Shiite Assails Iraq Elections Stalling

[DuctapeFatwa]

A leading Shiite member of Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council on Sunday demanded no more "stalling" on arranging for elections for a new government. Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, a Shiite cleric and Governing Council member, said the U.S.-run coalition should have begun planning for elections months ago.

The statement underscored the impatience among some Iraqis, notably Shiite leaders, as U.S. forces try to stamp out insurgents and stabilize the country enough for a June 30 handover of power.

The violence continued Sunday with a roadside bombing that killed an Iraqi near the northern city of Mosul, while another bomb exploded in Baghdad's al-Washash neighborhood and injured four Iraqi policemen. The officers were responding to a report of a "strange body" found in the area, police said. They had no further details.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday the insurgents were trying to create strife among Iraqis as a means toward frustrating U.S. interests there.


http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040222_1285.html