Premier to Unveil Amnesty Plan

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is expected to unveil a national reconciliation plan today that includes a limited amnesty, one of the most comprehensive efforts to curb the insurgency since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The move comes against a backdrop of violence that led to a lockdown of the capital on Friday and claimed the lives of more U.S. troops, with the deaths of four soldiers reported Saturday. In the last week, at least 12 soldiers and six Marines have been killed in Iraq.

Maliki’s reconciliation plan, which is expected to be presented to parliament today, would be among the new Iraqi government’s most ambitious attempts yet to begin uniting this fractious society.

One major area of concern is how Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, will deal with the country’s minority Sunnis, who were favored under Saddam Hussein’s regime and now lead the insurgency.

The 28-point proposal calls for opening a dialogue with armed groups to get them off the streets. It would also grant a limited amnesty to low-level insurgents and groups and deal with the problem posed by Shiite militias, which have become a fixture on the streets and have been accused of fielding death squads that target Sunnis.

In addition, the plan envisions a buildup of security forces so that U.S.-led troops can leave the country. But there is no timeline for a pullout, despite calls by some Sunni Arab politicians for such a schedule.

Hassan Bazzaz, a University of Baghdad political scientist, said he believed Maliki’s proposal would be a “step in the right direction.” But he also said the gaps were wide between political groups involved in the discussions.

Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers have expressed doubts about the plan.

“The picture looks very gloomy for a quick and good solution,” Bazzaz said. “Every Iraqi is facing the same problem. When I leave my house, I feel insecure. Everyone is sharing this problem we are facing.”

He said the key was to control the militias, which would lead to a more stable environment.

“We cannot talk about the militias without talking about the parties with the guns -- whether you call them insurgents or militias,” he said. “They are all involved in carrying guns and killing each other.”

Mithal Alusi, an independent member of parliament, likened the situation in Baghdad to that of the organized crime gangland days in the United States.

“You have done it in Chicago with the mafia,” Alusi said. “Now we must stop our mafia here.”

To do that, he said, would require American help, not only to stabilize the country but also to block efforts by countries such as Syria and Iran to influence Iraqi affairs.

“We can only succeed if we do it together,” Alusi said.

Amid efforts at reconciliation, the violence continued across the country.

Four U.S. soldiers were reported killed in Baghdad, raising the number of American military personnel who have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to at least 2,521, according to an Associated Press count. Two of the soldiers died Saturday of injuries sustained in a bombing while on foot patrol south of Baghdad, the military said in a news release.

Another was killed early Friday when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in central Baghdad. The fourth died in an unspecified “noncombat incident” in the capital Friday afternoon, the military said.

In north Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded next to an Iraqi police patrol, killing two policemen and wounding three others. The explosion occurred as the patrol was passing Al Sadiq University for Islamic Studies.

And in the northern city of Kirkuk, the local head of the Iraqi intelligence services, his deputy and bodyguard were killed when their car was struck by a remote-controlled car bomb.

Three other civilians died when they were struck by gunfire from a passing vehicle as they sat in a shop in Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of the capital, police said.

Times special correspondents in Baqubah and Kirkuk contributed to this report.