U.S. Envoy Forecasts Better Iraq Security

Iraq's prime minister-designate intends to implement a four-part plan to try to calm violence in his country, including a major push to secure Baghdad and nine other cities and demobilize militias, the U.S. ambassador said Tuesday.

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told a gathering of business leaders in the Jordanian capital that he expected the formation of a national unity government among Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders in Iraq to "set the stage" to improve security conditions.

Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki has "broadly committed to a four-pillar initiative" to end violence in the country — both the Sunni-led insurgency and sectarian attacks between Shiites and Sunnis, Khalilzad said.

Under the plan, "Iraqi security forces with coalition support will work to secure Baghdad as well as plan and initiate similar efforts in nine other key cities, such as Basra and Ramadi," Khalilzad said.

Ramadi is a major insurgent stronghold in the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad. Mainly Shiite Basra, in the far south, has seen frequent attacks, apparently by insurgents, on oil infrastructure, as well as violence by Shiite militias.

Khalilzad did not say what other cities were involved and did not elaborate on how the new security push would differ from past efforts to stop violence.

The other points of the plan were to promote reconciliation; create confidence in security institutions and rein in unauthorized military formations, he said.

Sunni Arabs accuse Shiite militias with links to members of the current government of running death squads killing Sunnis and fueling sectarian violence.

Al-Maliki has vowed to implement laws to decommission militias and integrate their members into the military and police.

Khalilzad said efforts have increased in vetting police personnel and embedding trainers with Iraqi police units amid concerns in recent months about sectarian militia and militant infiltration into Iraq's security forces.

He called recent meetings by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, with representatives from several insurgent groups "encouraging" and expressed confidence that an agreement can be reached for them "to lay down their arms and reintegrate themselves in Iraqi society and Iraq's new democratic process."

But Khalilzad maintained that terrorist groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq "will never accept a democratic Iraq and must be defeated militarily."

Khalilzad spoke at the "Rebuild Iraq 2006" conference, which drew 20,000 business people and participants from 50 countries.

Al-Maliki, meanwhile, said the main stumbling blocks to forming a new Cabinet have been overcome and he expects to present his team to parliament for approval by the end of the week.