Envoy Seeks Dialogue With Iraq Insurgents

[maddezmom]

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.N. envoy urged Iraqis on Wednesday to accept the new interim government he helped put together, and called for a dialogue with "patriotic" elements of the anti-American insurgency — a departure from U.S. policy.



The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, also acknowledged a strong American hand in shaping the new government, which held its first meeting Wednesday under Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a CIA (news - web sites)-backed Shiite politician.


Popular reaction to the new government was mixed. Some Iraqis said the new Cabinet was no different from the U.S.-picked Governing Council that dissolved itself Tuesday. Others said it was full of politicians who lived too long in exile and were out of touch with their homeland.


"We were hoping that the Americans would exercise some of the democratic practices they preach," university lecturer Adnan Ahmed, 49, said. "But we know now that they were just glamorous slogans."

~snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20040602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_politics

[Just Me]

1. Ah ha,...so, they are reaching out to PATRIOTS,...

,...who, naturally, are anti-occupation (by America). Sounds like a good first step towards pulling the country back together.

Of course, who could possibly blame Ahmed for his distrust and cynicism of the Americans. After all, the whole world (excepting about half of the American people) knows that this was a neocon grab for power and moola'.

[NNN0LHI]

2. Sure would have been nice if the Chimp would have figured this out...

...before taking thousands of US casualties, and tens of thousands of Iraqi casualties. Looks like Sadr won.

Don