A Soldier from the 101st Airborne Division and Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division work together to secure the streets of Baghdad. Department of Defense photo by Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney.
Posted on 08/27/2006 10:50:38 AM PDT by mdittmar
BAGHDAD — In a speech to hundreds of tribal leaders on Saturday during the first of four planned national unity conferences, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged the attendees to come together to end the sectarian violence that has plagued the capital city.
"Iraq needs all of its sons during this stage,” the prime minister said during the meeting. “There is no difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites.”
According to an Associated Press report, al-Maliki urged the tribes to commit to a national reconciliation plan to end sectarian strife and terrorism.
“The national reconciliation is a wide door, open to all those who want to take part in rebuilding the country," said the prime minister.
Pointing to the entrenched role of its tribes in Iraq’s culture and history, al-Maliki invoked their potential to represent social solidarity in the face of terrorists, instigators of sectarian discord and infiltrators through borders.
"Liberating the country from any foreign existence and controlling the enemies can't be achieved without a real national unity among Iraqis and this is the role for our tribes," al-Maliki said.
According to the AP report, the unity conferences were envisioned to help heal the deep divisions between the country's major sects. In a Government of Iraq press release, al-Maliki said he was also promoting reconciliation so that no Iraqi citizen would be excluded.
According to Iraqi government officials, reconciliation doesn’t mean ending differences among Iraqis by force, but through dialogue and the rejection of violence.
“Terror aims to disrupt a united Iraq and destroy the state,” added al-Maliki. “Liberating Iraq from foreign influence will not be done without national unity.”
During his speech, al-Maliki called on Iraq’s Arab neighbors to actively stand against terrorism.
“Our country is going through hard times awaiting assistance from brother Arabs to confront terrorists, he said.
The prime minister also delivered a message for the terrorists themselves, warning he would not allow them to make Iraq a passageway for terrorist movements or a center of their activities. Rather, al-Maliki said, Iraq would be a place of their tombs.
“We are capable of taking part in a comprehensive war against terrorists and dealing harmful blows to them,” he said. “He lives in imagination who thinks he can come back to power from the former regime.”
The prime minister’s strong words appeared well received. According to a separate news report, the tribal chiefs in attendance “pledged to work hard to stop the bloodletting and sectarian killings that have gripped Iraq.”
Meanwhile, in Washington, Iraq's Deputy President Adil Abd al-Mahdi met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon on Friday to further discuss Iraq’s country’s commitment to reconciliation.
Following a meeting at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld and al-Mahdi spoke with reporters about progress in Iraq. The secretary praised the work of Iraqi security forces, which he said now number more than 267,000. He said there has been a reduction in the levels of violence, particularly in areas U.S. and Iraqi forces have been able to clear.
In spite of the gains in security, Rumsfeld stressed the Iraqi people and their government hold the key to long-term stability and security.
"The important thing is for the Iraqi government to achieve success with respect to their reconciliation process," he said. "This is not purely a military problem, and it is not going to be solved purely by military forces."
Rumsfeld said the Iraqi government is committed to achieving reconciliation among various groups.
"Admittedly, it is a lot easier to talk about it than to do it," he said. "It's been done in other countries. I believe it can be achieved here. They're going to have to work very hard on it, and it's going to take some time, but it is a process, not an event."
Al-Mahdi said the process is taking place. The national unity government of Iraq has both a working reconciliation plan and a good plan to secure Baghdad, two steps that counter those who would push Iraq toward a civil war, he said.
"At least 20 of the groups are dialoguing now with the government," he said. "We have to see the results. We have to see the impact of this. We are optimistic."
The Iraqi government is open to proposals from those willing to put their arms aside and find a solution, al-Mahdi said, but government forces will continue to put pressure on insurgents and terrorists.
"The government is stronger than ever," he said. "Our armed forces are getting much better than before in number, in quality, in operations. They are leading operations now."
Al-Mahdi said seventy percent of Iraq is now stable and secure, which makes the Iraqi people "fully optimistic" about their future.
"The Iraqi people think that there is no other issue but victory in Iraq," he said. "The Iraqi people can't leave the country. There is no withdrawal for the Iraqi people. The multi-national forces are supporting Iraqi people and will continue to support and have the sympathy of Iraqis."
According to an AP report, Rumsfeld also said the presence of several thousand extra U.S. troops in Baghdad in recent weeks has shown that sectarian violence can be quelled by force of arms.
The secretary said a conversation he had with Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, about events in Baghdad, reinforced his impression that since late July the extra efforts in Baghdad have been successful “in the sense that we're seeing a reduction in the levels of violence and in the numbers of attacks."
"There ... is no question but that you can go in and clear out an area and achieve a reduction in violence, and the test is not that," Rumsfeld said. "The test is what happens thereafter."
I'd like to see the Bush Admin beat the drum on this great news.
This is not being reported in the LameStreamMedia by the Presstitutes.
They are,and have been,but the old media has a different agenda,an anti-America agenda.
It's up to places like Free Republic to get the message out.
You can go to sites like DefendAmerica,
MNF-Iraq,Blackanthem Military News etc.
We don't need the old media,walter cronkite and dan rather can kiss my A$$.
As we all know on this forum, Big Media and the rest of the lib elite is devoutly hoping for failure in Iraq. That a failure in Iraq will cause great harm to the security of their own country and the rest of western civilization bothers them not one bit. So we won't see any cheerleading from the usual suspects. They have a vested interest in failure for powers sake... no matter how short the time before the crocodile eats them.
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