The American ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has confirmed that United States officials have held talks with some groups linked to the Sunni-led Iraqi insurgency. In a BBC interview, Mr.Khalilzad said that in his judgment, the talks that had an impact as the number of attacks on US troops had fallen. Andrew North reports.

Zalmay Khalilzad is seen as one of the architects of President Bush's decisions to overthrow Saddam Hussein 3 years ago. In a rare acknowledgement by an American official, he said the US is talking to some groups with ties to the insurgency. Talks which have had some results, he said, citing a significant reduction in attacks on US troops in recent month as an example. Dr. Khalilzad would not specify which groups the US has had contacted with, other than to say we won't talk to people, he called Saddamists or terrorists seeking a war on civilization.

美国驻伊拉克大使哈利扎德证实，美国官员和一些与逊尼派领导的叛乱有关的团体举行了会谈。哈利扎德在接受英国广播公司的采访时表示，按他本人的判断，这次谈判是有成效的，因为自那时起，针对美国部队的袭击有所下降。Andrew North reports报道。

哈利扎德被认为是三年前布什总统决定推翻萨达姆政权的策划者之一。在这次罕见的美国官员的承认中，他说美国正在和一些与叛乱有关的团体举行谈判。他说，这些谈判已经初见成效，他举例说，最近几个月对美国部队的袭击有了明显的减少。哈利扎德博士不愿指明美国到底是和哪个团体进行了接触，他只是说：“我们不会和那些他称为萨达姆派或者那些向文明开战的恐怖主义者进行谈判。”