MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: As war seems closer to reality, Iraqi opposition groups continue discussing post-war plans. The groups and U.S. officials are meeting in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. Also there, CNN's Ben Wedeman -- Ben.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin. Those Kurdish -- or, rather, Iraqi opposition figures began meeting yesterday. They met all day today, and will continue tomorrow. Apparently tomorrow, in a closed session. Now, this meeting includes almost all the major factions in Iraq, including Sunni Arabs, Shi'a Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans, Assyrians, and other political parties as well. So it's a very difficult task to get them, really, to agree on anything. What they do agree upon --</s>ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We're not coming here to colonize anyone. We're not here to oppose anyone. We are here -- we will be here to assist the Iraqi people, perhaps for the first time, to establish a government based on their free choice elections, yes, but before elections, you need to build democratic institutions.</s>WEDEMAN: And of course, this task of building democratic institutions will not be an easy one, given the long history of turmoil in this country. But as the U.S. special envoy told us, the United States, he says, is going to make a long-term commitment to Iraq -- Martin.</s>SAVIDGE: Ben Wedeman, thank you very much.
Iraqi Opposition Groups Meeting in Northern Iraq