Iraq tribal chiefs support Maliki's peace proposal
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 27, 2006
BAGHDAD - Hundreds of Iraqi tribal chiefs gave support Saturday to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan, while the government leader called the release of a leading Sunni Arab lawmaker by kidnappers a gift to his unity campaign.
But after a relative lull in violence Friday, 26 people were reported killed in nearly a dozen attacks around Iraq that showed there will be no quick end to the violence.
Maliki won endorsement of his program for bridging religious, ethnic and political divisions at a national conference of tribal chiefs. A representative of the chiefs read their agreement on live television, calling it a pact of honor.
Tribal ties wield considerable influence in Iraqi society, especially among rural people.
About 10,000 people have been slain since the government took office in May.
The plan offers amnesty to members of the Sunni-led insurgency not involved in terrorist activities, calls for disarming primarily Shiite sectarian militias and promises compensation for families of Iraqis killed by U.S. and government forces.
Later in the day, Maliki got another boost when kidnappers freed Sunni lawmaker Tayseer al-Mashhadani.
Her abduction along with five bodyguards July 1 was seen by Sunnis as another of the retaliatory attacks that have escalated among Shiites and Sunnis since a bomb wrecked a Shiite shrine in Samara in February.
"They were treating me well. I used to watch television and follow the news. I used to talk to them, and they kept telling me to be patient," she said after meeting with Maliki.
She said she urged her captors to participate in Maliki's program for bridging Iraq's religious, ethnic and political divisions.
Rumsfeld praises troops, but says he won't be Santa
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Saturday praised the work of an Army brigade whose one-year tour in Iraq was extended just as they prepared to return home and said he saw no reason for the soldiers or their families to be angry at him.
"I don't put it in that context," he said. "These people are all volunteers. They all signed up. They all are there doing what they're doing because they want to do it. They're proud of what they do."
A newly formed Alaska chapter of Military Families Speak Out issued a statement in Fairbanks saying it would make a public call for the Bush administration to bring home the 172nd and all other U.S. troops.
The brigade's tour was extended by up to 120 days, bringing them close to a Christmas return date. Rumsfeld said he would make no promises that the full brigade would be back home by the holidays.
"I'd love to be Santa Claus. I'm not," he told reporters en route to Fairbanks.