Osman: Visit Adversely Affects the Political Process

Prominent Kurdistan Alliance leader Mahmood Osman criticized the visit of US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice and UK foreign secretary Jack Straw to Iraq, saying they should not be involved in selecting (Iraqi leadership) posts because it hurts the political process. He criticized the British foreign minister for saying that (the British government) has the right to interfere in Iraq's issues because it paid for Iraq with both blood and money. Osman maintained that Iraqis lost thousands of innocent spirits (civilians) because of the foreigners' misguided policies. Osman also said the political blocs had stopped negotiating (to form a permanent cabinet) because they had not agreed on how to solve the impasse over the premiership. (The United Iraqi Alliance, the leading bloc in parliament, is debating whether to keep the current nominee, Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari.)