Spokesman: Iraq insurgents rejected U.S. approaches

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A man claiming to speak for a major Iraqi insurgent group said Sunday that the United States had tried unsuccessfully to establish contact with his group.

Speaking on Al-Jazeera television, the purported spokesman for the 1920 Revolution Brigades said the U.S. bid to contact his group failed because "intermediaries" used by the Americans were deemed unworthy.

"We don't believe the Americans are serious," added the spokesman, identified as Sheik Abdullah Suleiman al-Amri, who appeared in traditional Arab dress but with his face concealed.

Alberto Fernandez, a senior State Department official, told Al-Jazeera on Oct. 21 that Washington was ready to talk with any Iraqi group — excluding al-Qaida in Iraq — to help reconcile Iraq's factions and end the violence wracking the country.

Outlining a blueprint of policies for bringing security to Iraq, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad spoke last week of the need to persuade Sunni insurgents to lay down their arms and engage in national reconciliation.

He said Sunni-ruled Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Jordan had agreed to encourage the groups to end violence and work for a united and independent Iraq.

Al-Amri did not identify the intermediaries his group rejected, but earlier in the interview he sharply criticized Sunni Arab politicians who joined Iraq's Shiite-dominated, U.S.-sponsored political process.

"Their participation was wrong and they did not make good on any of the promises they made to voters," he said.

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