American proposal to dialogue with Iraqi gunmen

The American ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said that his country seeks to have contacts with certain gunmen.

Zada stressed in statements to ABC news that the proposed contacts do not include individuals who are loyal for the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and supporters of leader of al-Qaida organization in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Zada said if the US wants an Iraq that functions well, the the US has to allow the Sunnis to take part in the political process. He stressed that the US asked the support of Arab states to encourage such a dialogue.

Commenting on that, the chairman of the Iraqi front for national dialogue, Saleh al-Mutlaq, said that the US administration has started to be more logical than before in dealing with the Iraqi issue, stressing that this proposal has been debated since 8 months.

He expressed in a statement to al-Jazeera TV hope to make this idea immediately a reality on the ground. He continued that an understanding can be established with the groups which have Iraqi national agendas and are only seeking to end occupation, "but not with those who blow up civilians."