Newsview: Public taking hard look at Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-24 15:18

Since the Shiite-led government took power in April, hundreds of bodies have turned up in Baghdad and remote areas — hands bound and bullets in their head. The victims were both Sunnis and Shiites, slain in reprisal killings by extremists from both communities.

For months, Sunni Arabs have been accusing the Interior Ministry of wholesale arrests and abuse of Sunnis in an attempt to find a handful of rebels.

The discovery by U.S. troops this month of up to 173 detainees — malnourished and some showing signs of torture — hidden in an Interior Ministry building in central Baghdad gave credence to those charges.

U.S. officials took a strong stand after the torture allegation. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Casey met with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, and demanded a full investigation. The Iraqis agreed.

The sharp U.S. response, after months of Sunni allegations, was aimed at reassuring Sunnis and encouraging them to participate in politics.

To accomplish this, the Americans must drive a wedge between Iraqi insurgents from Saddam's party — who might accept a deal — and the foreign fighters and religious extremists of al-Qaida's Iraq leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

But the risk of that strategy is alienating the majority Shiites — America's partners since the occupation started in 2003. Many Shiites, who suffered horrifically under the previous regime, oppose far-reaching steps to bring former Saddam allies back into the army and government.

The keys to success are the Dec. 15 election and a planned national reconciliation conference tentatively set for early next year in Iraq.

At the preparatory meeting in Cairo, Egypt, this week, Sunni Arabs insisted on recognizing the right of resistance to foreign occupation — language that could legitimize the insurgency.

The Sunnis also made clear they want the new government to insist on a timetable for U.S. withdrawal, which President Bush rejects.

The Sunnis ultimately accepted a watered-down version, which recognized that "resistance is a legitimate right for all people" but condemned terrorism and attacks against civilians.

The modified language drew a rebuke from U.S. authorities.

"Our view is that any attack on Iraqi forces or coalition forces, which are in Iraq under a U.N. mandate, is an unconscionable act to be universally and strongly condemned," a U.S. Embassy statement said Tuesday.

Even with the softened language, Shiite officials at the conference also were not pleased with the declaration, since insurgents have been targeting the Shiite-led government's security forces.

The Sunni proposals constitute the broad outlines of a formula:

- Talk to certain factions of the insurgency more interested in power than jihad.

- Come up with some sort of timetable that satisfies the Bush administration and gives hope that the U.S. presence here is limited.

But there is a long way to go.