Bush meets Iraqi Shia leader
One of Iraq’s most powerful Shia leaders calls for stronger action by US-led forces.
The US president told al-Hakim during the talks that he was not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq, and he later told Fox News: “What Americans are trying to figure out is why Iraqis are killing Iraqis when you have a better future ahead.”
Bush also told reporters that he and al-Hakim talked about the need for “elected leaders and society leaders to reject the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young democracy”.
“Eliminating the danger of civil war in Iraq could only be achieved through directing decisive strikes against Baathist terrorists in Iraq. Otherwise we’ll continue to witness massacres being committed every now and then against innocent Iraqis.”
Influence
The Sciri’s military wing, the Badr Brigade, is said to be 10,000 strong. It was founded by al-Hakim in exile and is financed by Iran.
“The bottom line is there is no one, including the former secretary, who thought the policy the president continues to pursue makes any sense.” Joseph Biden Democratic senator |
The Badr Brigade is blamed for some of the sectarian violence in Iraq, although al-Hakim has said that the outbreak of a civil war in Iraq, pitting Sunnis against Shia, would spell disaster for Iraq and the region.
The document also outlined possible large reductions in troops in Iraq, in contrast to Rumsfeld’s calls in public for the US to “stay the course”, and a reduction of US bases in the country from 55 to five by July next year.
Minority Sunnis have accused Sciri’s fighters of carrying out assassinations.
The White House meeting with al-Hakim is seen by some analysts as a sign that Bush, whose Republicans suffered heavy election losses last month partly due to public disapproval over the conduct of the war, is delving deeper into the quest for a new strategy for Iraq.