The top U.S. tactical commander in Iraq confirmed Thursday that his officers are negotiating a possible peace deal with Sunni Muslim insurgents.
“I’m empowering them and trying to give them some tools to reach out,” Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno told a Pentagon news conference via phone from Baghdad. “Because there are insurgents reaching out to us, which is the most important thing. So we want to reach back to them.”
Odierno, who runs day-to-day military operations, said his officers are trying to get the insurgents to sign documents promising not to attack the Shiite-dominated elected government.
“We’re all tired of Iraqis dying,” he said. “We’re tired of Americans dying. And if we can reach out and conduct reconciliation and come across in a peaceful way and move forward with the government of Iraq, that’s a much better way to do this.”
On chances for success, Odierno said, “I’ve been here too long to be too optimistic about anything we move forward with.”
The Examiner reported Wednesday that the U.S. military for the past six months has held secret talks with what it considers “mainstream” Sunni insurgents who control much of the opposition that is attacking American troops.
The Examiner quoted an adviser to Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top overall commander in Iraq, as saying it took months for the CIA to finally identify the actual insurgent leaders, as opposed to pretenders.
Petraeus faces a September deadline to report to President Bush on the progress of a make-or-break troop surge designed to secure greater Baghdad.
In Anbar Province, a restive Sunni area west of Baghdad, commanders say they have seen a significant downturn in violence, after tribal sheikhs joined the coalition in opposing al Qaeda.
But Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, hasbecome more violent as al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni Muslims resist new U.S. efforts to conquer the area.
Odierno said the command has set up 28 of a planned 60 joint U.S.-Iraq security stations in Baghdad. The stations are supposed to form ties to local citizens and keep al Qaeda and insurgents from returning.
He said “every clear progress” is being overshadowed in news reports by the latest improvised explosive attack, which usually results in U.S. deaths. “That’s one of the reasons why it’s incumbent on us to talk to you all to try try to get this message across,” he said.
On Iran, with whom the U.S. held talks in Baghdad last week, Odierno said, “We still see them shipping weapons, money and conducting training for extremists here in Iraq. It has not stopped.”
