Iraqi reconciliation conference stumbles on sectarian divisions

BAGHDAD -- Major Sunni and Shiite political blocs Tuesday boycotted a national conference aimed at reconciling Iraq's rival communities -- underscoring the deep divisions tearing at the country despite a decline in violence.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, opened the two-day conference, pledging that no religious or ethnic group would suffer as Iraq tries to heal its internal rifts.

But the two major Sunni blocs -- the Iraqi Accordance Front and the Front for National Dialogue -- refused to attend, saying the Shiite-dominated government had failed to meet Sunni demands.

Members of the Shiite bloc loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr walked out following the opening ceremonies, which took place in the U.S.-protected Green Zone.

Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the pro-Sadr faction in parliament, said his group did not want to appear hostile to reconciliation but "we don't want our presence to be ceremonial or sit like guests of honor."

Sunni leaders have complained that al-Maliki has failed to release detainees not charged with specific crimes, has not disbanded Shiite militias and has not sufficiently included Sunni lawmakers in decision-making on security issues.

"How we can attend a reconciliation meeting?" said Saleem Abdullah, a spokesman for the Accordance Front. "There are many points that are still not fulfilled."

U.S. officials had hoped the Iraqis would take advantage of a recent reduction in violence to make progress on reconciliation and power-sharing arrangements among the rival Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities.

That was a principal goal of the troop buildup ordered by President Bush early last year. But gains on the battlefield have not been matched by political progress.

The conference, which opened two days before the fifth anniversary of the war, followed visits by Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain, who touted security gains and stressed Washington's commitment to fighting insurgents in Iraq.

Cheney spoke of the "remarkable turnaround" in describing the drop in violence in Iraq and hailed recently passed legislation aimed at keeping Iraq on a democratic path.

McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, told reporters Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, that a quick U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would be a "mistake" that would boost Iran and al-Qaida while damaging America's credibility worldwide.

Al-Maliki opened the reconciliation meeting a day after a suicide bomber struck Shiite worshippers in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 50 people, according to an official and witness. The blast was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left at least 79 Iraqis dead on Monday around Iraq.

In his opening statement, al-Maliki said reconciliation was "not a political slogan" but a "complete strategic vision" to rebuild Iraq.

The national conference coincided with the release of a U.N. report that said record numbers of Iraqis sought asylum in the European Union last year, despite the downturn in violence.

Asylum requests from Iraqis shot up to 38,286 in 2007, from 19,375 in 2006, according to the report, making Iraqis the single largest group seeking refuge in the EU.

In violence Tuesday, a roadside bomb near a gas station in northern Baghdad killed three people, including two police officers, police officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the attack.

A suicide car bombing outside an electronics store in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killed three people and wounded 40, the U.S. military said. Gunmen also killed two Awakening Council members in Beiji, 90 miles south of Mosul, police said.

Awakening Councils are made up of mostly Sunni fighters who have accepted U.S. backing to switch allegiances and fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

In a separate statement, the U.S. military said it killed seven suspected members of a suicide bombing cell Tuesday and captured eight others in northern and central Iraq.

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Associated Press writers Bushra Juhi and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.