U.S. Avoids Role of Mediator as Iraqis Remain Deadlocked -NYT

[Rose Siding]

Senior Bush administration officials said this week that the administration was avoiding direct intervention to break the deadlock among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions, still trying to form a government in Iraq six weeks after national elections.

The officials said they had concluded that despite the bitter wrangling over how much power to distribute among the factions, particularly Shiites and Kurds, any attempt by the United States to mediate would be likely to backfire.

"So far, we're letting it happen," a senior administration official said, referring to the Kurdish-Shiite dispute. "That's really by design. If we try to impose a solution, then anyone who gets the short end of the stick will hold a grudge, not only against us, but against the deal that was reached. It could lead to instability down the road."

Another senior official said that Kurds, Shiites and some of Iraq's Arab neighbors want the United States to play a facilitating role in forming a new government, but that Washington is resisting. "There's pressure from the players out there, but not here," he said. "We are comfortable exactly where we are."

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/20/politics/20diplo.html