Ahmadinejad on historic Iraq visit

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed a new chapter in ties with Iraq yesterday, saying he was "truly happy" to make a landmark trip to Baghdad now that Iran's arch-foe Saddam Hussein had been deposed.

Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to go to Iraq since Saddam launched a ruinous eight-year war on Iran in 1980 in which a million people died. He is also the first leader from the region to visit since the US-led invasion in 2003.

His trip to a country where its longtime enemy the United States has more than 150,000 troops is therefore as much about symbolism as about cementing economic and cultural ties between the neighbors, both run by Shi'ite majorities.

"This visit will open a new chapter in the two countries' bilateral relations and it will help the atmosphere of cooperation in the region," Ahmadinejad told a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

"A visit to Iraq without the dictator is a truly happy one," he said, referring to Saddam, who was executed by the Iraqi government in December 2006.

Ironically, his trip was only made possible by the US-led invasion. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for US forces to leave Iraq, blaming them for sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis since 2003.

Washington says Teheran supplies weapons and training to Shi'ite militias to attack US troops, a charge Teheran denies. Analysts say Iran seeks a stable Iraq but at the same time wants to make life difficult for occupying American forces.

"A developed, powerful and united Iraq is to the advantage of everyone," said Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian president to visit since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Many of Iraq's Shi'ite leaders were in exile in Iran during Saddam's long rule and analysts say Ahmadinejad will use his visit to show Washington that Teheran is an influential player in Iraq that cannot be ignored.

The Iranian president has sought to counter US efforts to isolate Teheran internationally over its nuclear program by trying to improve ties with Arab states in the region.

His visit comes a day before an expected UN Security Council vote today on a third round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but the United States says is for nuclear arms.

US officials in Baghdad have said they will play no role in Ahmadinejad's visit and that the US military will not be involved in protecting him as he travels around.

After arriving at Baghdad's airport, Ahmadinejad's motorcade drove to Talabani's presidential palace. Visiting foreign dignitaries normally fly by helicopter to avoid the dangerous airport road.

And unlike the strict secrecy that surrounds the unannounced visits by US President George W. Bush to reduce the risk of an attack, Ahmadinejad's trip has been well-publicized.

Also, unlike Bush, he will be spending the night.

Ahmadinejad received a red carpet welcome at the presidential palace, with a military band greeting him on his arrival. After talks with Talabani, he met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Vice-President Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

A noticeable absence from the welcoming party was Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, a member of Iraq's minority Sunni Arab community that was dominant under Saddam. No other Sunni Arab politicians were present.

Scattered protests were held in Baghdad and towns with sizeable Sunni Arab populations to protest Ahmadinejad's visit, witnesses said.

At the joint news conference with Ahmadinejad, Talabani said Iraq would seek to oust Iranian rebels based in Iraq, a long-time Iranian demand that was expected to be raised during Ahmadinejad's two-day state visit.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/03/2008 page6)