Rice Puts Reputation on the Line Over Iraq

By ANNE GEARAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Months of political haggling in Iraq that sapped the American public’s support for the war may be nearing an end, offering hope amid rising sectarian carnage.

It also leaves Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a more visible role as the Bush administration tries to steady a country at the brink of civil war.

Iraqi Shiite politicians agreed Friday to nominate a new candidate for prime minister, replacing an incumbent who had become an obstacle in the drive for a permanent government more than four months after national elections.

The administration had hailed the elections as a major milestone toward Iraqi political stability, and watched with rising frustration as internal squabbles drained political momentum and seemed to feed the bloodshed.

Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties also agreed Friday on nominees to fill the other top posts of government. The nominees were to be presented to a session of parliament on Saturday.

It looks like there's movement and that's good news,'' Rice said Friday. She and other U.S. officials have been pushing hard behind the scenes for the Shiites to find a way out of the impasse. On her last visit to Iraq three weeks ago, Rice did not disguise a lack of enthusiasm for interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who was seen as weak and too closely allied with the firebrand anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Rice could now travel to Iraq more frequently and discuss the war more freely both at home and abroad as the administration tries to capitalize on the long-delayed opportunity for a fresh political start. To the degree that Rice gets more directly involved in guiding Iraq's new government, she will be putting her credibility on the line and risking a backlash against the perception of American meddling. Rice also risks tarnishing her reputation at home, which has withstood President Bush's sinking poll numbers and recent demands from several retired generals that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld step down.She has two choices,’’ said Benjamin Barber, professor of civil society at the University of Maryland.

One is to cheerlead, to stand on the sidelines and say, 'This is great, the political parties are capable of reconciling,''' and handling problems themselves, Barber said. That's essentially what Rice had done until recently. The other course, Barber said, is toget a little pushier.’’ If she does, Rice will be treading very dangerous ground'' where she may do more harm than good, he said. The administration wants to see decisive moves by the new Iraqi government to rein in violence and build confidence among dispirited Iraqis who have increasingly turned to the protection of outlaw militias in the absence of clear central government control.There is a realization that this is our last best chance,’’ said Kurt Campbell, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That could dictate a more direct role for Rice if, as the administration hopes, political gains begin to edge out violence as the prevailing story from Iraq.

``This is the highest possible stakes diplomacy, but it’s unavoidable,’’ if Iraq is to take charge of its own future and speed the day when U.S. forces can leave, Campbell said.

There are signs Rice cannot resist taking a more aggressive stance, or perhaps that the administration feels it has no other choice. Even before Friday’s political developments in Iraq, Rice had been slowly raising her profile on the issue.

The risk she runs was clear during a visit she made to Baghdad this month. Instead of staging photo-ops with soldiers, as she has done on previous visits, Rice huddled with Iraq’s quarreling leaders behind closed doors. She left with nothing to show for the effort.

Rice recently has given a string of speeches before foreign policy scholars that argue the world cannot afford to lose Iraq to chaos and terrorism.

She is also sitting for an unusual number of news interviews with television stations and others outside Washington, in hopes of taking the case for perseverance in Iraq directly to local audiences.

— -

On the Net:

State Department: http://www.state.gov

CIA Factbook on Iraq: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5772779,00.html