U.S., U.K. Defend Insurgent Talks

Discussions — not negotiations.

That's how the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq is characterizing talks that have been taking place between the Iraqi government and Sunni and tribal leaders sympathetic to elements of the insurgency.

General George Casey said at this point, the talks do not involve active portions of the insurgency.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there's precedent for this. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has sought to bring elements of the Taliban into the fold, but Rumsfeld said those overtures have not included "those with blood on their hands."

Rumsfeld and Casey detailed some of the contacts U.S. and Iraqi officials have had with those who oppose them. For now, Casey said, they primarily involve Sunni leaders who claim to have some pull with insurgent groups. But the U.S. military has yet to verify many of their claims, he said.

The contacts do not, and will not, involve foreign insurgents such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, he said. The Jordanian-born Al-Zarqawi heads the group al Qaeda in Iraq, which has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest terror attacks as well as the beheadings of prisoners. Rumsfeld also acknowledged that U.S. officials have met with some insurgents, an approach Britain has also employed as it tries to bring stability to the country, Blair disclosed Monday.

"It's our job politically to pull as many people into the political process. That is an engagement not just by the Iraqi government, but by the Americans, ourselves, others. Everybody," Blair told a news conference Monday.

"We are not compromising our position with terrorism or any of the rest of it," Blair said. "We are simply trying, perfectly sensibly, to pull as many people into the democratic fold as possible."

Later, in a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Blair refused to give further details of the contacts with insurgents.

"I would not exaggerate what is happening here," he told reporters, when asked if Britain and America were coordinating their efforts. "It is a sensible part of trying to make sure you are bringing as many people into the democratic process as possible."

Al-Jaafari said he had no objection to the United States and Britain having "dialogue with all the political forces" so long as they were not engaged in violence.

"We have not negotiated with anybody who has been involved in bloodshed or explosions," he added.