Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Iraqi parliament's largest bloc, said Monday that he favors extending amnesty in Iraq to all insurgents, including those who have killed US troops.

Agence-France Presse reports that Mr. Hakim's position would contradict the one taken by his ally, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who said Wednesday that there would be "no amnesty to those who killed US troops, foreigners or journalists."

"Yes, they should be covered regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations," Hakim said when asked if he would support extending a reconciliation and amnesty plan unveiled by Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki to those who may have attacked US-led troops. Although the insurgency in Iraq is being fueled by Sunni Arabs, partisans of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr also fought US troops in 2004.

Hakim also directly blamed the "actions and policies" of the US for the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

"They were not qualified to protect society. They were sucked into a quagmire and made many mistakes that have brought us to the present unfortunate stage. They must give more opportunities to Iraqis to take control," he said.

AFP also reported that Hakim would not, however, negotiate with "Saddamists and takfeeris" - Saddam loyalists and extremist Sunni Arab militants who believe that Shiites are apostates.

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Last month, Knight Ridder reported that Hakim also said he didn't believe that the death of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would end the violence in Iraq or the tensions between Shiites and Sunnis. He said the next task of the new Iraqi government was to "rid the country's security forces of Saddam Hussein loyalists and former members of Saddam's Baath party."

Al-Hakim didn't say how many of Saddam's followers he thought were in the government. But the comments by the country's top Shiite politician seemed to augur more conflict with the Sunni minority, many of whom claim they're unfairly labeled as members of Saddam's party or, worse, as terrorists destabilizing the country.

At the same time, al-Hakim downplayed concerns that the Ministry of Interior has been overrun by Shiite-dominated militias that brutalize Sunnis. He said he didn't believe that militias should be disarmed, but that they should be incorporated into the government.

The Pakistan Times Wire Service reports that the US said Monday that it was up to Iraq to set the conditions for the amnesty.

"The (US) position is that we trust the Iraqi government to do what is going to be necessary to create national unity and reconciliation and to consolidate and move forward with its democracy," [White House spokesman Tony Snow] told reporters.

"To say 'do we support or not support' would indicate that we have an official role in it, and we do not," said the spokesman.

Mr. Snow did say that the US supports Mr. Maliki, whose amnesty proposal does not cover those who have targeted US troops.

The Daily Star of Lebanon reports that the amnesty proposal has been criticized by a number of members of the Iraqi parliament as too ambiguous and not providing enough incentive for insurgents to give up their struggle. President Jalal Talabani, however, who has been in touch with several insurgent groups, said most of parliament agreed on the proposal.

"I met two days ago with many democratic and nationalist organizations and they all support the initiative and among the fighters only the Saddamists and Al Qaeda people reject it," he said after meeting a US congressional delegation.

Finally, The Associated Press reports that Tuesday, Iraq's justice minister demanded that the UN Security Council ensure punishment for a group of US soldiers allegedly involved in the rape and murder of an Iraqi woman and the murder of three members of her family, if charges are proven to be true.

"If this act actually happened, it constitutes an ugly and unethical crime, monstrous and inhuman," said Justice Minister Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shebli al-Shebli, a Sunni Arab. "The Iraqi judiciary should be informed about this investigation which should be conducted under supervision of international and human organizations. Those involved should face justice."

"The ugliness of this crime demands a swift intervention of the UN Security Council to stop these violations of human rights and to condemn them so that they will not happen again," he added.

The Washington Post reports that former US solider Steven D. Green was charged Monday by federal prosecutors with the rape of the woman and the murder of her and three members of her family. Four other soldiers who have been implicated in the attack were not named in the federal documents. The soldiers, who have not been charged yet, remain in Iraq.

• Bush directed Cheney to counter war critic (National Journal)
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• Put away the flags (The Progressive)
• America the untethered (New York Times)
• A black flag hangs over the "rolling" operation in Gaza (Ha'aretz)

Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.