.Iraqi PM: US-Iraq security pact will not harm Iran
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pushed Iran on Sunday to back off its fierce opposition to a U.S.-Iraqi security pact, Iraqi officials said, as he promised Iranian leaders that Iraq will not be a launching pad for any attack on their country.
The agreement has become a center of contention as Baghdad tries to balance its close ties to both Washington and Tehran. Iran fiercely opposes the deal, fearing it will lead to permanent U.S bases on its doorstep amid fears of an eventual American attack.
Iran has led a vocal campaign against the deal, with powerful former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani vowing last week that people in Iraq and the region won't allow it. That has led to U.S. accusations that Tehran is actively trying to scuttle the agreement - putting al-Maliki's government in a tight spot between its two rival allies.
Al-Maliki's visit to Tehran, his second this year, appeared aimed at getting Iran to tone down its opposition and ease criticism within Iraq, where followers of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - who has close ties to Tehran - have held weekly protests against the deal.
But the security pact also faces strong criticism from members of al-Maliki's own Shiite-dominated coalition. Two Iraqi officials familiar with the negotiations warned on Sunday that a deal is unlikely to be reached before the end of President Bush's term in January unless Washington backs off some demands seen as giving American forces too much freedom to operate in Iraq and infringing on Iraqi sovereignty.
Iraq's parliament must approve the deal, and the two officials said opposition in the legislature was so widespread that it stood no chance of winning approval without significant changes in the U.S. position. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy surrounding the negotiations.
In his talks with Iranian officials, al-Maliki offered assurances that his country is no threat to Iran, according to a statement released by his Baghdad office.
"Iraq, today, does not represent a threat as it was during the former regime because it has become a constitutional country based on the rule of law," the statement quoted him as saying. "Iraq is working on developing its relations with the countries of the region on the basis of mutual understanding and cooperation."
Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi echoed that promise. He told his Iranian counterpart Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar that the "agreement would not threaten" any neighboring country, and that no Iraqi government would allow the country "to be used for attack on Iran or any other country," the semiofficial Iranian news agency Fars reported.
But an aide to the prime minister said al-Maliki would complain about Iran's public campaign against the agreement, as interference in Iraq's internal affairs. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity in return for giving information on the private talks.
In remarks to state television later Sunday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq was sovereign and free "to enter in any pact helping it achieve its national interests."
"Moreover the others should not be acting as attorneys for the Iraqis or urge the Iraqis to reject the pact as what happened last week, when the Iranians urged the Iraqis to reject the pact," he said.
Al-Maliki also appeared to signal that Tehran would not be squeezed out by any agreement, saying Iraq's "development and stability will be provided through more bilateral cooperation" with Iran.
Ahmadinejad, in turn, insisted Iran had a key role in Iraq's security. "The responsibility of (Iraq's) neighbors is doubled in this regard," he said, according to the Web site.
Further complicating al-Maliki's balancing act between Washington and Tehran are American allegations that Iran is arming and financing Shiite militiamen in Iraq, a claim Tehran denies. The Iraqi prime minister was expected to raise the concerns in his talks.
On Sunday, the U.S. military in Iraq said it had captured a Shiite militant who ran an "assassination squad" in the southern city of Basra and was responsible for trafficking Shiite extremists in and out of Iran for training.
Al-Maliki's party and other Shiite and Kurdish members of his ruling coalition have long-standing close ties to Iran's leadership. Iran played a key role in mediating a truce between al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government earlier this year.
U.S. officials increasingly see the criticism against the security deal as driven by Iran - particularly through al-Sadr.
"The U.S.-Iraqi negotiations (on the pact) concern the American and the Iraqi sides. As we have noticed, the Iranian contribution again is not positive regarding this," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo told journalists Sunday in Baghdad.
But opposition to the deal has come from a number of sides in Iraq. The two Iraqi officials familiar with the negotiations said the Iraqi National Security Council had rejected an initial American draft that they said provided for virtual U.S. control of Iraqi airspace and gave American troops greater freedom of movement and of detaining suspects than the Iraqis can accept.
U.S. officials would not comment on the details of the negotiations.
MyWay
If there was ever an even that gave weight to Sunnie complaints that the Shi'a where Iranian stooges, this is it.
I'm amazed their not making more of a fuss..
