Bush Speaks to Iraq Leaders Amid Violence

[rodeodance]

well,......seems all is well?



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_iraq;_ylt=Agl11Qh33beLZ5UYLKE5jiSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
Bush Speaks to Iraq Leaders Amid Violence

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON -President Bush spoke to seven Iraqi political leaders on Saturday in an effort to defuse the sectarian violence that threatens the goal of a self-sufficient Iraq free of U.S. military involvement.


Bush's extraordinary round of early morning telephone diplomacy involved his first conversations with Iraqi leaders since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine that prompted days of reprisal attacks.

There are fears in Baghdad and Washington alike that Iraq could be on the brink of civil war nearly three years after the U.S. invasion ousted
Saddam Hussein's regime. The violence put a halt to talks on the formation of a unity government, a step regarded as key to demoralizing the Sunni-dominated insurgency and setting the stage for the end of the U.S. military presence there.

"The president congratulated Iraq's leaders for their strong leadership and their efforts to calm the situation and for their statements against violence and for restraint," said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council......

[acmavm]

1. So the little pointy-earred red-faced phoney got out of be early to make

some telephone calls?

He really puts himself out, don't he?

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Isn't he in India right now? Why not just jump on AF1, go on over

to Iraq and talk to them there. I mean, as long as he's in the region anyway, it shouldn't take too long to get there. He might even take a few plastic turkeys with him and have a great photo op. I'm sure he could get it all straightened out in no time.

:sarcasm:

[NanceGreggs]

2. "Yeah, heh, heh ...

... I was wondrin if you guys could stop the fightin' and all? It's making me look real bad over here. How about I sweeten the deal? You guys stop fightin', and I'll give ya'll a US port or two. Whadda ya say, boys?"

[rodeodance]

3. but folks--he did not talk to religious leaders.

....Bush "encouraged them to continue to work together to thwart the efforts of the perpetrators of the violence to sow discord among Iraq's communities," Jones said.

In calls that took place over about an hour, Bush did not speak with any of Iraq's influential religious leaders. Instead, he chose the most powerful representatives of each of Iraq's main political groups: Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite; the head of Iraq's largest Shiite political party and the country's most powerful Shiite politician, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim; Iraqi National Assembly president Hajim al-Hassani, a Sunni; Tariq al-Hashemi, a leader of the main Sunni coalition; Ayad Allawi, a former Iraqi premier who's a secular Shiite with Sunni allies; Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; and Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.

Bush pressed each of the leaders to find a way to restart U.S.-backed negotiations among Shia, Sunni and Kurdish leaders to fashion a permanent government. The largest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament said Saturday it will reconsider its decision to pull out of the talks if al-Jaafari follows through on promises that the government will act to ease the crisis.

"The president underscored his support for Iraq's efforts to build a government of national unity," Jones said.

[leQ]

4. anybody care to venture what he's saying to them?

i can't figure out if he's got them beholding to him, or if they are truly independent.