US will not set Iraq amnesty Conditions: White House
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday that it would not set limits on an Iraqi amnesty plan, but reaffirmed support for an official proposal that does not cover those who have targeted US troops.

"We don't set conditions. The Iraqi government has the responsibility for proceeding forward with its own amnesty," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

Snow had been asked for the US response to comments from Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the largest bloc in Iraq's parliament, who suggested extending an amnesty to insurgents who have killed US troops.

"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," 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.

"We're going to let the Iraqi government work through that." But Snow also reaffirmed US support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who said last week that "those who targeted coalition troops, foreigners and journalists will not be offered amnesty as they have spread terror."

"At this point, we're not going to insert ourselves into ongoing deliberations on the part of the Iraqi government. We support the prime minister's attempts to try to build national reconciliation," said Snow.

Many in the US Congress have publicly opposed extending any amnesty in Iraq to fighters who have killed US troops.●