Casting a further shadow over the gathering, Iraqi resistance fought fierce battles with the US army militants in the city of Najaf after the collapse of peace talks aimed at ending fighting that has killed hundreds.
Iraq's puppet Interior Ministry says three mortar bombs hit a taxi and bus station on the edge of the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, a few hundred metres away from the conference centre, also wounding 17 others.
The three-day conference, with 1,300 delegates, was not affected, though the explosions rattled windows. The brazen mortar attack illustrates Iraq's nightmarish security situation as US puppet politicians and religious leaders try to plot the country's road to democracy. [?]
[Just plain rubbish and propaganda.]
In Najaf, numerous blasts hit resistance, positions near the city's holy sites, but it was not immediately clear if US forces had begun an all-out offensive against the indigenous Mehdi Army loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. One shell landed near the outer wall of the sacred Imam Ali Mosque, killing one man, a witness said.
Iraq's puppet Interior Ministry said it had issued an order for US forces not to attack the mosque, where hundreds of Sadr's followers were believed to be sheltering. Such an attack could trigger outrage among Iraq's Shiite majority.
The puppet Interior Ministry also said it had information there were 25 foreigners inside the Imam Ali shrine who are trying to incite violence and threatening to blow it up.
The 11-day uprising in Najaf has spread to seven other Shiite cities in southern and central Iraq and threatened to undermine the authority of the puppet interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
US warplanes hit targets in the Sunni Muslim town of Falluja for a fourth day running, killing four Iraqis, a doctor said. US militant forces say they are targeting enemies in the city, but residents say many civilians have been killed.
Conference
Speaking at the national conference, Dr Allawi said Iraq needed to press on with trying to create democracy after decades of brutal rule under former dictator Saddam Hussein.
[Just plain rubbish and US propaganda.]
"Your presence here today is the biggest challenge to the forces of darkness that want to tear this country apart. This is not the end of the road, it is the first step on the way to democracy," he said.
[Even though the Coalition of the Killing is the force that pre-emptively struck and attacked Iraq committing occupation and genocide killing 600,000 and maiming and torturing tens of thousands of innocent citizens.]
The political and religious leaders at the conference will choose a 100-member national council to oversee the interim puppet government until, [alleged], elections are held in January.
The conference has been beset by boycotts from key players such as indigenous Iraqi's like Sadr and the Muslim Clerics Association, an influential grouping of Sunni leaders. Some Shiite leaders threatened to withdraw because of the fighting in Najaf.
The conference was due to open in late July but was delayed after the United Nations demanded more time for preparations. Some delegates taking part have accused the government of stacking the slate with Dr Allawi supporters.
"The political parties in power now have the overwhelming majority of delegates. They left no room for independents," said Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, a leading Shiite cleric.
Once appointed, the national council will be able to veto legislation with a two-thirds majority, approve Iraq's 2005 budget, and appoint a new prime minister or president should either resign or die in office.
By Now War 16 August 04
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