Rice urges Iraqis to bridge differences
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-11 15:56

As of Thursday, at least 2,056 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Flying to the region, Rice condemned the bombings in Jordan as the work of indiscriminate killers and said she may visit the kingdom while in the Mideast this week to show solidarity with an Arab ally in the fight against terrorism.

The nearly simultaneous attack on three Western hotels that killed at least 56 people — including partygoers at a wedding celebration — "underscores that these terrorists will attack innocent people without remorse," Rice said Thursday as she flew to the region.

Rice's trip, scheduled before Wednesday's bombings, included a stop in Bahrain for meetings on development and democratic progress in the Middle East. She will also visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank.

Rice said she will talk to Jordanian leaders about whether to take a side trip to Jordan, saying she did not want to interfere with recovery efforts.

She said street protests against the bombings by angry Jordanians show the terrorists' message does not resonate.

"People are really tired of these killers," she said.

Rice expressed hope that a deal could be reached with Iran regarding its nuclear program. But she would not confirm that the United States would back a deal with Europe, described by senior officials and diplomats, to accept expanded Iranian nuclear activities if uranium enrichment is done in Russia.

"There is no U.S.-European proposal to the Iranians," Rice said. "I want to say that categorically. There isn't and there won't be."

The European Union, led by Britain, France and Germany, has negotiated with Tehran to allow legitimate civilian nuclear power development in Iran while preventing a spinoff of technology that could produce a bomb. The United States contends Iran has covert ambitions for a bomb, which Iran denies.

She also predicted that the United States has sufficient support at the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to send Iran before the Security Council for possible sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency meets on Nov. 24, but a deal ahead of that date could avert a vote.