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Rice Praises 'Coalescing Center' in Iraqi Politics
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"The prime minister, the Iraqi government and the broad political leadership, since the Basra and Baghdad events that began last month, have been unified in their view that the time has come for an end to militia presence," said Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, who accompanied Rice. "We heard that again today from the whole leadership spectrum."
"How this will proceed, I can't predict," he said. "The Iraqis are in the lead on this."
Rice told reporters aboard her aircraft last night that "we've seen the coalescing of a center" in Iraqi politics. "The Sunni leadership, the Kurdish leadership and elements of the Shia are working together better than at any time," she said.
Both Maliki and Talabani said they agreed with her. Talabani, a Kurd, told reporters after their meeting that "we are living in the Iraqi political spring."
Rice said the crackdown will be accompanied by a $350 million Iraqi government aid package concentrated in Basra and Sadr City.
"I think they understand . . . that when the government reestablishes control, they need to reach out with reconstruction assistance, economic assistance to their own people," Rice said. Such aid, she added, is "classic counterinsurgency."
Rice detoured to Baghdad on her way to meetings with regional governments in Bahrain and Kuwait, where she hopes to press Iraq's Arab neighbors to increase diplomatic and economic support for Iraq.
