Iraqi Politicians

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared yesterday that talks with the United States on a new security agreement were stalled, as Sunni and Shi'ite preachers spoke out against the deal that would enable American troops to remain in Iraq after year's end. Maliki said talks will continue, but his tough talk reflects Iraqi determination to win greater control of US military operations after the United Nations mandate expires at the end...

Iraq's vice president on Friday described a terror trial pending against him in Baghdad as part of a political vendetta that has wider repercussions for Iraqi unity and sectarian tensions across the Middle East. The trial in absentia of Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, was postponed Thursday as his lawyers appealed to have parliament create a special court to hear the case that could deepen Iraq's sectarian divide. Al-Hashemi has denied charges that he ran death squads that targeted government officials, security forces and Shiite pilgrims.

BAGHDAD - Turning on their televisions during the long holiday weekend, Iraqis were greeted by a familiar if unexpected face from their brutal past: Saddam Hussein. The late Iraqi dictator is lauded on a mysterious satellite channel that began broadcasting on the Islamic calendar’s anniversary of his 2006 execution. No one seems to know who is bankrolling the so-called Saddam Channel, although the Iraqi government suspects it is Ba’athists whose political party Hussein once led. The Associated Press tracked down a man in Damascus named Mohammed Jarboua, who claimed to be its chairman.

BAGHDAD - The top US general in Iraq predicted yesterday a level of upheaval in the country as militant groups jostle to fill the vacuum left behind by the withdrawal of all American forces in the coming weeks. General Lloyd Austin said the threat from the Sunni extremist organization, Al Qaeda in Iraq, could grow at the same time that Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias are also seeking to assert themselves. "There's likely to be setbacks, some tough times in the days ahead," he told journalists at a briefing at the US embassy in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD - The top US general in Iraq predicted yesterday a level of upheaval in the country as militant groups jostle to fill the vacuum left behind by the withdrawal of all American forces in the coming weeks. General Lloyd Austin said the threat from the Sunni extremist organization, Al Qaeda in Iraq, could grow at the same time that Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias are also seeking to assert themselves. "There's likely to be setbacks, some tough times in the days ahead," he told journalists at a briefing at the US embassy in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's prime minister says US and Iraqi authorities are working together to arrest and prosecute Iraqi politicians and top officials suspected of links to armed extremist groups. "There is coordination between us and the [US-led] Multinational Forces [that] started at the beginning of this year . . . to determine who should be arrested and the reasons behind arresting them," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview Saturday. His comments were in response to a question about whether lists had been prepared of senior Iraqi officials, politicians,...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's government decided yesterday to formally ask the United States to reopen negotiations on a proposed deal to keep American troops here past the end of the year. The United States suggested it may not be ready to offer more concessions. UK talks end of troops' Iraq mission. A6 That cast doubt on whether the agreement can win parliamentary approval by the end of 2008, when the United Nations mandate expires, and with it the legal basis for the US military to operate in Iraq.

BAGHDAD - Some American troops will remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30 deadline for combat soldiers to leave urban areas, the top US commander said yesterday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions by his own spokesman that the Iraqi government may ask some US troops to remain behind as trainers after the Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops set by the new US-Iraq security agreement. Those comments are likely to rekindle debate in Iraq about the agreement, which was ratified by parliament...

BAGHDAD -- Gunmen kidnapped the chairman of Iraq's Olympic committee and at least 30 others yesterday in a brazen daylight raid on a sports conference in the heart of Baghdad. Armed clashes erupted elsewhere across the capital. Parliament extended the national state of emergency as at least 27 people, including two American soldiers, were killed in sectarian or insurgency-related violence. At about 1:30 p.m., gunmen in about a dozen vehicles pulled up outside the meeting of the Iraqi National Olympic Committee, police and witnesses...

BAGHDAD -- The intractability of the violence gripping Iraq was on graphic display yesterday with the release of a videotape of American hostage Roy Hallums begging for his life at gunpoint, the assassination of an Iraqi judge, and the killing of at least five members of Iraqi security forces. In an admission of the security difficulties, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said in a news conference that it was "futile and dangerous" at this point to give a final date for US troop withdrawal from the country.

BAGHDAD - Turning on their televisions during the long holiday weekend, Iraqis were greeted by a familiar if unexpected face from their brutal past: Saddam Hussein. The late Iraqi dictator is lauded on a mysterious satellite channel that began broadcasting on the Islamic calendar’s anniversary of his 2006 execution. No one seems to know who is bankrolling the so-called Saddam Channel, although the Iraqi government suspects it is Ba’athists whose political party Hussein once led. The Associated Press tracked down a man in Damascus named Mohammed Jarboua, who claimed to be its chairman.

BAGHDAD - Some American troops will remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30 deadline for combat soldiers to leave urban areas, the top US commander said yesterday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions by his own spokesman that the Iraqi government may ask some US troops to remain behind as trainers after the Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops set by the new US-Iraq security agreement. Those comments are likely to rekindle debate in Iraq about the agreement, which was ratified by parliament last month and takes...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's government decided yesterday to formally ask the United States to reopen negotiations on a proposed deal to keep American troops here past the end of the year. The United States suggested it may not be ready to offer more concessions. UK talks end of troops' Iraq mission. A6 That cast doubt on whether the agreement can win parliamentary approval by the end of 2008, when the United Nations mandate expires, and with it the legal basis for the US military to operate in Iraq.

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared yesterday that talks with the United States on a new security agreement were stalled, as Sunni and Shi'ite preachers spoke out against the deal that would enable American troops to remain in Iraq after year's end. Maliki said talks will continue, but his tough talk reflects Iraqi determination to win greater control of US military operations after the United Nations mandate expires at the end...

BAGHDAD - The son and heir apparent of Iraq's top Shi'ite politician came out strongly yesterday in favor of autonomy for Iraq's religiously and ethnically divided regions, a potentially explosive issue on Iraq's already highly polarized political landscape. Ammar al-Hakim, who is being groomed to take over the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the country's largest Shi'ite party, has been a firm supporter of federalism from the outset. But his unusually strident language appeared to signal growing impatience with Prime Minister Nouri...

BAGHDAD - US and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles over the weekend, with most of the casualties believed to have been Al Qaeda fighters, officials said yesterday. The US Embassy, meanwhile, joined a broad swath of Iraqi politicians - both Shi'ite and Sunni - in criticizing a nonbinding US Senate resolution seen here as a recipe for splitting the country along sectarian and ethnic lines. US aircraft killed more than 20 Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of...

BAGHDAD -- With only a week until the deadline for a new constitution, Iraqi political leaders launched marathon negotiations yesterday seeking to overcome formidable obstacles blocking agreement on the draft. Insurgent violence aimed at derailing Iraq's political efforts killed three more American servicemen and at least 13 Iraqi civilians and government employees across the country. President Jalal Talabani, who hosted a first round of constitution talks at his Baghdad home, expressed optimism that leaders from the Shi'ite, Sunni Arab, and Kurdish communities could reach agreement in time...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's prime minister says US and Iraqi authorities are working together to arrest and prosecute Iraqi politicians and top officials suspected of links to armed extremist groups. "There is coordination between us and the [US-led] Multinational Forces [that] started at the beginning of this year . . . to determine who should be arrested and the reasons behind arresting them," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview Saturday. His comments were in response to a question about whether lists had been prepared of senior Iraqi officials, politicians, and lawmakers...