Iraq Resists Pleas by U.S. to Placate Baath Party

[sabra]

Source: NY Times

BAGHDAD — On April 18, American and British officials from a secretive unit called the Force Strategic Engagement Cell flew to Jordan to try to persuade one of Saddam Hussein’s top generals — the commander of the final defense of Baghdad in 2003 — to return home to resume efforts to make peace with the new Iraq.

But the Iraqi commander, Lt. Gen. Raad Majid al-Hamdani, rebuffed them.

After a year of halting talks mediated by the Americans, he said, he concluded that Iraq’s leader, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, simply was not interested in reconciliation.

The American appeal — described by General Hamdani and not previously reported — illustrates what could become one of the biggest obstacles to stability in Iraq. Mr. Maliki’s pledges to reconcile with some of the most ardent opponents of his government have given way to what some say is a hardening sectarianism that threatens to stoke already simmering political tensions and rising anger over a recent spate of bombings aimed at Shiites.

..

“He is no different from the political and religious leaders who are driven by emotions and animosity toward anything related to the past,” General Hamdani said of Mr. Maliki, in a written response to questions about his talks with the government.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/middleeast/26baathists.html?bl&ex=1240977600&en=670e4df8295b2843&ei=5087%0A