Iraq Talks a Good ‘First Step,’ Though Achievements Are Few

WASHINGTON — The backers and supporters of the combatants in the Iraq war will begin meeting on a regular basis to stem the flow of refugees and arms through Iraq’s borders, following a diplomatic conference this weekend in Baghdad.The decision to meet regularly in three working groups to discuss refugees, border security, and fuel exports was the only tangible accomplishment of the meeting of Iraq, America, and its neighbors. Nonetheless, both the Iranian Foreign Ministry and America’s outgoing ambassador to Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, called the talks a good “first step” in resolving differences between the two countries on Iraq.Speaking to reporters on a conference call Saturday evening, Mr. Khalilzad said he had a brief private exchange with his Iranian and Syrian counterparts. He also said he raised the concern of American generals that Iran’s Quds Force is supplying powerful roadside mines to terrorists, but he added that the Iranians did not respond to his concerns directly other than to dismiss them.At an appearance in Bogota, Colombia, yesterday, President Bush said the session in Baghdad was constructive. But he said that if Syria and Iran “really want to help stabilize Iraq, there are things for them to do, such as cutting off weapons flows and/or the flow of suicide bombers into Iraq,” according to the Associated Press.Iran’s representative at the talks, Abbas Araghchi, requested a direct time line for when American troops would exit Iraq, wire services reported. To date, no formal request for a withdrawal time line has emerged from Iraq’s Shiite majority government.Nonetheless, Mr. Khalilzad, who recently has been among the Bush administration’s toughest critics of Iran, put a positive spin on the talks. “I think one has to be cautious about exaggerating the impact of what has happened, but what has happened, in my view, also cannot be dismissed. It was a good meeting,” he said.The Bush administration’s decision to engage in the regional conference and continue planning for a foreign minister-level summit on Iraq in April suggests that much of the White House’s aggressive moves against Tehran in the last two months were meant to gain leverage for negotiations, not regime change. Democrats and many Republicans have urged the president to start negotiations since the publication of the Iraq Study Group report in December, which recommended direct diplomacy with Syria and Iran.Mr. Khalilzad said yesterday that Iran is seeking the release of five Iranians who were taken into American military custody on January 10 during a raid of an Iranian outpost in Irbil. Tehran insists the men are diplomats, but Mr. Khalilzad said both Iraq and America believe that they are not diplomats.Mr. Khalilzad said two venues were discussed for the foreign ministers’ conference next month. One option is a conference in Turkey that would bring into the summitry the group of eight industrialized nations as well as the five permanent representatives of the U.N. Security Council. Another is a summit in Cairo.Mr. Bush also said in Bogota yesterday that the 4,700 additional troops he is sending to Iraq would be used in support roles only. He called on Congress to approve funding for the war “without any strings attached,” the AP reported.

Iraq Talks a Good ‘First Step,’ Though Achievements Are Few

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