Talks to Disarm Shiites Collapse

[bemildred]

Notice who cancelled the talks. Speculation: the problem is the
same as before the Najaf crisis, if Sadr participates in the political
process, Allooney will lose to him. If there are fair elections with
all the Iraqi players taking part, the first thing that will happen
is all our stooges get kicked out.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 31 - Talks to disarm hundreds of insurgents in
the roiling Sadr City ghetto in Baghdad collapsed Tuesday, after a
tentative peace pact was abruptly canceled by Prime Minister Ayad
Allawi.

Leaders of the Mahdi Army, the rebel force led by the Shiite cleric
Moktada al-Sadr, and two well-placed Iraqi sources said an agreement
had been reached late Monday that called for the disarming of the
rebel force and a halt in American military operations in Sadr City.

Mahdi Army commanders and other Iraqi sources said Tuesday that Dr.
Allawi backed out of the agreement on Tuesday morning.

The failure of negotiations raised the prospect of more violence from
Mr. Sadr's Shiite insurgency, meaning the Iraqi government may not be
able to direct its full political and military resources to quelling
the continuing Sunni insurgency in other parts of the country.

New York Times