The Sunni leader is counting on France's help in altering US policy in Iraq. Salih al-Mutlaq, leader of the (Sunni) National Dialogue Front, is about to visit Washington soon to discuss policy in Iraq with US leaders. In an interview with Le Figaro, he urges France's help in persuading the United States to reconsider its policy based on power sharing between the religious communities, short of which an international conference must be convened to thoroughly reexamine the Iraqi dossier. 

You have received an invitation to meet with George Bush in the United States in a few days' time. What will you say to him? 
We want the Americans to withdraw from Iraq. But before that they must correct their errors. If they pull out and leave the situation as it is, Al-Qa'idah could then take control of the Sunni areas, and Iran for its part will want to control the Shi'i South. In order to avert such a disaster the Americans must work along two parallel axes - establish a timetable for their troops' withdrawal, and gradually correct the errors by the time they leave. They must go back on ''de-Ba'thification,'' the government must no longer be formed on a religious basis, and they must end the arming of the militias. They have achieved nothing by playing the Shi'i Islamism card. We now need a radical change of strategy. In the short term, either the Americans succeed in persuading their Iraqi allies, rallied round Prime Minister al-Maliki, to accept the Sunnis' return to certain key positions in the government, while reconstituting the army and the police. Or they start over complet! ely, leaving it to the international community, via the United Nations, to take over to establish new ground rules and a new political map in Iraq. France can help us. 

How?
Two years ago I proposed to your ambassador in Iraq that France convene an international reconciliation conference. At that time, the French were hesitant, its relations with the Americans were bad. Now that they are better, France, backed by the EU, can play a part in persuading the Americans to change on the Iraqi question. We appreciated your foreign minister's visit to Baghdad. It was courageous to call for al-Maliki's resignation. He was right: the situation requires that the truth be told. France must return to Iraq in order to play a role there. It is still appreciated by most Iraqis. We need you now. You cannot wait for more Iraqis to be killed. If Iraq is lost, the Middle East will be affected, as will Europe, and France, too.

Have the Americans started to correct their errors by restoring power to the Sunni tribes, to whom weapons are being supplied to counter Al-Qa'idah?
It is progress, though not the ideal solution. Why have the Sunnis turned to Al-Qa'idah? Because there came a point when they saw that there was no longer any hope. But now the Americans and we ourselves are telling them that they will be represented in the government again, and that the Shi'is and Kurds will no longer be the only ones in charge of Iraq. At the same time, if the Americans agree to establish a timetable for a withdrawal, they will be better able to persuade the guerrilla to relinquish their weapons. Four years after the start of the war, the nationalist resistance has become more mature, more realistic. Previously, it forbade us to talk to the Americans. Now channels for negotiation are open between the guerrilla and US officers.

In Baghdad, General Petraeus maintains very tense relations with Nuri al-Maliki. Should the Americans keep him in the post of prime minister?
I know Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker; they are honest and direct. I hope that they will have the courage to tell Congress the truth, but we must not underestimate the Bush administration's pressures on them to temper some of their criticisms. Nevertheless, if George Bush really wants to stabilize Iraq, he must change the government. Al-Maliki cannot meet his demands. He belongs to a Shi'i religious group that has neither the ability nor the desire to build a state. He and his friends came to power in order to avenge themselves for the past. We need a liberal prime minister who will keep his distance from religion.