US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Iraq

BAGHDAD — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a top Democratic critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, expressed confidence during a visit to Iraq on Saturday that expected provincial elections will promote national reconciliation.

Pelosi, who led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Baghdad, spoke after the group met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq.

(enlarge photo) Iraqi government forces roll into the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad Saturday, May 17, 2008. Sadr City appeared to be calm Saturday after weeks of bloody clashes between the US forces and Mahdi army fighters. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

She welcomed Iraq's progress in passing a budget as well as oil legislation and a bill paving the way for provincial elections in the fall that are expected to more equitably redistribute power among local officials.

She said the visit was to "pay our respects to our troops and at the same time learn more about what the situation is on the ground here."

Pelosi was hopeful about the upcoming elections after meeting with Iraq's Sunni parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

"We're assured sure the elections will happen here, they will be transparent, they will be inclusive and they will take Iraq closer to the reconcilation we all want it to have," she said.

Pelosi's visit comes a day after she led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding.

Pelosi, who also traveled to Iraq in January 2007 shortly after the Democrats assumed congressional control, has been a sharp critic of the Bush administration's conduct of the war and has pressed for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country this year.

She also has called for the Iraqi government to contribute more financially to the reconstruction of the country.

President Bush's Iraq war funding request failed in the House Thursday as anti-war Democrats and Republicans unhappy about added domestic funding formed an unlikely coalition to kill, for now, $163 billion to support U.S. troops overseas.

The Republican revolt was spurred by Democratic tactics in advancing the must-pass measure, as well as their efforts to add money for the unemployed and an expansion of troop education benefits to the bill.

The practical effect of the move, however, is likely to be minimal. While it kills the war funding component of the bill for now, the Senate is sure to revive it next week.

Al-Maliki met with Pelosi after returning to the Iraqi capital from Mosul, where he oversaw the start of a new crackdown against al-Qaida in Iraq militants in the northern city.

Nearly 1,000 people have been detained since the operations against Sunni insurgents in Mosul began on May 10, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said during a news conference.

He said a total of 1,068 people were detained but 94 had been released.

The prime minister also sought to draw Saddam Hussein-era troops to the government's side, inviting them to rejoin the Iraqi security services and promising to facilitate their return. During the Saddam era, Mosul's Sunni Arab population was a major source of officers for the military — and many have remained bitter over their removal after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Al-Maliki "has invited all former security and army employees to rejoin the military and security services," al-Bolani told reporters in Mosul. He said the Interior and Defense ministries would take steps to facilitate their return.

"This step is considered a positive one toward building our country in the framework of national reconciliation," he added.

The government crackdown against Sunni insurgents follows similar operations targeting Shiite militants in Baghdad's Sadr City district and the southern city of Basra.

On Friday, al-Maliki offered amnesty and cash to fighters in Mosul who surrender their weapons. He said he would give 10 days for armed groups to hand over medium and heavy weapons for monetary compensation, as well as amnesty for those "duped" into taking up arms against the government — as long as they did not "have blood on their hands."

Al-Bolani said no one has surrendered any weapons yet and warned they had "no other choice" but to comply or face being targeted by security forces in the coming days.

Al-Maliki made a similar offer to Shiite militias in Basra during the sweep there, but few surrendered weapons.

Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has been the most prominent urban stronghold of the terror network in recent months after its hold was broken in parts of the capital as well as cities of the western province of Anbar.

Yassin Majid, an al-Maliki adviser, said most of the leading insurgents had fled to the outskirts of Mosul or to a neighboring country amid the operations. He did not name the neighboring country.

"Operations will continue and the Iraqi army will not leave Mosul until security and stability have been accomplished," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that about $1 million had been allocated for civil services in the city.

Also Saturday, a female suicide bomber blew herself up near an office for a U.S.-allied Sunni group, then a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi police patrol heading to the scene in the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad.

Police said at least 15 people were wounded in the attacks, including two children.

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Associated Press Writer Hamid Ahmed contributed to this report.

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