Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the UN and current rotating president of the UN Security Council, said that no Council member supports Iraq's demand for the establishment of an international tribunal to investigate the massive August 19 bombings in Baghdad.
Other diplomats have called the Iraqi demand "unrealistic."
[Throughout the evolving crisis between Iraq and Syria, the U.S. government took no side in the conflict. Most Iraqi and other commentators suspect that the U.S. government was in the process of seeking rapprochement with Iran and Syria and was not about to let Iraq interrupt the process. Clearly, the U.S. stand would likely weaken Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's position vis-à-vis Syria and his chances in the January elections.]
In fact, Iraq is already backtracking. Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said that Baghdad prefers to contain its conflict with Syria "through dialogue," adding that an Iraqi delegation will be going to Turkey to submit evidence regarding Syrian involvement in the Baghdad bombings.
Source: Al-Mada, Iraq, September 15, 2009
