Deborah Haynes in Baghdad
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A suicide truck bomber killed at least 28 people, including 19 children, in northern Iraq this morning as the United States and Iran held another rare meeting in Baghdad to talk about the security problems plaguing the country.
At least 40 people were injured in the explosion, which ripped through a densely populated Shia residential area of Tal Afar, a city 420 miles northwest of Baghdad, destroying ten houses. The casualty toll was expected to rise.
The carnage was the latest example of the security woes in Iraq that have prompted officials from Washington and Tehran to meet.
The closed-door discussions were held at the office of Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, in the heavily fortified Green Zone, also home to the British and US embassies.
A US Embassy spokesman said: “The security subcommittee agreed to by the US, Iraq and Iran met at the experts’ level.” He said that the US delegation had been led by Marcie Ries, minister-councillor for political-military affairs.
The spokesman was unable to give details on what was covered in the meeting. A spokesman at the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said only that the talks had ended.
Hossein Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad, was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying that the meeting would cover the make-up and responsibilities of a tripartite security committee.
Delegations headed by the Iranian ambassador and his US counterpart, Ryan Crocker, failed to agree on ways to restore security to Iraq at a meeting in the Iraqi capital on July 24. The two sides did concur, however, on the creation of the three-way security committee which would explore how to combat militia activity, tackle al-Qaeda and secure Iraq’s porous borders.
The US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980 during a prolonged hostage crisis after Iranian students took over the American embassy in Tehran. Since then the two countries have taken part in several international groups but direct contact is rare.
Washington accuses Tehran of arming and training Shiite militias in Iraq — a belief also held by London, which alleges that Iran is providing insurgent groups in the south with explosive devices to attack British troops. Iran denies the claims. It feels that the presence of US forces has stoked the insurgency in Iraq and threatens to undermine security within its own borders.
The US military said that one soldier was killed during fighting in eastern Baghdad yesterday.
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Breeding of alQaeda: In 2001, the people of the United States were the next victim of al-Qaeda. Iranian people were victim of the same vicious people when the entire Iranian mission in Afghanistan was killed by Taliban.
Today, August 6, 2007, the fist meeting between the technical staff of United States and Iran toward stabilizing Iraq, is a baby step toward normalization between these two countries. It is the first step toward normalizing the regional status of the Near East. Both the United States and Iran would be at greater risks if their activities would fail.
Iran would greatly benefit from a stable Iraq. Failure of the United States in managing al-Qaeda would not only harm US, but also would put at risk the satellite Arab countries, such as Egypt, Kingdom of Arabia and Jordan. These US satellite countries are the primary targets of al-Qaeda.
Arabic al-Qaeda would treat Iran the same way that they would treat US, and Turkey. Let us hope our government will succeed.
Saint Michael Traveler, San Diego, USA
Breeding of al-Qaeda
Our United States government created the Radical Islam. It is the product of our foreign policies since 1979. Our government decided to train Mujahideen to defeat Soviets in Afghanistan. Reagan administration provided Pakistan with resources to create madrassas and educate Afghans into Islamic radicals. From 1982 to 1992, 35,000 radical Muslims from 43 Islamic countries were brought to Pakistan; we trained these young men in the art of terrorism.
Our U.S. government recruited Osama bin Laden and his 4,000 volunteers in 1984. With our knowledge, bin Laden created al-Qaeda in 1988. CIA provided highly sophisticated equipment and training to Bin Laden. We turned a blind eye when bin Laden opened terrorist cells in some 26 countries.
After the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, the U.S. supported Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Islamic fundamentalist, and the Taliban. In 1998, bin Laden master minded the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Don't blame Iran.
Saint Michael Traveler, San Diego, USA
O.yeaw,Ever went to a football game?Ever seen one on telivision?Ever noticed the goodyear blimp showing pictures from 3 miles away that look like you are standing right next to the players?How come the army isnt smart enough to have a big UNMANNED blimp thats loaded with survaliance equipment to detect day or night whats happening on the ground?Just think have a base in a remote secure place with observers watching in comfort the area below and around the semistationary observation platform<It could even be armed with small missils to destroy from 1 to 20 terrorist sneaking around in the fields or city,Computers could track any vehicle from wher it blew up to where it came from.Patroles of us and iraqi police or solders could have laptop computers linked to main observation area and would know there were busrwhackers lurking around the bend.You see a blimp at high altitude is invisable from the ground and it can stay in the same spot for days on end,common sence.
reeder, rogers, ark.
I guess it just my sense of deep guilt as an American that prompts me to respond. The death and destruction continue because we, facilitated by the British who knew better, have shattered Iraq for entirely false rationalizations. The descent into hell will not stop until the occupations stops, and then the ultimate outcome will be determined by those remaining either alive or still residing in that unfortunate country. The blowback will be fierce and prolonged. And some will continue to ask, Why do you hate us? A BBC reporter recently asked that question of Hambali in Indonesia. I cringed accordingly.
tarquinis, Seattle, USA