Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expressing confidence that Iraqi leaders will be able to fill key security posts in the next few days while downplaying recent sectarian violence.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appears on 'Fox News Sunday' in Washington, Sunday, June 4, 2006. [AP]

Meanwhile, the top U.S. military officer pledged a thorough investigation in the alleged massacre of Iraqi citizens in Haditha by Marines, acknowledging that the charges have raised concerns among Iraqi officials and in the United States.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it is not clear exactly what happened last November when as many as two dozen Iraqis were killed during a U.S. attack in Haditha. Still, he said it was important not to rush to judgment.

"You don't want to have the emotions of the day weigh into the process," Pace told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday. "We need to stick with our judicial process. We want to be sure that it moves forward without any influence."

Rice said Sunday that "American forces are the solution here, not the problem" and promised that in the Haditha investigations, "We'll get to the bottom of it."

Regarding the vacant security posts, Rice said: "Of course, they need to get this settled, but they will get it settled. When they get it right, and they will get it right, everybody will forget how long it took them."

"Everyone is concerned in particular about sectarian violence that has risen," added Rice, who appeared on three Sunday talk shows. "But the way to handle this is through a government of national unity with a strong prime minister."

An Iraqi parliament session was postponed earlier Sunday after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki again failed to reach consensus on candidates to head ministries that run Iraq's military and police. Separately, gunmen dragged passengers off minibuses near Baghdad and killed 21 people in one of Iraq's worst sectarian mass murders in recent weeks.

Page:

1

2