Iraq Shia leader seeks tougher U.S. action

One of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders said after meeting President Bush on Monday that civil war could only be staved off if U.S. forces struck harder against Sunni-led insurgents.

While Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the biggest party in Iraq's government, SCIRI, met Bush in Washington, the U.S. envoy and military chief in Baghdad implored Iraqis to break a cycle of violence which they said would destroy the country.

Hakim denied that majority Shi'ites were stoking sectarian violence and put the onus on Washington to take tougher action against insurgents.

"The strikes they are getting from the multinational forces are not hard enough to put an end to their acts," he said.

"Eliminating the danger of civil war in Iraq could only be achieved through directing decisive strikes against Baathist terrorists (and other Islamists) in Iraq."

"Otherwise we'll continue to witness massacres," he said in a speech after meeting Bush.

Bush, his Iraq policy under growing criticism even from former allies, said he and Hakim had discussed a need for Iraqi leaders to "reject the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young democracy."

"I told him we're not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq and that we want to continue to work with the sovereign government in Iraq to accomplish our mutual objectives, which is a free country that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself," Bush told reporters at the White House.

Hakim, a Shi'ite Muslim cleric who rose to power in Iranian exile at the head of SCIRI's armed wing the Badr Brigade, denies accusations by Saddam Hussein's once dominant Sunni minority that his party is behind any of hundreds of weekly killings.

Bush met Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week and is due to meet Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi later this month as he seeks a new approach to a deepening crisis that could upset the entire Middle East.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan added his voice on Sunday to those now describing fighting in Iraq as civil war, a term Bush rejects.

The 24 hours to Monday evening saw 52 more victims of sectarian death squads dumped in Baghdad.

In one of the most vivid signs of American alarm, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad and the commander of U.S. forces said in a joint statement on Monday: "We implore all Iraqis not to become pawns of those who seek to destroy you and your country."

Condemning the worst bombing since the U.S. invasion, which killed over 200 Shi'ites in Baghdad last month, Zalmay Khalilzad and General George Casey said: "Do not allow yourself to be drawn down the road of senseless brutality by striking back."

Many Iraqis, however, fear their oil-rich nation passed the point of no return into sectarian division after the destruction of a Shi'ite shrine in February sparked a wave of tit-for-tat bloodshed that has grown ever since. Maliki's unity government has struggled to make any impact in seven months in office.

Maliki's government hit back at the U.N. chief.

"In calling the events in Iraq a civil war, (Annan) is gilding the image of the former regime, which was known for crimes against humanity," it said.

IRAN AND SYRIA

Hakim has said all communities have a place in Iraq but SCIRI, which retains close ties with U.S. adversaries in Shi'ite Iran, also strongly defends the principle of Shi'ite majority rule.

On Wednesday, the American bipartisan Iraq Study Group co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker is to offer Bush more proposals on stabilizing Iraq and reducing the U.S. presence.

These could include U.S. troops taking a back-seat to Iraqi forces and seeking help from neighboring Iran and Syria.

Another four U.S. troops were killed on Sunday when their helicopter came down in a lake, the U.S. military said.

Losses have taken the number of American dead since 2003 to close to 2,900 and increased pressure among U.S. voters for withdrawal. Such sentiment cost Bush's Republicans control of Congress last month and the party is anxious not to lose the White House too when Bush's second term ends in two years.

Many U.S. hopes rest in the performance of more than 300,000 newly trained Iraqi soldiers and police. Maliki won a promise from Bush of more training and equipment and said last week he expected they could be in overall command by June.

U.S. commanders, however, question the effectiveness and sectarian loyalties of many Iraqi units. Many are seen as loyal to Hakim's party or to his main Shi'ite rival Moqtada al-Sadr, while some look to Sunni or Kurdish leaders for direction.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Carol Giacomo in Washington)