ROUNDUP

ROUNDUP
Iraq in the news
Best hope for political deal: Iraq's embattled prime minister vowed Thursday to pursue his bid for a second term despite pressure from home and abroad to step down, signaling no early end to the standoff blocking a crucial national unity government. Shiite politicians suggested they may turn to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the sole figure with the authority to make a decision that risks shattering Shiite unity. In a brutal reminder of the stakes if Iraqi leaders cannot reverse the slide toward chaos, a car bomb exploded Thursday in the country's most sacred Shiite city, Najaf, killing 10 people and wounding more than 30. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told reporters he would relinquish his mandate only if parliament refuses to approve him or if the seven groups within the Shiite alliance withdraw their nomination, which he won by a single vote in a caucus in February. The Shiite bloc controls 130 of the 275 parliament seats, enough for first crack at the prime minister's job but not enough to govern without Sunni and Kurdish partners. But the Sunnis and Kurds demand that al-Jaafari be replaced, blaming him for the sharp rise in sectarian tensions that threatens to plunge the country into civil war.
Unity is vital: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his British counterpart emphasized the urgency of Iraq's formation of a unity government on Thursday, and expressed frustration with the slowness of the process. "Terrorists love a vacuum. I know from my own experience in Northern Ireland," said British Defense Secretary John Reid at a joint Pentagon news conference with Rumsfeld. "The longer this goes, the more pleased the terrorists would be." Both Rumsfeld and Reid agreed, however, that the delays do not mean the effort is destined to fail. Iraqis have been struggling to form a coalition government among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds since parliamentary elections were held Dec. 15. "What they're doing is difficult. They are negotiating, they are meeting with people, they are talking with each other, as opposed to shooting each other," said Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld noted that, even in the United States, it takes about three months -- from Election Day in early November to inauguration in late January -- for a newly elected president to set up a government.
Challenge for the president: In friendly territory, President Bush still found himself on the defensive Thursday over the Iraq war, high gas prices, the federal deficit and anti-terrorism measures. One man bluntly told Bush he should be ashamed. Bush defended his decision -- increasingly unpopular three years on -- to go to war. It would be "a huge mistake," Bush said, to bring troops home now amid the violence and political uncertainty in Iraq. He said he would brook no repeat of the divisive Vietnam-era debate that led to politicians forcing decisions that were not driven by the military. "During the Vietnam War, there was a lot of politicization of the military decisions," the president told a forum hosted by the nonpartisan World Affairs Council of Charlotte. "That's not going to be the case under my administration."
Associated Press
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