US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw made a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday to express impatience with months of delay in the formation of a new government.
The two flew in secretly under tight security in a pouring rain from Britain in an unprecedented joint effort to move forward Iraqi political talks that have dragged on for months while sectarian violence has raged.
"We're going to urge that the negotiations be wrapped up," Rice said en route to Iraq. "It should be very clear to everyone that the time has come for these negotiations to produce a government of national unity."
The weather forced the two top diplomats to take road transport under high security on the dangerous road between the airport and the heavily guarded Green Zone where they immediately plunged into talks with Iraqi officials.
They began with meeting President Jalal Talabani and later held talks with powerful Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
Rice smiled frostily and appeared awkward as she and Jaafari exchanged pleasantries before photographers at the start of their talks, chatting about the rare rain falling on Baghdad.
Media reports claim that US officials are dissatisfied with Jaafari's leadership and lobbied for his replacement -- claims the US denies. Abdel Mahdi was a rival of Jaafari for the nomination of the premier's position.
Officials acknowledged that it was a gamble to stage such a high-profile meeting at a critical time in the political process.
Gunmen, meanwhile, blew up a small Shiite mosque northeast of Baghdad yesterday, and the US military reported the death of three US soldiers.
The two crew members of an Apache helicopter that crashed southwest of Baghdad are presumed dead and efforts to recover their bodies are continuing,.
A US statement said the helicopter was believed to have been shot down about 5:30pm Saturday near Youssifiyah about 20km southwest of Baghdad.
"Two pilots are presumed dead, but recovery efforts continue following the crash," the statement said
Police reported the discovery of nearly 40 more bodies in several neighborhoods of Baghdad, apparent victims of revenge killings between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS