war in iraq |Developments
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is expected to push for debt relief and demand that some countries cancel debt and war compensation dating back to Saddam Hussein’s regime when he addresses a U.N. conference today. Al-Maliki and several of his Cabinet ministers arrived in Stockholm, Sweden amid tight security on the eve of the 500-delegate meeting that will review the political and security progress in Iraq. “Iraq is demanding world countries to reopen embassies and to cancel debts,” al-Maliki told reporters in Stockholm. Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the demand was particularly aimed at Arab countries.
An angry Shiite militia commander complained Wednesday that “we were duped” into accepting a cease-fire in Sadr City — remarks that point to a potentially damaging rift within the movement of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The May 11 truce ended seven weeks of fierce fighting in Baghdad between U.S. and Iraqi forces and al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia, which held nearly complete control of the Sadr City district. Iraqi soldiers now have moved into most parts of Sadr City with little resistance. But the objections raised by the commander highlight apparent dissent by some Mahdi Army leaders.
Barack Obama is considering a visit to Iraq this summer, his first to the war zone since becoming a presidential candidate. Obama revealed his plans to The New York Times. He has been under criticism from Republican rival John McCain for failing to visit Iraq since 2006. Obama also declined McCain’s invitation for a joint trip. “I just don’t want to be involved in a political stunt,” Obama said, according to a report on the newspaper’s Web site Wednesday. “I think that if I’m going to Iraq, then I’m there to talk to troops and talk to commanders,” he said in the interview. “I’m not there to try to score political points or perform. The work they’re doing there is too important.”
Source: Associated Press