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BAGHDAD, Iraq, - Worried about a political
deadlock in Iraq and a spike in mayhem from an
emboldened insurgency, the Bush administration has
pressed Iraqi leaders in recent days to end their
stalemate over forming a new government, with
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice
President Dick Cheney personally exhorting top
Kurdish and Shiite politicians to come together.
The White House pressure, reported by Iraqi
officials in Baghdad and an American official in
Washington on Sunday, was a change in the
administration's hands-off approach to Iraqi
politics. The change was disclosed as insurgents
unleashed a devastating technique, with twin double
bombings at a police academy in Tikrit and an ice
cream parlor in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad
that killed 21 and wounded scores more.
In both attacks, a second bomb detonated within
minutes after the first, killing and wounding
policemen and bystanders who had rushed to care for
victims of the initial blasts.
The explosions hit two of the favored targets of
Sunni Arab insurgents: police recruits, whose
training is critical to improving security in Iraq
and providing the United States an exit strategy;
and Shiites, who make up a majority in Iraq but
nearly three months after national elections have
yet to form a new government - a failure that
American officials fear is giving strength and
confidence to the insurgents.
Washington's approach to the political negotiations
had emphasized that the Iraqis needed to form their
own government without interference. But American
and Iraqi officials have increasingly blamed the
delay for a rise in violence in recent weeks that
has killed more than a hundred Iraqis and threatens
to destroy what remains of the political and
security momentum that followed the successful Jan.
30 elections.
Ms. Rice on Friday telephoned Iraq's new president,
Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to urge him to complete the
government "as soon as they could" and "to get a
status of where things were," a senior State
Department official in Washington said Sunday. The
official stressed that Ms. Rice did not tell Mr.
Talabani how to form a government, just that the
process needed to be concluded.
Also, Adil Abdul Mahdi, a leading Shiite politician
selected as one of the new Iraqi vice presidents,
met with Ms. Rice and Vice President Cheney at the
White House, the official said, where he was also
told that the White House wanted to see a government
formed right away.
"It has taken awhile, and this is also a reflection
of the fact that the Iraqis themselves are pushing
for a quicker government," the senior official said.
Ms. Rice told both Mr. Talabani and Mr. Mahdi that
more than enough time had passed, and a government
needed to be formed now, the official said. "We know
it is not an easy thing to do, and this is the first
time for them."
The impact of the White House pressure was unclear.
On Sunday, Shiite leaders once again predicted they
were on the verge of announcing their new
government, perhaps as soon as Monday. Similar
predictions have been proved wrong several times in
recent weeks.
But the Shiites added a new twist on Sunday,
declaring they would no longer hold out for a deal
with Ayad Allawi, the outgoing prime minister. Dr.
Allawi, a secular Shiite who is not liked by the
main Shiite political alliance, had demanded several
key posts for his party, including either defense or
interior minister, oil or finance minister, and
deputy prime minister.
In an interview Sunday, Ali al-Adeeb - a Shiite
member of the National Assembly and a leader in Dawa,
the party of the newly appointed prime minister,
Ibrahim al-Jaafari - said, "Allawi is out of the
cabinet. We don't need any delay because of this
issue." Many Shiites believe Dr. Allawi is too
sympathetic to Sunnis, while many Kurdish officials
fear Dr. Jaafari is too Islamist.
Late Sunday, another Shiite alliance adviser
cautioned that while the "current discussions" do
not include Dr. Allawi, it was unfair to say he has
been ruled out of the cabinet "because there is no
government yet." He predicted that the Shiites would
not be able to announce a cabinet on Monday. A
senior Allawi aide, Rasim al-Awadi, said Sunday
afternoon that "we've heard nothing yet from" the
Shiites about Dr. Allawi's demands for cabinet
posts.
The Shiite alliance controls a narrow majority of
the 275 seats in the National Assembly, while the
Kurds have 75 seats and Dr. Allawi's party 40 seats.
On top of the squabble between the Shiites and Dr.
Allawi, some Kurdish political leaders and others
have been trying to slow the political process to
force Dr. Jaafari out of his new post. Under the
interim constitution, the prime minister would
relinquish the post if he fails to form a new
government one month after his appointment. That
clock runs out May 7.
Many American officials say the political slowdown
in Baghdad is hurting the ability of Iraqi security
forces to repel and pursue insurgents. Some regional
government leaders are appointing police and
security officials without consulting with the
Interior Ministry, as required by law. Elsewhere,
American officials say, the political vacuum has led
to apathetic law enforcement and public
administration.
"They need to get going on variety of fronts," an
American official in Baghdad said Friday. "None of
the Iraqis we talk to think that the security
situation in the past month has improved. A number
of them think the security situation has grown more
difficult."
The violent streak that extended into Sunday began
with the dual car-bomb strike at the police academy
in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and a heartland
for Sunni Baathists 100 miles north of Baghdad. A
car bomb exploded inside the grounds of the academy,
followed less than half an hour later by another
bomb, an official at the Interior Ministry said. At
least six Iraqis were killed and 30 wounded.
Sunday night a similar and deadlier strike hit the
Al Riadhy ice cream parlor in the capital's Shula
district, a working-class neighborhood in northwest
Baghdad where many poor Shiites from places south
like Kut and Diwaniyah migrated in the 1980's
seeking work. The first bomber struck about 8:50
p.m., and the second blast rang out five minutes
later, an Interior Ministry official said. At least
15 people were killed and 50 wounded.
The American military also reported two deaths at
the hand of insurgents: On Saturday, a sailor
assigned to the Second Marine Division was killed by
a homemade bomb while conducting operations in
Falluja. The Marines released no other details. In
eastern Baghdad, a soldier from Task Force Baghdad
was killed just after dawn on Sunday when his patrol
was hit by a homemade bomb.
Military officials also said they captured four more
Iraqis suspected of involvement in the downing of a
civilian helicopter last week that killed six
American security contractors and five others. The
four Iraqis join six Iraqi suspects who were seized
early Saturday morning after Iraqi tipsters led
soldiers to the suspects' truck and homes, according
to military officials.
Also, Pakistani officials said Malik Mohammed Javed,
a Pakistani Embassy official kidnapped two weeks ago
in Iraq, was freed on Sunday.
"He has reached the Pakistan Embassy in Baghdad,"
the Pakistani information minister, Sheik Rashid
Ahmed, told The Associated Press. "He is safe," Mr.
Ahmed said, but he refused to provided any other
information and declined to say whether ransom was
paid.
Richard A. Oppel Jr. reported from Baghdad for this
article and Joel Brinkley from Washington. Adbul
Razzaq al-Saeidy contributed reporting from Baghdad.
www.nytimes.com
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