Saturday, June 03, 2006
Iraqi RhetIraq: PM & Deputy PM on US Military Behavior
Who: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki & Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zaubai
Source: The New York Times via Information Clearing House
Quotes: From article titled, "U.S. troops routinely attack civilians, Iraqi leader says"
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military on Thursday, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians.
As outrage over the disclosure that American Marines killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha last year continued to roil the new government, the country's Sunni Arab deputy prime minister also demanded that American officials turn over their investigative files on the killings and said that the Iraqi government would conduct its own inquiry.
In his comments, al-Maliki said violence against civilians had become a "daily phenomenon" by troops in the American-led coalition who "do not respect the Iraqi people."
"They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion," he said. "This is completely unacceptable." Attacks on civilians will play a role in future decisions on how long to ask American forces to remain in Iraq, the prime minister added.
The denunciation was an unusual declaration for a government that remains desperately dependent on American forces to keep some form of order in the country amid a resilient Sunni Arab insurgency in the west, widespread sectarian violence in Baghdad, and deadly feuding among Shiite militias in the south.
Military and congressional officials have said they believe an investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqis in Haditha on Nov. 19 will show that a group of Marines shot and killed civilians without justification or provocation.
In Baghdad, senior governmental officials began speaking of the possibility of an Iraqi investigation into the killings as well.
"We in the ministers' Cabinet condemned this crime and demanded that coalition forces show the reasons behind this massacre," Iraqi deputy prime minister Salam al-Zaubai, one of the most powerful Sunni Arabs in the new government, said in an interview.
"As you know, this is not the only massacre, and there are a lot," he said. "The coalition forces must change their behavior. Human blood should be sacred regardless of religion, party and nationality."
Al-Zaubai, also the acting defense minister, acknowledged that Iraqi officials would probably not be able to force the extradition of any troops suspected of culpability in the Haditha killings. But he said a committee of five ministers - including ministers of defense, interior and finance - would probe the killings with the expectation that American officials will turn over their investigative files.
"We do not have the security file because it is in the hands of the coalition forces," he said. "We hope there will not be obstacles ahead."
Source: The New York Times via Information Clearing House
Quotes: From article titled, "U.S. troops routinely attack civilians, Iraqi leader says"
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military on Thursday, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians.
As outrage over the disclosure that American Marines killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha last year continued to roil the new government, the country's Sunni Arab deputy prime minister also demanded that American officials turn over their investigative files on the killings and said that the Iraqi government would conduct its own inquiry.
In his comments, al-Maliki said violence against civilians had become a "daily phenomenon" by troops in the American-led coalition who "do not respect the Iraqi people."
"They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion," he said. "This is completely unacceptable." Attacks on civilians will play a role in future decisions on how long to ask American forces to remain in Iraq, the prime minister added.
The denunciation was an unusual declaration for a government that remains desperately dependent on American forces to keep some form of order in the country amid a resilient Sunni Arab insurgency in the west, widespread sectarian violence in Baghdad, and deadly feuding among Shiite militias in the south.
Military and congressional officials have said they believe an investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqis in Haditha on Nov. 19 will show that a group of Marines shot and killed civilians without justification or provocation.
In Baghdad, senior governmental officials began speaking of the possibility of an Iraqi investigation into the killings as well.
"We in the ministers' Cabinet condemned this crime and demanded that coalition forces show the reasons behind this massacre," Iraqi deputy prime minister Salam al-Zaubai, one of the most powerful Sunni Arabs in the new government, said in an interview.
"As you know, this is not the only massacre, and there are a lot," he said. "The coalition forces must change their behavior. Human blood should be sacred regardless of religion, party and nationality."
Al-Zaubai, also the acting defense minister, acknowledged that Iraqi officials would probably not be able to force the extradition of any troops suspected of culpability in the Haditha killings. But he said a committee of five ministers - including ministers of defense, interior and finance - would probe the killings with the expectation that American officials will turn over their investigative files.
"We do not have the security file because it is in the hands of the coalition forces," he said. "We hope there will not be obstacles ahead."
