Rice ties war debate to democracy doubts

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told government leaders Saturday that the contentious debate in Washington over President Bush's war strategy reflects U.S. doubts that democracy will take hold in Iraq.

The chief U.S. diplomat, on an unannounced visit to the capital, acknowledged that people in both countries are impatient about signs of progress in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.

"The American people want to see results and can't wait forever," she told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials in his government.

The Bush administration so far has spent more than $350 billion on the war and reconstruction. More than 3,100 U.S. troops have died in the conflict.

Despite impatience with the war effort, she said, that does not mean the United States can or should demand that Iraqis "get it done at once."

The U.S. House of Representatives delivered a symbolic blow Friday to Bush's plan to turn around an unpopular war by adding 21,500 American troops. The U.S. Senate planned a rare Saturday session to consider a nonbinding measure expressing opposition to that increase.

"Some of the debate in Washington is in fact indicative of the concerns that some of the American people have for the prospects of success if the Iraqi government doesn't do what it has said it will do," Rice said.

Democrats say their next move is to challenge Bush's request for $93 million in new war money for the Pentagon.

Rice is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Iraq since last month's announcement of a new security campaign, which began this week. The surprise stop, coinciding with the congressional debate, appeared to reflect a calculation by the administration that focusing attention on developments in Iraq was the best response to the congressional voting.

On Friday, Bush did not comment on the House vote and his spokesman said he had been too busy to watch the debate on television. The president held a videoconference with al-Maliki and told reporters afterward of the initial progress the Iraqi leader had reported to him.

Rice asserted that the coordinated U.S.-Iraq sweep against militant factions is bringing "a new hope and a new optimism" to Baghdad. She said she hopes the crackdown in a capital weary of violence will provide an incentive for political progress.

Rice, who stopped in Iraq on the way to talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, added it was too soon to know whether the operation would work. As Bush did in announcing the planned buildup last month, she put much of the onus for success on the Iraqis.

"None of us knows the full story of precisely what the militias are doing," Rice said. "But if there is a diminution in the violence as a result, if they have decided that they are not going to challenge the Baghdad security plan, then the use of that time for good purposes could make the situation much more stable."

She did praise the Baghdad government for ably promoting the crackdown to the Iraqi people and said Iraqi forces seem to be participating in adequate numbers.

In meetings with Iraq's fragile and often divided U.S.-backed government, Rice stressed the need for political and economic progress alongside security gains.

Rice said she hopes the security sweep "may have now a little bit of a spur to some other things as well."

The U.S. has urged the government to move more quickly on benchmarks such as a national law governing the distribution of oil wealth. Iraqi leaders informed her that the oil deal was almost done, but Rice later told reporters she has heard that before. The secretary said she made clear to Iraqi officials that she hopes this time it is for real.

"The oil law is a proxy for something much larger," Rice said. "It's really important that they complete it, but it's also important that they have made progress."

Iraqi leaders know as well as she does, Rice said, about what must be done. "The American people are not the only ones who are impatient. The Iraqi people are impatient."

Iraq has missed its own target dates for making crucial trust-building measures, such as laws establishing provincial elections, equitably distributing the country's oil wealth and reversing prohibitions on government participation by many Sunnis because of membership in Saddam's Baath party.

"The wait for progress can't be endless," Rice said.

Initial reports had placed the Iraqi participation at 45 percent to 55 percent of full troop strength in the crackdown. Rice said there were technical explanations for some Iraqi absences and that commanders have told her that Iraqi participation is now as high as 90 percent.

She also said the government is meeting a test she had set for its commitment to the plan by ensuring that the rules of engagement for the joint forces are equitable and nonsectarian.

Rice's visit was intended as a firsthand look at the efforts to clamp down on the violent reprisals between Sunnis and Shiites. The attacks have seized Baghdad and contributed to the exodus of an estimated 3.8 million Iraqis from their homes.

Insurgent violence remains a concern. Rice's plane circled the airport for 30 minutes before landing because of military action in the city. At least two tracer or flares apparently were fired at a group of helicopters ferrying Rice's party into the city.

"If in fact militias decide to stand down and stop killing innocent Iraqis ... that can't be a bad thing," Rice told reporters traveling with her. "But how the Iraqis use the breathing space that that might provide is what's really important."

Rice also spoke with American troops and U.S. embassy workers, telling them their work was worthwhile in helping Iraq and securing the safety of the United States.

"When you see Iraqis toiling and squabbling and struggling ... remember it's not easy to build a democracy," Rice said.

The security sweep appeared to get off to a good start. The number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell drastically Friday, and officials credited the security operation begun in force just days ago.

Ten bodies were reported by the morgue in the capital, compared with an average of 40 to 50 per day common in recent months.

New checkpoints have gone up around the city, creating long traffic jams as vehicles are searched. Iraqi tanks have pushed into areas where roaming gunmen and militant groups have ruled.

While the reduction in killings was a relief, U.S. officials sounded a note of caution. Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, said militias and insurgents have apparently decided to lie low at least during these early days of the crackdown.

But in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk a suicide car bomber rammed into a crowded market on Saturday moments after a booby-trapped vehicle exploded, killing at least nine people and injuring 60, the police said.

The Iraq visit was a sidelight to a trip otherwise devoted to energizing stagnant peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

That mission was complicated by last week's announced power-sharing pact between the U.S.-backed Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas militants whom the U.S. considers terrorists.

Rice planned to spend several days in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan before reporting on peace prospects at meetings in Europe.