And all the people that complained when Bush flew into Baghdad, how about Maliki groveling fir sovereignty in Iran. These people need to look for partners closer to home.
The agreement has become a center of contention as Baghdad tries to balance its close ties to both Washington and Tehran. Iran fiercely opposes the deal, fearing it will lead to permanent U.S bases on its doorstep amid fears of an eventual American attack.
Iran has led a vocal campaign against the deal, with powerful former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani vowing last week that people in Iraq and the region won't allow it. That has led to U.S. accusations that Tehran is actively trying to scuttle the agreement - putting al-Maliki's government in a tight spot between its two rival allies.
Al-Maliki's visit to Tehran, his second this year, appeared aimed at getting Iran to tone down its opposition and ease criticism within Iraq, where followers of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - who has close ties to Tehran - have held weekly protests against the deal.
But the security pact also faces strong criticism from members of al-Maliki's own Shiite-dominated coalition. Two Iraqi officials familiar with the negotiations warned on Sunday that a deal is unlikely to be reached before the end of President Bush's term in January unless Washington backs off some demands seen as giving American forces too much freedom to operate in Iraq and infringing on Iraqi sovereignty.
Iraq's parliament must approve the deal, and the two officials said opposition in the legislature was so widespread that it stood no chance of winning approval without significant changes in the U.S. position. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy surrounding the negotiations.
In his talks with Iranian officials, al-Maliki offered assurances that his country is no threat to Iran, according to a statement released by his Baghdad office.
"Iraq, today, does not represent a threat as it was during the former regime because it has become a constitutional country based on the rule of law," the statement quoted him as saying. "Iraq is working on developing its relations with the countries of the region on the basis of mutual understanding and cooperation."
Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi echoed that promise. He told his Iranian counterpart Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar that the "agreement would not threaten" any neighboring country, and that no Iraqi government would allow the country "to be used for attack on Iran or any other country," the semiofficial Iranian news agency Fars reported.
But an aide to the prime minister said al-Maliki would complain about Iran's public campaign against the agreement, as interference in Iraq's internal affairs. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity in return for giving information on the private talks.
In remarks to state television later Sunday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq was sovereign and free "to enter in any pact helping it achieve its national interests."
"Moreover the others should not be acting as attorneys for the Iraqis or urge the Iraqis to reject the pact as what happened last week, when the Iranians urged the Iraqis to reject the pact," he said.
Al-Maliki also appeared to signal that Tehran would not be squeezed out by any agreement, saying Iraq's "development and stability will be provided through more bilateral cooperation" with Iran.
Ahmadinejad, in turn, insisted Iran had a key role in Iraq's security. "The responsibility of (Iraq's) neighbors is doubled in this regard," he said, according to the Web site.
Further complicating al-Maliki's balancing act between Washington and Tehran are American allegations that Iran is arming and financing Shiite militiamen in Iraq, a claim Tehran denies. The Iraqi prime minister was expected to raise the concerns in his talks.
On Sunday, the U.S. military in Iraq said it had captured a Shiite militant who ran an "assassination squad" in the southern city of Basra and was responsible for trafficking Shiite extremists in and out of Iran for training.
Al-Maliki's party and other Shiite and Kurdish members of his ruling coalition have long-standing close ties to Iran's leadership. Iran played a key role in mediating a truce between al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government earlier this year.
U.S. officials increasingly see the criticism against the security deal as driven by Iran - particularly through al-Sadr.
"The U.S.-Iraqi negotiations (on the pact) concern the American and the Iraqi sides. As we have noticed, the Iranian contribution again is not positive regarding this," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo told journalists Sunday in Baghdad.
But opposition to the deal has come from a number of sides in Iraq. The two Iraqi officials familiar with the negotiations said the Iraqi National Security Council had rejected an initial American draft that they said provided for virtual U.S. control of Iraqi airspace and gave American troops greater freedom of movement and of detaining suspects than the Iraqis can accept.
U.S. officials would not comment on the details of the negotiations.
MyWay
If there was ever an even that gave weight to Sunnie complaints that the Shi'a where Iranian stooges, this is it.
I'm amazed their not making more of a fuss..
And all the people that complained when Bush flew into Baghdad, how about Maliki groveling fir sovereignty in Iran. These people need to look for partners closer to home.
posted by madtom at 8:56 PM
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