President Bush, right, is welcomed by Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the multinational forces in Iraq, as he arrives at Al-Asad Airbase in Anbar province, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 3, 2007.
Posted on 09/03/2007 11:03:37 PM PDT by George - the Other
She's too clever, I think, for her own good. We're assuming that the leftists will just fall in and support her, but they have a hardcore which COULD, as ours did, stay home just enough to let their side lose.
http://www.cmi.fi/files/Helsinki_agreement_English.pdf
Helsinki Agreement
Representatives of Iraqi parties and blocs held discussions in Finland from August 31
through September 3, 2007 and agreed to consult further on the following
recommendations to start negotiations to reach national reconciliation:
1. To resolve all political issues through non-violence and democracy.
2. To prohibit the use of arms for all armed groups during the process of
negotiations.
3. To form an independent commission approved by all parties, its task being to
supervise the process of disarmament of non-governmental armed groups in a
verifiable manner.
4. All parties will commit to accept the results of the negotiations and no party
can be subject to a threat of force from any groups that reject all or part of any
agreement reached.
5. To work to end international and regional interference in internal Iraqi affairs.
6. To commit to protect human rights.
7. To assure the independence and efficiency of the legal and justice systems,
especially the constitutional court.
8. To ensure the full participation of all Iraqi parties and blocs in the political
process and agreed governance arrangements.
9. To take all necessary steps to end all violence, killings, forced displacement
and any further damage to infrastructure.
10. To establish an independent consultative body to explore ways to deal with the
legacy of the past in a way that will unite the nation.
11. All Iraqi parties and blocs have to build Iraq and contribute efficiently to
support all the efforts that would make the political process and Iraqi unity
successful and to preserve its sovereignty.
12. All participating groups must commit to all of the principles listed here as a
complete system of rules.
Political Objectives:
1- To be rational in political speeches, for the national interest, and to move away
from sectarian and ethnic dispute.
2- To bring an end to the displacement of Iraqi people and work to take care of those
displaced, and secure their safe return, with guarantees of their safety by the national
forces in co-operation with political parties and tribal leaders.
3- To deal with the subject of militias under the following procedures:
A- Arming, supplying, training and making sure that the security forces (army/police)
are capable of undertaking their duties efficiently. Make sure that the security forces
are equipped to adequate levels to achieve an effective national force.
B- Activation of economic development across the country, to contain youth
unemployment and use the efforts of young people to rebuild in order to improve the
quality of life for all citizens.
C- Those working outside the law and using military resources inappropriately shall
be brought to justice, with no differentiation.
4- The emphasis on the common vision for all Iraqi political entities on the
importance of termination of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq through the
completion of national sovereignty and rebuilding a national army and security
apparatus according to a national vision within a realistic timetable.
5- An emphasis on the continuation of constructive dialogue between different
political groups aiming to fulfill national goals.
6- To convince political groups that are currently outside the political process to
initiate and activate a constructive dialogue to reach common understandings.
7- To deal with armed groups which are not classified as terrorist, encouraging them
to use peaceful political means to address the conflict and to provide their members
with jobs and opportunities within state administrations.
8- Working towards correcting the misunderstanding that accompanied the political
process and encourage all Iraqi political parties to participate in building Iraq in all
aspects.
9- The cessation of the violation of the human rights of Iraqi citizens and their
properties by continuous bombardment and military actions by foreign forces. The
Iraqi government must take responsibility to protect innocent civilians.
END
So much for the left’s “Iraqi Civil War.”
Next, Al Qaeda and other loosley affiliated groups? Ny bets the Democrats will find something unsavory about this tomorrow?
President Bush, right, is welcomed by Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the multinational forces in Iraq, as he arrives at Al-Asad Airbase in Anbar province, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 3, 2007.
http://www.pr-inside.com/iraq-parties-meeting-in-finland-agree-r218785.htm
this article has more detail. From AP:
...The agreement called for all parties to be involved in the reconciliation process and to accept the results of the negotiations while working «to end international and regional interference» in Iraq.
