Iraq al-Sadr supporters pull out of government
Iraq-USA, Politics, 4/16/2007

Asked about the pull out from Iraq's government of ministers from al-Sadr political block ministers, US Department Of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said today "This is ultimately going to be a matter for the Iraqi Government to resolve how they configure their government, who's participating in it, who isn't."

He added "I assume over a period of time, they will form different governing coalitions. The -- as far as I can tell, Sadr's party remains in the parliament and they will continue to participate in the debate about various issues like the hydrocarbon law, the finance law, the de-Baathification law. Just as a general statement, this is the time for all Iraqis who have an interest in a better and more stable, prosperous, secure Iraq to make every effort to work together to bridge differences. Whether they choose to do that from within the government or in the parliament is going to be a choice for them to make. But the Iraqi people voted for these representatives with the thought in mind that they would work on their behalf. And that's what the Iraqi people expect and that's the kind of thought in mind that these representatives should have when they're doing their work."

McCormack was asked about General Caldwell last week "saying that Iran is helping supply Sunni and Shiite insurgents." McCormack said "I don't have much more information than he provided. But we have been for some time concerned about the activities of Iran, not only providing the material and the technology, but also some of the training to a variety of different groups. General Caldwell gave a pretty full briefing on it and don't really have much to add."

As to why the Iranians would be doing something like this, if true, he said "you'd have to ask the leadership of the Iranian Government why -- why they have an interest in doing this. Certainly you can come up with a lot of different theories, but it's really only speculation. The one thing you can say is that it runs counter to their stated desire to have good, neighborly transparent relations with Iraq and play a positive role in Iraq's future. And that's certainly -- those kinds of activities don't enhance Iraq's stability. And in fact, you know, it only adds to the tensions that currently exist within Iraq."

Meantime today, the White House said "On Iraq, this is the 70th day since the President requested emergency funding for our troops. President Bush spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki via secure video this morning. That lasted about 50 minutes. The two leaders discussed ongoing efforts among Iraqi leaders to come to agreement on important matters of reconciliation and that determination of Iraqi legislators to continue their important work in the face of the al Qaeda-claimed bombing at the Iraqi parliament last week. The President and Prime Minister also discussed the importance of garnering more regional support for political and security efforts in Iraq, and the opportunity that the upcoming regional conference in Sharm el-Sheikh presents, on May 3rd and 4th."

Previous Stories:
  Bush urges funding of troops in Iraq without timetables   (4/9/2007)
  Three journalists killed in Iraq   (4/9/2007)
  Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Iraq claims torture   (4/9/2007)

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