U.S. Envoy Khalilzad admits talks were held with insurgents
Khalilzad in Baghdad with General George Casey, until recently the top U.S. officer in Iraq. The plan offered by the U.S. was said to include amnesty for those who killed U.S. troops.
BAGHDAD, March 25 — The senior American envoy in Iraq, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks last year with men he believed represented major insurgent groups in a drive to bring militant Sunni Arabs into politics.
“There were discussions with the representatives of various groups in the aftermath of the elections, and during the formation of the government before the Samarra incident, and some discussions afterwards as well,” Mr. Khalilzad said in a farewell interview on Friday at his home inside the fortified Green Zone. He is the first American official to publicly acknowledge holding such talks.
The meetings began in early 2006 and were quite possibly the first attempts at sustained contact between senior American officials here and the Sunni Arab insurgency. Mr. Khalilzad flew to Jordan for some of the talks, which included self-identified representatives of the Islamic Army of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, two leading nationalist factions, American and Iraqi officials said. Mr. Khalilzad declined to give details on the meetings, but other officials said the efforts had foundered by the summer, after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra set off waves of sectarian violence.
Read the rest at the NY Times
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BAGHDAD, March 25 — The senior American envoy in Iraq, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks last year with men he believed represented major insurgent groups in a drive to bring militant Sunni Arabs into politics.
“There were discussions with the representatives of various groups in the aftermath of the elections, and during the formation of the government before the Samarra incident, and some discussions afterwards as well,” Mr. Khalilzad said in a farewell interview on Friday at his home inside the fortified Green Zone. He is the first American official to publicly acknowledge holding such talks.
The meetings began in early 2006 and were quite possibly the first attempts at sustained contact between senior American officials here and the Sunni Arab insurgency. Mr. Khalilzad flew to Jordan for some of the talks, which included self-identified representatives of the Islamic Army of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, two leading nationalist factions, American and Iraqi officials said. Mr. Khalilzad declined to give details on the meetings, but other officials said the efforts had foundered by the summer, after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra set off waves of sectarian violence.
Read the rest at the NY Times
Related Link:
Senior Minister: Iraq government, insurgent groups in talks for past 3 months
Related Link:
Hashemi calls for talks with insurgents
Related Link:
Marine Commandant Conway: Disbanding Iraqi Army Was Big Mistake
Related Link:
Iraq Government holds talks with former army officers
Related Link:
Report: U.S. disappointed in Iraq's progress with Baathists
Related Link:
Hashemi calls for recalling former members of army
Related Link:
Maliki reaches out to members of Saddam's army at reconciliation conference
Related Link:
Secret American talks with insurgents break down
Related Link:
U.S. Considers Ending Outreach to Insurgents
Related Link:
Maliki, U.S., Britain to meet with Sunni insurgent representatives next week
Related Link:
Iraqi draft law would reinstate most ex-Baathists
Related Link:
Spokesman: Iraq insurgents rejected U.S. approaches
Related Link:
Iraqi opposition group agrees to join national reconciliation conference
Related Link:
Report: US offers insurgents amnesty in secret talks
Related Link:
Report: US in secret truce talks with insurgency chiefs
Related Link:
State Department: Expanded amnesty should include insurgents who kill soldiers
Related Link:
US presses Iraq for broad amnesty for insurgents
Related Link:
Sunni insurgent group offers talks with U.S.
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