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Bush praises Maliki, rules out Iraq
partition
30.11.2006
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Bush: Partitioning IRAQ would
only increase violence
AMMAN, November 30,-- U.S. President George W.
Bush praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as
the "right guy" for Iraq on Thursday and said he
agreed with Maliki that partitioning the country
would only increase violence.
Bush's show of support came after U.S. officials
insisted the Iraqi leader was not offended by a
critical White House memo and had not snubbed Bush
in Amman on Wednesday when the two had been expected
to hold an initial meeting.
"He's the right guy for Iraq and we're going to help
him and it's in our interest to help him," Bush told
a joint news conference with Maliki in the Jordanian
capital.
"It's in our interests to help liberty prevail in
the Middle East, starting with Iraq. And that's why
this business about graceful exit simply has no
realism to it at all."
Bush said he and Maliki had ruled out any idea of
dividing Iraq as a way to halt rampant sectarian
violence.
"The prime minister made clear that splitting his
country into parts, as some have suggested, is not
what the Iraqi people want and that any partition of
Iraq would only lead to an increase in sectarian
violence. I agree," he said. |
President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri Maliki shake hands after a joint press
conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman,
Jordan. 29 Nov 2006
Photo:AFP |
The two men held their news conference after a
working breakfast and a subsequent meeting without
aides.
Bush said they had agreed to speed up the training
of Iraqi security forces and handing over security
authority to Iraqis. U.S. troops were in Iraq to
"get the job done" and would stay as long as the
Baghdad government wanted them there.
"It's not easy for a military to evolve from ground
zero," he said of Maliki's efforts to build Iraqi
forces, acknowledging that the Iraqi leader was
"frustrated by the pace".
Bush was speaking after reports the Iraq Study Group
will recommend the U.S. military shift from combat
to a support role in Iraq, and will call for a
regional conference that could lead to direct U.S.
talks with Iran and Syria, both accused by
Washington of fomenting violence in their neighbour.
Maliki said his country wanted good ties with its
neighbours but warned against external meddling.
"Iraq is for Iraqis. Its frontiers are defended and
we will not allow them to be violated or let people
interfere in our internal affairs," he said.
REDEPLOYMENT
A source familiar with the deliberations of the
independent, bipartisan group said the idea was for
U.S. combat forces to pull back to bases in Iraq and
in the region over the next year or so. "It's
basically a redeployment," the source said.
The panel is to present its report to Bush on Dec.
6.
Bush had expected to see Maliki on Wednesday, along
with Jordan's King Abdullah. He was told on the way
from Latvia, where he attended a NATO summit, that
the Jordanians and Iraqis had decided against a
three-way meeting, a U.S. official said.
In the end, Abdullah met both leaders separately.
U.S. officials insisted the change had nothing to do
with a memo by White House national security adviser
Stephen Hadley that questioned Maliki's ability to
control the turmoil in Iraq.
The memo said "the reality on the streets of Baghdad
suggests Maliki is either ignorant of what is going
on, misrepresenting his intentions or that his
capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good
intentions into actions".
Bush reiterated support for Maliki, who has been
criticised for failing to curb militias run by his
Shi'ite allies.
"I'm talking to the man face-to-face and he says
that he understands that a unified government, a
pluralistic society, is important for success and
he's making hard decisions to achieve that," he
said.
Bush repeatedly called Maliki a man of "courage".
"No question it's a violent society right now. He
knows that better than anybody. He was explaining to
me that occasionally the house in which he lives
gets shelled by the terrorists who are trying to
frighten him," he said.
Bush is under pressure at home and abroad to change
strategy on Iraq, where sectarian violence shows no
sign of abating although the White House does not
describe it as a civil war.
In Dubai, an Iraqi militant group urged its Sunni
followers in Baghdad to wage holy war against
Shi'ite militias.
"Baghdad is your city. Do not leave it for the
strangers who intend to expel you. It is a battle of
destiny now," the Islamic Army in Iraq said in a
statement posted on an Islamist Web site.
The group, which has claimed several attacks on U.S.
troops in Iraq and the kidnapping of some
foreigners, had previously limited calls for jihad
against foreign forces in Iraq. (Additional
reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi, Caren Bohan and
Dean Yates in Amman, and Arshad Mohammed in
Washington)
Reuters
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