BREAKING: Secret American talks with insurgents break down, from the Times of London

[originalpckelly]

SECRET talks in which senior American officials came face-to-face with some of their most bitter enemies in the Iraqi insurgency broke down after two months of meetings, rebel commanders have disclosed.

The meetings, hosted by Iyad Allawi, Iraq’s former prime minister, brought insurgent commanders and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to Iraq, together for the first time.

After months of delicate negotiations Allawi, a former Ba’athist and a secular Shi’ite, persuaded three rebel leaders to travel to his villa in Amman, the Jordanian capital, to see Khalilzad in January.

“The meetings came about after persistent requests from the Americans. It wasn’t because they loved us but because they didn’t have a choice,” said a rebel leader who took part.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2496369,00.html

[jannyk]

1. Recommend everyone read this! k&r

[tblue]

2. Oh.....and I thought we don't talk to 'terrorists.' Hmmm.... Maybe that's why * is rejecting the

ISG recommendations, because he wants to resolve this on his own? Yeah sure, when pigs fly, chimp.

[originalpckelly]

4. As the freepers like to remind us...

you can't appease terrorists.

[Barrett808]

3. k & r

[Tom Joad]

5. time to leave. Now. Troops home by New Years.

[originalpckelly]

6. They know they've fucked up...

that's why they are negotiating with the insurgents.

SOBs, how many people will die in this fucked up war while they piddle around?

[lovuian]

7. Lets make a deal but evidentally how do you negotiate

with each other when there is NO TRUST or Credibility

[Lexingtonian]

8. All governments say they'll never negotiate with "terrorists"

and in practice they always do, because they don't really have a choice.

[physioex]

9. Yep....

And the biggest coward of them all was Ronny Raygun the "Father of Conservatisim"......

[stevedeshazer]

10. Explosive politically

Will the US talking heads run this? I doubt it.

[krispos42]

11. Transcript of talks released :-)

USA: We want to talk.

Iraqi insurgents: Okay, so do we.

USA: We want to end the violence and bloodshot.

Ii: So do we, especially since we're taking the brunt of it.

USA: Okay, so stop killing people and we can talk.

Ii: Huh?

USA: Stop killing people, and we'll talk.

Ii: Um, but, that's what we're here to discuss!

USA: Yeah, but we can't discuss stopping killing people until you stop killing people.

Ii: What?

USA: So are you going to stop killing each other?

Ii: I thought... we thought... we have issues to resolve first!

USA: So do we. So stop killing people, and we'll talk. Bush's talking policy.

Ii: But we need to talk first.

USA: We need to talk, but the killing has to stop first.

Ii: But we need to talk first.

USA: We need to talk, but the killing has to stop first.

Ii: But we need to talk first.

USA: We need to talk, but the killing has to stop first.

Ii: But we need to talk first.

USA: We need to talk, but the killing has to stop first.

Ii: But we need to talk first.

USA: You first.

Ii: No, you first.

USA: No, YOU first.

Ii: No, YOU first!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!


<2 months later>


USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: No, YOU FIRST!

USA: No, YOU FIRST!

Ii: Fuck you and the horse you road in on!

USA: After you, camel-humping heathen!

<end>

[IndyBob]

13. The diplomatic skills of the Bush admin

are quite awesome - no?

(sarc/puke)

[toshirajo]

20. No kidding

That was probably a verbatim transcript of the negotiations.

[buddysmellgood]

12. The "insurgents" are known but never named. That is some deep-ass inside reporting.

[leveymg]

14. Is this being leaked now by the White House to kill a deal?

With Dubya apparently digging his heals in, that might make sense. Otherwise, why reveal these talks ever took place?

[leveymg]

15. But, on the other hand, appears to have been a Sunni-only peace process

Extract:

At the first meeting with Khalilzad on January 17, the insurgents expressed concern about the emergence of Iran as a new regional power. With America equally worried about Iranian interference, the two sides appeared to have found some common ground. The talks continued in Baghdad for about eight weeks, sometimes on consecutive days at Allawi’s home.

At one point the insurgents offered Khalilzad a 10-day “period of grace” in which attacks on coalition forces would be suspended in return for a cessation of US military operations.

They called for a “timetable for withdrawal”, saying that it should be announced immediately although in practice it would be “linked to the timescale necessary to rebuild Iraq’s armed forces and security services”, according to one commander.

Other demands said to have been received sympathetically by Khalilzad, such as an amnesty for insurgents and a reversal of the “de-Ba’athification” process that stripped so many Sunnis of their jobs, have now been urged by the Iraq Study Group.

So, maybe this isn't intended to undermine the Baker efforts, which would be a deal brokered mainly with Iran, and a separate peace with the Sunnis brokered by Syria.

[Warren Stupidity]

18. It is clear that our major new concern is that

Iraq does not become part of a larger shiite federation in the region. So we are double dealing and back stabbing, along with our friends the Saud family, and the fuckwits in Kuwait whose family name escapes me at the moment, looking to see how we can salvage some of our collective interests (oil) from the debacle. The Sauds have already publicly announced that they will back the sunni faction in the civil war to keep Iran from dominating the region.

We are no longer working on the idiocy of a successful secular Iraqi government safe for our oil companies to do business with. We are now maneuvering for position in the upcoming regional war.

Dumbass et al, aka the cabal, have fucked up royally. It is time to get our soldiers out of there.

[cassiepriam]

16. BushCo either destroys or seduces its enemies....

Guess we are now trying the bribery?
Wonder what we offered them?

[BlueManDude]

17. Can't be true - we don't negotiate with terrorists.

[madrchsod]

19. i had my doubts about this story since it`s a murdoch paper

but looks like she has the cred to get this story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hala_Jaber
Hala Jaber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/060406/if_you_ask_me_hala_jaber
Press Gazette - UK Journalism News and Journalism Jobs