From Gulf Times:
BAGHDAD: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday called on Europe to play a bigger role in Iraq because “the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone.” “Europe must play a role ... and I hope that other foreign ministers will come and visit Iraq,” Kouchner told France’s RTL Radio in an interview from Baghdad. He did not say what that role should be.
Kouchner is the first French minister to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. France, then under President Jacques Chirac, strongly opposed it and angered President George W. Bush by refusing to join his “Coalition of the Willing”. Chirac’s successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, has since sought to improve ties with Bush, and Kouchner’s visit is seen as a symbolic sign of the new French policy on Iraq. Kouchner said after three days of talks with Iraq’s leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, it was clear there was a lack of trust between the different groups.
“I felt that there is a lack of trust among the different groups and leaders. Maybe the trust between the people is more than that,” Kouchner told reporters through an Arabic translator after talks with Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd.
Iraq’s national unity government is paralysed by infighting, with political blocs representing the country’s majority Shia Muslims and minority Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities reluctant to compromise to reach a proper power-sharing deal.
The slow political progress towards national reconciliation has frustrated Washington. Washington says it has deployed 30,000 extra troops in the country to give Iraq’s political leaders time to reach a political accommodation and reconcile the warring sides.
The political crisis is playing out against a backdrop of continued sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since the bombing of a revered Shia shrine in the town of Samarra in February 2006.
Police said gunmen killed seven members of the same family in the town of Latifiya in the notorious ‘Triangle of Death’, a militant stronghold south of Baghdad. Two police sources said three women and a girl were among the dead, but it was not clear to which religious sect the family belonged.
“Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone. And so, I have said it and I will say it again, the more the Iraqis request the intervention of the UN the more France will help them,” Kouchner told RTL. – ReutersPolitical progress is poor, says US ambassador – Page 8
The clown President is being left out of the cold..
3 comments:
"“Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone. And so, I have said it and I will say it again, the more the Iraqis request the intervention of the UN the more France will help them,” Kouchner told RTL.
Yes, the Iraqis requesting intervention and not from the US.
But, that is a cold shot for the Gerbil being cut out from helping Iraq. But, you know, payback is you know what.
Look for more world leaders to push the Gerbil to the side. Now watch how the world big business leaders give a check mate to Dick Cheney. These two losers will be left with mud in their face. Iraq is control and will always be controlled by Iran/Syria. The Saudis are trying to get a foot in the door right now. Keep an eye on the visits that are going on between these countries as the White House keeps getting deeper in troube here in the US. North Korean President is having a good laugh at Bush right now.
Americans should look very careful as to who they choose as our next President. This is so important it could mean the saving or fall of the United States. I've heard people say who they like but I say pick the best qualified for the job because like just isn't going to cut it this time.
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