Political objectives agreed to included moving away from sectarian and ethnic disputes, ending the displacement of Iraqi refugees, and terminating the presence of foreign troops according to a «realistic timetable.
The participants also agreed to deal with militias by arming and training security forces to become «an effective national force,» while fostering economic development across the country.
Members of armed groups that «are not classified as terrorist» would be encouraged to adopt «peaceful political means» and given jobs within the state administration.
A five-point pledge _ authored by the American talks chairman, retired Sen. George Mitchell _ was required both at the start of Northern Ireland’s negotiations and again when former militants, such as McGuinness, gained high office in Belfast.
Ahtisaari, who did not attend the meetings, said it was now up to the Iraqis whether they want to continue the process started in Finland, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported...
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/World/STIStory_154622.html
Sep 4, 2007
Iraq parties agree on road map to peace
HELSINKI - REPRESENTATIVES from Sunni and Shiite groups in Iraq agreed on a road map to peace during secret talks that ended on Monday in Finland, organisers said...
(Road map...AP article Straits Times.)
Real big secret, huh?
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FINLAND_IRAQ_TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Aug 31, 6:59 PM EDT
Finland Hosts Iraq Peace Seminar
By MATTI HUUHTANEN
Associated Press Writer
(finally, I found the original AP article.)
You sir seem to have an attitude problem. Can't you make a point without name calling? Your posting history would suggest not.
Thanks Fred.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891083/posts
Iraqis in secret Finland talks
BBC News ^ | September 4, 2007
Posted on 09/04/2007 2:05:22 PM PDT by Kaslin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891179/posts
Negotiators praise Iraqi talks
Yahoo News-AP ^ | September 4, 2007 | Karl Ritter
Posted on 09/04/2007 5:19:56 PM PDT by bobsunshine
“There is a rule, when you mention her Malkinness, you must post pictures.”
The first time I met her was when I joined a group of Freepers in DC, as counter-protesters to a bunch Islamists and Black Panthers that were going to protest in front of the Danish Embassy because of those cartoons.
As she walked up the street, she became the instant focus of all our eyes ... yes indeed!
“You sir seem to have an attitude problem. Can’t you make a point without name calling? Your posting history would suggest not.”
Take a quick look at the posts. There are others who have used names. Are you a person of your convictions? Are you going to send these others message too?
You bet I have have an attitude problem, and it’s usually libs that get the brunt of it ... but I don’t mind sharing.
“I think we hurt his little Al Jazeera-reading feelings.”
Dream on, Wolf.
“Why can’t you stay on the subject and admit you quoted an unreliable source, instead of being a jerk about it?”
Why can’t you admit that your mind is boxed in by your prejudice?
“If you don’t “weight” your sources, then you are not being very discriminating. Most people on Free Republic do pay attention to sources. Most of us don’t have time to click on all the links. I tend to skip news stories posted from generally unreliable sources.
Do you consider Al Jazeera reliable?”
Read my earlier post. I consider the source, conservative commentator Michelle Malkin and the “Hot Air” conservative site she founded to be very reliable, don’t you?
And that’s the problem here ... people have assumed and criticized without bothering to ascertain information.
If I had used the Hot Air link, where people would have to scroll around to find the story, would the story about the peace talks be any different? No.
I wonder how many who have criticized here, have bothered to criticize Malkin, since it is her Hot Air site that links directly to Al Jazeera?
Also, I find that this comment ... “If you don’t “weight” your sources, then you are not being very discriminating. Most people on Free Republic do pay attention to sources. Most of us don’t have time to click on all the links. I tend to skip news stories posted from generally unreliable sources” ... to be typical of the stuff I read when I debate liberals. They too are not interested in “sources” that are challenging and cause them to think beyond their belief systems. Thing is, the underlying psychology is the same.
We are not talking about “challenging” sources or those that cause us to change our belief system. When we talk about Al Jazeera we are not just talking about people with different biases or liberal agendas; e.g, WAPO, we are talking about people who make up things out of whole cloth. I do not have enough time to read material from dubious sources.
BTW: Were you notified of why your story was deleted from “Breaking News”? I thought the content certainly warranted the Breaking News post. I only call into question the cited source.
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