Annan to Send U.N. Team to Help End Iraq’s Political Stalemate

WASHINGTON â€”  U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that he was dispatching a team of diplomats to Iraq in hopes of breaking an impasse over the planned transfer of political authority in Baghdad.

After a White House meeting with President Bush, Annan told reporters that the United Nations team would consult widely with Iraqis and “help them steer things in the right direction.�

“Everyone agrees that sovereignty should be handed over to Iraq as soon as possible,� he added.

With the June 30 deadline approaching, the Coalition Provisional Authority is calling for Iraqis to choose a provisional government through regional caucuses, but Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, an influential Shiite Muslim cleric, is demanding direct elections.

Annan noted that the U.S.-led coalition officials and the Iraqi Governing Council have assured him that they would abide by the U.N.’s conclusions.

“So we do have a chance to help break the impasse which exists at the moment and move forward,� Annan said.

The meeting between Bush and Annan took place amid continuing violence in Iraq.

One American soldier was killed and another was wounded Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded during an operation to clear such weapons, a U.S. military spokesman said. The incident occurred near Iskandariya, south of Baghdad.

In Irbil, the number of deaths in the twin suicide bombings of two Kurdish political offices rose to 101. Coalition authorities said 133 people were still hospitalized after the attacks on the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said a U.S. investigation had not determined who was behind the attacks in Irbil, although he would not rule out either Ansar al Islam or the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

In London, meanwhile, Reuters said Tuesday that a U.S. Army investigation into the detention and treatment of three of the news agency’s Iraqi staff members was “woefully inadequate� and should be reopened.

The Reuters crew said U.S. troops fired in their direction.

A summary of the investigation by the 82nd Airborne Division said the inquiry into the Jan. 2 arrests of the three Iraqi employees near Fallouja and their treatment during three days in detention did not find evidence of abuse.

Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger said in a statement: “It appears that the investigation consisted of simply interviewing the accused soldiers, and despite our offer, no effort was made to interview our staff.�

In a letter to the U.S. Defense Department, Schlesinger called for the investigation to be reopened and conducted in a more thorough and objective manner at senior levels.

Although the summary of the Army investigation’s findings said no evidence of abuse was found, it added that the detainees were “purposefully put under stress,� including sleep deprivation, and subjected to uncomfortable treatment.