"Jaafari's speech came as a disappointment to me," said Dari. (Al-Jazeera)

CAIRO, November 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Differences have set the tone for the first day of the Arab League-sponsored Iraqi National Accord Conference over a pullout timetable for the US-led occupation troops and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari's reluctance to allow Baathists back to the political fold.

"It is nonsense to claim that an end of the US-led occupation of Iraq will lead to chaos," Secretary General of the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) Harith Al-Dari told the conference, which gathered Iraqi leaders from across the political and ethnic spectrum for three days of marathon talks to discuss reconciliation in their strife-torn country.

"These claims are, in effect, aimed at prolonging the occupation," Al-Jazeera satellite channel quoted him as saying.

Several leading Shiites and Kurds have repeatedly warned against a hasty troop withdrawal, which they argue would plunge the country into chaos.

The US House of Representatives rejected Friday a resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq after an acrimonious debate which brought out bitter divisions over the war.

Representative John Murtha, a respected Democrat, tabled a resolution saying troops be redeployed "at the earliest practicable date."

Exclusion

Jaafari (R) and Talabani said there is no room for Baathists in Iraq (Reuters)

Dari further criticized the speech by Jaafari, saying that it excluded other communities in Iraq and encouraged disunity.

"Jaafari's speech came as a disappointment to me, as a point of fact," Dari told the participants.

"Jaafari tried to draw a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq."

The Iraqi premier, a Shiite, echoed reservations voiced by the ruling Shiite majority over the participation in reconciliation talks of former members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime.

"We have set a red line: there is no room for Baathists in Iraq," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Jaafari as telling the meeting, which was attended by around 100 Iraqi leaders and regional officials.

Egypt and the Arab League had pressured the Iraqi government to allow former Baathists "with no blood on their hands" to be included in the talks.

"I appreciate (Arab League chief) Amr Moussa's efforts that led to this meeting, but here's what I tell him: it may be difficult to gather all the protagonists but it is even more difficult to deal with the reality on the ground, when the other is carrying arms and spilling blood," Jaafari said.

Jaafari's stance was echoed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, who also lashed out at the "criminals and assassins of the ousted regime of Saddam."

Vice President Ghazi Al-Yawar -- a leading Sunni tribal leader -- argued the talks would have benefited from wider participation.

"All Iraqis should be here if we want our problems to be solved," he told reporters.

Resistance

Dari further said that ignoring the resistance in Iraq will make matters worse, slamming placing resistance fighters who combat occupation troops with terrorists in one basket.

"We condemn terrorism in the strongest possible term, including the state and occupation terror," he said, referring to a fresh torture scandal that involved Iraqi policemen, who grisly tortured Iraqi detainees, mostly Sunnis.

Talabani, on his part, said the legitimate resistance was only through peaceful and political means, not weapons.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa, whose organization has recently stepped up its involvement in Iraq, opened the conference, describing it as "an historic day launching the reconciliation process".

"Foreign armies and coalitions will not be able to achieve security in Iraq," he stressed.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said "Iraqi reconciliation was a pre-requisite for any progress in the ongoing political process and the creation of the right atmosphere to gradually bring the foreign presence on Iraqi soil to an end."

Iraqi Government spokesman Leith Kubba, however, said it was to early to tell whether reconciliation was under way.

"We don't have too high expectations. The purpose of this meeting is to develop an agenda. If we reach an agreed agenda, this will already be a big step," he said.