Iraqi factions forge political victory

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The political wrangling of Iraq's infant government can seem futile in the face of relentless violence. But Iraqi lawmakers say politics is their best hope to prevent civil war and send foreign troops home -- and on that front, they claimed a victory Thursday.

Now, though, they are left with just two months to draft a constitution. Work on the charter continues daily in a meeting room inside Baghdad's most heavily fortified area.

After weeks of back-and-forth, Shiite politicians succeeded at devising a compromise to include Sunni Arabs in drafting Iraq's new constitution. The stalemate over who should be allowed to draft the constitution had threatened Iraq's political process as it was entering its final stretch, with two key nationwide votes planned for later this year -- a constitutional referendum in October and a general election in December.

The agreement was reached between the Shiite-led government and the leaders of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority. Sunni Arabs are thought to form the backbone of the insurgency.

The constitutional process and attempts to open channels with some militant groups not tied to extremists are touted by the United States and Iraq's government as a way to help defuse the insurgency.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Thursday his government has nothing to say to al-Qaida members or their sympathizers.

"But other Iraqis who are dissatisfied with something and believe that struggling with weapons will not lead to achieving their demands, we are ready to listen to them and permit them to come back to the democratic process in Iraq."

In Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, dozens of hooded insurgents surrounded a downtown mosque to prevent a meeting of local politicians and tribal leaders on the country's new charter and reconciliation efforts.

"We told them to leave Iraq's issues for us, we are the only ones who can liberate Iraq by fighting infidels and not by holding conferences. And instead of spending money for this conference, they have to give it to us to buy weapons to help our fighting against the Americans," a masked man told Iraqi reporters outside the empty mosque.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston took aim at al-Zarqawi, saying the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is most responsible for the nearly 1,100 violent deaths since the Shiite-led government took office seven weeks ago.

"With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly see the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing," said Alston, spokesman for the U.S.-led international military force in Iraq.

Last month, an audiotape said to be from al-Zarqawi denounced the country's majority Shiites as collaborators with the Americans and said it was justified for Muslims to kill such people even if they are Muslims.

Alston's focus on al-Zarqawi, whose small group is blamed for many of the bloodiest attacks and hostage takings in Iraq, apparently was aimed at reinforcing growing dissatisfaction among Iraqis over insurgents targeting civilians. He said that anger has brought an increase in calls to tip lines.

"We are getting reports that cells in his network are concerned about the consequences of this behavior and a consequence of what it has done to the Iraqi people," Alston said. "The Iraqi people are increasingly exposing the insurgency. This is not a popular insurgency."

He said tips to Iraqi authorities resulted in Tuesday's arrest of Mohammed Khalaf, also known as Abu Talha, who was al-Qaida's leader in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

"This is a major defeat for the al-Qaida terrorist organization in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi's leader in Mosul is out of business," Alston said.

Separately, the U.S. military announced Thursday that Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez was charged with murder in the deaths last week of two Army officers at a base north of Baghdad.

The military initially attributed the June 7 killings of the officers -- Capt. Phillip T. Esposito 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. -- to an insurgent mortar attack near Tikrit but said further investigation showed the blast pattern was inconsistent with such an attack.

Martinez, 37, a supply specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division, a New York-based National Guard unit, is facing two counts of premeditated murder, according to a statement from Multi-National Corps, Iraq.

He was being held at a military jail in Kuwait and has been assigned a military attorney and has the option of hiring a civilian lawyer, the statement said.