Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: n/a
Date: 25 October 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister said Wednesday his government was
determined to crack down on private militias blamed for the country's
spiraling sectarian violence, warning he would "strike hard" against any
group that challenges state authority.
In a nationally televised news conference, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
also appealed to neighboring states to cease meddling in Iraq's domestic
affairs - an apparent reference to Iran and Syria, which are accused by the
U.S. and Iraqi officials of aiding Sunni and Shiite armed groups.
He blamed foreign fighters in groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq and forces
loyal to former President Saddam Hussein for driving violence that takes the
lives of at least 40 Iraqis every day.
"I would like to state here that the root of the battle we are fighting in
Iraq and the root of the bloody cycle that we are undergoing is the presence
of terror organizations that have arrived in the counrtry," al-Maliki said.
Al-Maliki has made similar commitments before to deal with the militias, but
his most recent comments follow a news conference Tuesday by U.S. Ambassador
Zalmay Khalilzad at which he said Iraqi leaders had agreed to set a timeline
for achieving key political and security goals, including reining in such
groups.
That task has been politically fraught for al-Maliki because his fragile
Shiite-dominated government derives much of its power from the Shiite
political parties with powerful militias.
"We will strike hard at anyone who defies the law or trangresses on the
authority of the state," al-Maliki said.
Byline: n/a
Date: 25 October 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister said Wednesday his government was
determined to crack down on private militias blamed for the country's
spiraling sectarian violence, warning he would "strike hard" against any
group that challenges state authority.
In a nationally televised news conference, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
also appealed to neighboring states to cease meddling in Iraq's domestic
affairs - an apparent reference to Iran and Syria, which are accused by the
U.S. and Iraqi officials of aiding Sunni and Shiite armed groups.
He blamed foreign fighters in groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq and forces
loyal to former President Saddam Hussein for driving violence that takes the
lives of at least 40 Iraqis every day.
"I would like to state here that the root of the battle we are fighting in
Iraq and the root of the bloody cycle that we are undergoing is the presence
of terror organizations that have arrived in the counrtry," al-Maliki said.
Al-Maliki has made similar commitments before to deal with the militias, but
his most recent comments follow a news conference Tuesday by U.S. Ambassador
Zalmay Khalilzad at which he said Iraqi leaders had agreed to set a timeline
for achieving key political and security goals, including reining in such
groups.
That task has been politically fraught for al-Maliki because his fragile
Shiite-dominated government derives much of its power from the Shiite
political parties with powerful militias.
"We will strike hard at anyone who defies the law or trangresses on the
authority of the state," al-Maliki said.