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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46158)	5/16/2004 6:43:43 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

US to accept theocracy in Iraq, says Powell Italian troops battle militia in Nasiriyah; three women working for coalition killed; US tanks retreat from Karbala WASHINGTON: The United States signalled on Sunday its readiness to put up with an Islamic theocracy in future sovereign Iraq, with Secretary of State Colin Powell saying the US administration "will have to accept" any government created as a result of free and fair elections there. The remark, made in an interview with NBC television, marked a policy reversal for the administration of President George W Bush, which up to now had vowed to fight tooth and nail any attempt by Iraqi Shia leaders to follow in the footsteps of their brethren in Iran. Asked if a theocratic government fashioned after the regime in Tehran would be acceptable to Washington now, Powell indicated it was ready to entertain this possibility. "We will have to accept what the Iraqi people decide upon," he said in comments during "Meet the Press" programme. The secretary of state cautioned, however, that to gain acceptance around the world, any future Iraqi government would have to respect basic human rights. He also expressed confidence that after decades of totalitarian rule, the Iraqi people would opt for a true democracy after their sovereignty would be restored on June 30. "Surely, everybody understands it is a nation that rests on the faith of Islam," Powell said. "But they also know that in order to be successful as a 21st-century country, they have to respect the rights of all individuals and not allow a purely fundamentalist regime. And my sensing of what the Iraqi people want is a democracy," he added. On the ground, Gunmen fired on a minibus in Baghdad, killing two Iraqi women, who were working for the US-led coalition, and assailants in a southern city killed a translator for the coalition and critically injured another in attacks on their houses, police and witnesses said. Four Iraqis were killed in a rocket attack in Basra and another two in Karbala and Najaf, where Muqtada al-Sadr’s militiamen clashed with coalition troops on Sunday. A further 28 people were wounded in Nasiriyah as Sadr’s loyalists exchanged fire with Italian forces and a shell exploded in a market. Assailants fired a mortar shell that landed on a house near a British military base in Basra, killing four people of the same family, including 2-year-old female twins, witnesses said. Another four people were injured. The blast occurred in Shatt al-Arab district, near a British base at Basra airport. Earlier, a female Iraqi translator working with US troops was killed and another was critically injured when gunmen broke into their houses in the southern city of Mahmoudiya, a hospital official said. Three Iraqis, including two women working for the US coalition, were killed and another two wounded when their mini-bus came under gunfire in Baghdad, the US military said. One US soldier was killed in a roadside bombing. Two al-Sadr militiamen were killed while attacking a US convoy in Najaf, a US officer said. The attack from six militiamen took place, when a US convoy was travelling on a back street between Iraqi police headquarters off the 1920 Revolution Square and the governor’s office further north. Gunfire erupted on the streets of Karbala for the fifth straight day. Plumes of smoke could be seen as battles raged near two shrines in the city. Some 15 US tanks made a brief foray into the city centre, approaching the hallowed shrines before turning back as angry residents surrounded them. Meanwhile, townsmen from Fallujah met al-Sadr, the cleric’s aide, Hussam al-Musawi, told AFP. Musawi said the Fallujah dignitaries offered fighters to help the Mehdi Army "if the request is made". They also brought nine pick-up trucks filled with food and medicine for al-Sadr’s militia in Kufa. At least two strong explosions rocked central Baghdad neighbourhood near the US-controlled green zone. It was unclear what caused the blasts, while three mortar rounds struck the east Baghdad stronghold of al-Sadr. It was also not immediately clear whether the shells were fired by coalition troops or Sadr’s Mehdi Army. In Nasiriyah, several Italian soldiers were hurt during a third day of skirmishes. At least 20 out of 28 people reported wounded were hurt when a shell exploded in a market, officials and medics said. Three Italian soldiers suffered minor wounds when a mortar round fell near their position. Two paramilitary police were injured when a convoy transporting the Italian official in charge of Nassiriya, Barbara Contini, came under attack as it neared local authority headquarters. During morning fighting, the Defence Ministry in Rome said, militia had taken up positions in a hospital and shot into the HQ of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority. Four Italian soldiers were slightly wounded, when the rocket-propelled grenade hit their vehicle.