Rice, Straw Make Surprise Iraq Trip

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived Sunday, American and British officials said. The surprise visits come amid growing pressure on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to step aside as the Shiite nominee for a second term to break the stalemate in talks on forming a new government.

"We're going to urge that the negotiations be wrapped up," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as she and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew overnight to the Iraqi capital for meetings with the current interim government and ethnic and religious power brokers.

Straw said the choice of leaders is up to Iraqis alone, but neither he nor Rice disguised the blunt nature of their mission.

"There is significant international concern about the time the formation of this government is taking, and therefore we believe and we will be urging the Iraqi leaders we see to press out ahead more quickly," Straw said.

The British diplomat was making his third trip to Iraq this year. Rice was last in Iraq in November.

"We've wanted to be out there at times that we thought we could help move the process forward," Rice said. "We are going to urge the negotiations be wrapped and the government be formed. It should be clear to everyone the time has come to produce a government of national unity and that will be the message."

Britain is Washington's closest ally in the 3-year-old war and stations the second largest number of troops in the country after the United States.

Straw was meeting with President Jalal Talabani. Meetings were also planned with the vice president, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and other leaders.

The visit comes amid growing pressure on al-Jaafari to step aside as the Shiite nominee for a second term to break the stalemate in talks on forming a new government.

Talks among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders have stalled, in part because of opposition to al-Jaafari's nomination by the Shiite bloc. On Saturday, Shiite politician Qassim Dawoud joined Sunnis and Kurds in calling for a new Shiite nominee, the first time a Shiite figure has issued such a public call.

Rice and Straw, who had been in northern England, arrived during a driving rain and thunderstorm at a time when U.S. officials here have been expressing increasing impatience with the slow pace of government talks following the Dec. 15 elections.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has urged the Iraqis to speed up the process to prevent the country from sliding into civil war.

U.S. officials believe the formation of a government of national unity would be a major step toward calming the insurgency and restoring order three years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. That would enable the U.S. and its coalition partners to begin withdrawing troops.

But talks among Iraqi political leaders have bogged down, prompting Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians to call for al-Jaafari's replacement. The Shiites get first crack at the prime minister's job because they are the largest bloc in parliament.

In Britain, a second day of loud anti-war protests greeted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday, and the U.S. diplomat heard subtler pleas for peace and tolerance from Christian and Muslim leaders in this multiethnic but divided northern town.

Rice toured a Gothic cathedral in a gray rain, and later met with local Muslim leaders including the town's mayor, a Ugandan immigrant. Blackburn is about 20 percent Muslim, and opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq is strong.

The dean of Blackburn Cathedral concluded a tour of the stone church with a short prayer.

"We hold before God all those who have a responsibility to make good and far-reaching decisions whilst listening to different views of how peace and justice may best be promoted," the very Rev. Christopher Armstrong said, as Rice stood beside him with bowed head.

Outside the town hall later, about 200 demonstrators shouted "Shame on you," as Rice's party arrived. A huge orange banner read, "War on terror = war on Islam."

"To a certain extent, the protesters make my point, that democracy is the only system where people's voices can be heard and heard peacefully," Rice told reporters following a meeting with about a dozen local Muslim leaders.

Rice also said she looked forward to the day when the U.S. could close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The prison will not remain open "any longer than is needed," Rice said at a news conference in Blackburn's town hall. "We have to recognize Guantanamo is there for a reason, because we captured people on battlefields ... who were either plotting, or planning or actively engaged in terrorist activities."

The U.S. will be "glad of the day when conditions permit the closure of Guantanamo," Rice said.

The shouts of demonstrators and the blare of police whistles could be clearly heard outside the building as Rice spoke alongside her British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

"I'm not embarrassed in the least," by the reception Rice received in his Parliament district, Straw said.

At the meeting, Muslim community leaders expressed to Rice the widespread opposition to the war in Iraq. They also raised concerns about Guantanamo as well as U.S. policies in the Palestinian territories, a mosque leader and Muslim businessman said afterward.