Ahmadinejad Makes Historic State Visit to Neighboring Iraq
By LEILA FADEL
By Leila Fadel
McClatchy News Service
BAGHDAD
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday became the first Iranian head of state to visit Iraq in three decades and immediately became the focus of demonstrations that underscored Iraq’s sectarian split.
In Fallujah, Sunni Muslim protesters demonstrated against his visit, calling him the killer of Iraqi children. Iraq’s Sunni vice president showed up late for a reception for Ahmadinejad hosted by Iraq’s Kurdish president.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Shiite ruling elite, many of whom had been taken refuge during Saddam Hussein’s time in Shiite Iran, listened to Ahmadinejad without need of translation into Arabic, clearly comfortable hearing his Farsi.
American officials stayed far away from the visiting Iranian delegation. At a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ahmadinejad claimed that “Iraqis don’t like Americans.” Maliki didn’t challenge the assertion.
Ahmadinejad’s trip was a visible sign of what have been growing economic and cultural ties between the two countries since U.S. – led forces toppled Saddam. Iranian economic investment is growing, especially in southern Iraq, millions of Iranians visit Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on religious pilgrimages, and Iraqi officials frequently travel to Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iraq’s most influential political party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, was founded in Iran.
The visit also was the first by any regional leader since the end of Saddam’s rule and, while President Bush and British prime ministers also have visited, Ahmadinejad was the first leader to receive the full trappings of a state visit.
Iraqi officials lined up to welcome the visiting president, but the Sunni vice-president, Tariq al-Hashemi, was noticeably absent. He appeared about 50 minutes after Ahmadinejad arrived. There was no explanation for his delayed arrival.
No U.S. soldiers were in sight near Talabani’s home and security was provided by Kurdish soldiers known as the peshmerga.
At an afternoon news conference with Maliki, Ahmadinejad dismissed longstanding U.S. accusations that Iran trains, finances and arms Shiite militias in hopes of destabilizing Iraq.
“You can tell Mr. Bush that accusing others will increase the problems for America in the region and will not solve the problem,” he said. “The Americans have to accept the facts of the region. Iraqi people do not like Americans.”
When asked if Iran and Iraq trusted one another, Ahmadinejad took another swipe at the Americans.
“If you look to the two peoples, Iranian and Iraqi, we can see they have a joint history, culture and geography,” he said. “If they don’t trust each other in spite of all these characteristics in common, can they trust countries which are 12,000 kilometers away from Iraq and Iran?”
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