Maliki: No U.S. political help needed

BAGHDAD, July 4 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the United States' help isn't needed in reconciling the country's political and ethnic factions.

Meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Friday in Baghdad, Maliki made it clear he didn't want Americans as closely involved in the Iraqi political process as U.S. forces prepare to depart next year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Maliki's spokesman, Ali Dabbagh, told reporters the prime minister impressed on Biden that "the reconciliation issue is a purely Iraqi issue and any non-Iraqi involvement might have a negative effect. We don't want the Americans to come and get involved."

Asked how Biden took the stance, Dabbagh told the Times he "received the message well, and he said he is ready to help whenever the Iraqi government asks."

Biden, who is on a two-day mission to Baghdad to work with Iraqis "toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place," said he gave Maliki a message from President Barack Obama that "Iraqis must use the political process to resolve their remaining differences and advance their national interest. We stand ready if asked … to help in that process."

Little Taliban resistance to British surge

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 4 (UPI) -- British troops moving into Afghanistan's restive Helmand province say they're encountering little resistance from Taliban insurgents.

A major operation in the province -- considered to be a Taliban stronghold -- is seeing more than 700 British troops enter the area as part of Operation Panther's Claw, designed to install Afghan rule in the lawless region ahead of the August presidential elections, the BBC said Saturday.

British military commanders had expected stiff resistance from insurgents, but so far, few such encounters have taken place, they say.

The British broadcaster said many Helmand residents have left the region because of fighting in earlier phases of the operation, in which soldiers cleared private compounds that had been used by the Taliban to launch attacks.

Palin faced rocky road in gov's office

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 4 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was facing a tough road ahead in serving out her term in office had she chosen to stay on the job, political analysts said.

Although her announcement to retire as governor before her term was up at the end of 2010 came as a surprise, Alaskan observers said that had she stayed on, she would have faced falling approval numbers, continuing ethics inquiries and criticism she was neglecting the state in her quest to establish a possible 2012 U.S. presidential run, the Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday.

Palin's explanation that her resignation would prevent Alaska from having a lame duck governor didn't wash with her critics, who questioned whether the negative media attention and scrutiny placed on her in the state and nationally is what brought about her abrupt exit, the newspaper said.

"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long-shot national political ambitions, or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down," Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan told the Daily News.

Yemenia Airways cancels Comoros flights

SANA'A, Yemen, July 4 (UPI) -- Flights between Yemen and the Comoros Islands have been canceled by Yemenia Airways after a crash along the route, airline officials said Saturday.

Yemenia Airways said in a statement that a Sunday flight from Sana'a to the Comoros' capital, Moroni, will be the last one in the wake of Tuesday's crash of a Yemenia Airways Airbus 310 near Moroni, CNN reported.

The crash killed 141 passengers and 11 crew members, with the only survivor being a 13-year-old French girl, Bahia Basari.

Comoros Vice President Idi Nadhoim told the U.S. broadcaster the plane tried to land at the airport in Moroni and then made a U-turn before it crashed into the Indian Ocean.

CNN said French and U.S. divers were helping Saturday to search for debris and bodies after detecting a rescue beacon. Rescue workers indicated they were having a hard time reaching wreckage resting in deep waters.

Biden presides at naturalization of troops

BAGHDAD, July 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the Fourth of July with American troops in Iraq where he presided at the naturalization of 237 U.S. troops.

Twelve of those troops were Iraqis, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"As corny as it sounds: Damn I'm proud to be an American," Biden told service members assembled at U.S. Camp Victory military headquarters at Aw Faw Palace, one of the seats former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's power, which sports a giant crystal chandelier hanging from an ornate ceiling.

"There's always room for more Americans, always room for more Americans," Biden said. "It's the lifeblood of our country … you know over 50 countries are represented here today, men and women, black and Asian, Hispanics."

Also present at the ceremony was Gen. Raymond Odierno, U.S. commander in Iraq, who recalled the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, "give me your tired, your poor," adding, "If had to write an inscription, I would say, 'Give me your best your brightest and your bravest. Give me your warriors, your heroes who will enhance our great nation and strive to keep her free.'"

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