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US defence secretary urges Iraq foes to
make peace
28.7.2009
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July
28, 2009
TALLIL MILITARY BASE,
Iraq,— US Defence
Secretary Robert Gates was in Iraq Tuesday to urge
the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities
to settle their political differences before the
withdrawal of US troops by the end of 2011.
In an unannounced visit, Gates planned to appeal to
Iraqi Arab and Kurdish officials to take advantage
of the window of the US troop presence to resolve
disputes over power-sharing, internal boundaries and
oil revenues, a senior US defence official said.
"We're saying to all the parties involved that they
have this window of political opportunity that they
need to seize between now and the end of 2011," the
official told reporters before Gates' arrival at a
US base in Tallil, south of Baghdad.
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US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates |
Gates, who visited Israel and
Jordan on Monday, also planned to get a first-hand
look at how the US military was preparing to adapt
to a new mission focused on advising and supporting
Iraqi security forces.
He was to visit a combined operations centre on the
base where US and Iraqi forces work together, and
meet commanders of a newly-created "advise and
assist" brigade.
Under an agreement with Baghdad, US troops withdrew
from Iraqi cities and towns last month and are
required to pull out of the country entirely by
2011.
As time winds down on the US military mission,www.ekurd.net
President Barack Obama's
administration has called for stepped up efforts to
tackle disputes that threaten to revive ethnic and
sectarian strife.
The administration believes that "all sides have to
take an approach in both words and actions that
commits them to a peaceful political process," the
official said.
The Kurds in particular have an interest in forging
reconciliation promptly while US forces remain on
the ground, the official said.
Washington, which has longstanding ties to the
Kurdish former rebel factions that run an automomous
regional government in northern Iraq, could act as
an "honest broker" between the Kurds and the
Shiite-led central government, he said.
During his two-day visit Gates was to travel to the
autonomous Kurdistan region after holding talks with
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iraq's
defence and interior ministers.
His trip to Kurdistan comes after presidential and
parliamentary elections in the region on Saturday
which saw a new reform-minded opposition group hail
a major breakthrough against the long-dominant
ex-rebel factions.
Gates was also expected to discuss supplying Iraq
with weapons and equipment to help the Baghdad
government provide for its security after the
departure of US troops.
Among the possible hardware on Baghdad's wish list
were F-16 fighter jets, as Iraq looks to develop a
modern air force, the defence official said.
The US military is gradually drawing down in Iraq
under the security agreement with Baghdad that will
see American troops leave by the end of 2011.
Carrying out the accord has caused some friction
between the remaining 128,000 American troops and
Iraqi security forces.
An Iraqi officer ordered the detention of US
soldiers this month after they shot dead three
Iraqis while pursuing insurgents.
Maliki said during a visit to Washington last week
that the detention of the US soldiers was a mistake
and that the Iraqi officer was "out of line."
At a news conference in Jordan on Monday,www.ekurd.net
Gates said the United States
remains committed to the security accord and that it
is being successfully carried out.
"The United States is abiding by the terms of the
agreement that we signed with the Iraqis, and we
will continue to abide by that agreement," he said.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
AFP
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