Shi'ite nominee urged to withdraw

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A prominent Shi'ite member of parliament urged interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari yesterday to withdraw his nomination to head the new government in Iraq, marking the first time that a politician from Jaafari's political alliance has made such a call.

Qassim Dawoud, who leads an independent bloc of Shi'ite parliamentarians inside the United Iraqi Alliance, joined several Kurdish, Sunni, and secular politicians who have been saying for weeks that Jaafari is too divisive a figure to lead the fractured country through this crucial period.

Dawoud said in a telephone interview yesterday that he and other members of the United Iraqi Alliance first approached al-Jaafari about three weeks ago and asked him to consider stepping aside.

Around that time, Jaafari had missed the constitutionally mandated deadline for nominating members for the Cabinet, partly because of pressure from President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Sunni and secular leaders who questioned whether Jaafari could be an effective prime minister.

Dawoud said he and others had come to the conclusion that Jaafari was someone that the minority parties would never be willing to negotiate with, and would subsequently bog down the government.

''How do you expect me to say, 'Fine, let us close our eyes and wait for more time?' " Dawoud said. ''We cannot really wait forever."

The call for Jaafari's pullout was issued on another bloody day in Iraq that left at least 22 people dead in Baghdad and Basra, news services reported. Six others -- all Shi'ite men -- died Friday evening when gunmen opened fire on a minibus near Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, the town's mayor, Mohammed Maarouf, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

The US military also reported that a coalition helicopter that was engaged in combat operations crashed in southwest Baghdad around sundown yesterday. The fate of the crew was unknown, the military said.

The US military also reported yesterday that a Marine assigned to the 2/28 Brigade Combat Team had died from wounds suffered in fighting in western Anbar province a day earlier. There were at least 30 US military deaths in March, according to military reports.

That figure would make it the lowest monthly death toll since 20 US troops were killed in February 2004, which was the lowest of the three-year war. While US military fatalities have plunged in the past five months, Iraqi civilian casualties have sharply increased, Major General Rick Lynch, a US military spokesman, said last week.

Dawoud said that many members of the United Iraqi Alliance share his view on al-Jaafari. Dawoud said he believes his public statement will spur others within the alliance to come forward to voice their desire for Jaafari to step aside.

Jaafari, who served as interim prime minister, won the Alliance caucus by the slimmest of margins. The 30 members of the Alliance aligned with Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, voted for Jaafari and delivered him the victory.

The leader of the Sadr-aligned parliament members said his bloc stood firm in its support of Jaafari.

The Sunnis, Kurds, and secular figures who oppose Jaafari say he has been ineffective in stamping out the insurgency and the country has grown more divided along sectarian lines during his tenure in office.