel to the insurgency

And dooming their population to living in economic depression and political insignificance for then next few decades at least. Sore damn loser. In any case, the most likely reasons some of the insurgent groups are talking is that they see the wind is blowing, and it isn't their direction.

I am pretty sure theire is a rule about using historic revisionism on history a month old Ramo.

[Ramo]

There's a rule about bringing up non-sequiters completely irrelevent to what you're quoting.

The main reason that the insurgent groups are talking is that we rejected trying to talk with them before. See the influence of Chalabi.

[Patroklos]

The main reason that the insurgent groups are talking is that we rejected trying to talk with them before.

I will give you a chance to edit that to some sort of coherent statement with meaning. It is just a little to easy to pick on that and you normally do better.