WASHINGTON, Jan 20: Iraq’s national security adviser complained bitterly in an interview published on Friday about secret US contacts with Iraqi guerillas, warning that the ‘policy of appeasement’ would undermine security.

National Security Adviser Mowaffak Rubaie told the Washington Times that the contacts with so-called Iraqi ‘rejectionists’ were being carried out behind the back of the government.

“I think the Americans are making a huge and fatal mistake in their policy of appeasement and they should not do this. They should leave the Iraqi government to deal with it,” he was quoted as saying.

Asked about Mr Rubaie’s charges, a Pentagon spokesman would not comment directly on whether contacts were being pursued with Sunnis associated with the resistance.

“It’s my understanding that the coalition is involved in reaching out to influential community leaders across Iraq to address legitimate concerns of the people and to urge people to participate in a peaceful political process,” said Bryan Whitman.

“I can tell you that we do not engage with (Abu Musab al) Zarqawi or Al Qaeda in Iraq, pro-Saddamists, criminals, foreign fighters — that is not the type of engagement that we’re talking about,” he said.

But on whether there have been contacts with other militants, he said: “It depends on how you characterize or categorize people.” Mr Rubaie argued in the interview that any deal with the guerillas ‘will worsen our security position’.

“There is no way, not a snowball in hell that we will talk to any insurgents group or terrorists group, because we don’t want to pay them off for killing our people,” he was quoted as saying. “We believe in ballot boxes. They believe in bullets,” he said

“I repeat: Any policy of appeasement is a fatal mistake. It makes them misinterpret their opponents’ actions as coming from a position of weakness,” he said. —AFP