U.S. ambassador leaves Iraq for position at U.N.



BAGHDAD (AP) -- On his first day as U.S. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad said al-Qaida in Iraq and Sunni insurgents wanted to start a civil war. He leaves his post after 21 months as U.S. and Iraqi forces fight to keep that fear from becoming reality in Baghdad.
The Afghan-born Khalilzad -- a Sunni and therefore suspect among many of the Shiites who dominate Iraq's post-Saddam power structure -- shouldered his mission here June 21, 2005, saying he was "horrified by the daily suffering of the Iraqi people. The terrorists attack ordinary people, teachers, doctors, newly trained police and others who are assisting the people of Iraq."
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