BAGHDAD, March 4, 2008
Iran Winning Iraqi Hearts And Minds
Reporter's Notebook: Baghdad Visit Part Of Ahmadinejad's Strategy To Befriend Iraq
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reacts during a press conference in Baghdad, Sunday, March 2, 2008. Ahmadinejad arrived Sunday in Baghdad for the first-ever trip by an Iranian president to Iraq. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Timeline The U.S. And Iran Key events in once friendly, now contentious relationship between Washington and Tehran.
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Photo Essay Week In Iraq Photos A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation.
Every initiative and operation in Iraq, be it economic or military, seems to have a title, usually one that sounds like it has been devised by throwing darts at a set of words and then combining them like a slogan on a tee shirt.
If the Iranians had wanted one for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's two-day jaunt, they could simply have used the title from a Carpenters song: "We've Only Just Begun".
Iran has been called the main beneficiary of the Iraq conflict so often it is almost a cliché. Ahmadinejad's trip was aimed at making it an indisputable fact. The removal of Iran's most implacable enemy - Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party - and its replacement by a Shiite-dominated regime, several of whose key players spent time in exile in Iran - was a freebie first step. Now the Iranians are well on their way.
For a send-off, Ahmadinejad didn't get just one "kiss for luck"; he got four, when he was welcomed by U.S.-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who threw in a symbolic hug by standing impassive while the Iranian leader told a joint press conference: "The Americans have to understand the facts of the region. Iraqi people do not like America."
Many of them, notably the Sunni minority, don't care all that much for Iran either. But, even they were impressed by the fact that Ahmadinejad flagged his trip well in advance, made a ceremonial arrival in full view of Iraqi media, traveled by road and did not stay in the fortified Green Zone.
The show was in stark contrast to President Bush and other American VIPs who, if they deign to venture off secure U.S. military bases after they arrive here unannounced and in secret, do so by helicopter.
The visit was about a lot more than symbolism, however. Ahmadinejad's entourage included a cadre of economic and energy experts.
Iran-Iraq trade already tops $8 billion per year. New initiatives announced during the two day visit included customs agreements, joint investment projects in oil ventures, construction of an airport near the Shiite holy city of Najaf for pilgrims, a free trade zone, integration of banking systems, exchange of technical expertise and a $1 billion loan in the form of goods and services provided by Iranian companies.
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Perhaps the most far-sighted of all was the possible supply of electricity to Basra. How, the Iranians will be able to ask, can we be denied nuclear power to generate electricity that will help our struggling neighbor? The inability, however justified, of the coalition to fix the electricity supply they helped break and cannot completely defend from insurgents will only add weight to the argument.The Americans have to understand the facts of the region. Iraqi people do not like America.
Mahmoud AhmadinejadIran has been building up to this point for a long time. The Iranians kept their embassy here open even during the U.S. led invasion. Few Arab states have a functioning embassy in Baghdad, even now.
No neighboring Arab leader has come here. In a piece in Tuesday's Times of London, foreign editor Richard Beeston summed it up in one succinct sentence: "Without the need to fire a shot, Iran is becoming Iraq's indispensable political ally and trading partner."
The fact that Iran may be firing shots through the proxy of militias it backs and weapons the Americans say it supplies did not come up during the state visit. Quite the contrary. Ahmadinejad even made his points without the fiery anti-American rhetoric he has carried over from his days as a leader of students who occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.
His message from the pulpit of a press conference, covered by virtually all of the Iraqi and mainstream Arabic language press, was straightforward: "The people of this area got nothing from the occupation here except damage, sabotage, destruction, insults and degradation."
It is not that much out of sync with what many Iraqis - Shiite and Sunni alike - see when they look at their inadequate public services, car and suicide bombs and their squabbling, dysfunctional government.
Admonishing "major powers who have come from thousands of kilometers away" as "an insult to regional nations," and telling them to "go back home" may be somewhat disingenuous on Ahmadinejad's part, but it does seem to have struck a chord that will keep Iran's song up high on the local charts.
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- Hey b-easy63,
When you judge yourself, you re-enforce your own beliefs. When you are with your own group in kind, you all re-enforce yourselfs.
When other judge you, you learns things your pride and ego prevented you from realizing. - Reply to this comment
- Post Iraq War
with abundance of Oil instead gas is at 3.55 for 89 in California up from 2.10 before the Iraq War. The Post War has brought an increase on Oil and Gas Prices when it should have been the opposite. Meanwhile Michael Chertoff is still employed. - Reply to this comment
- General Odierno--the number two commander in Iraq--claims that the lack of mortar attacks on Ahmadinejad proved that the attackers are "Iranian surrogates." He still claims that Iran is providing arms to the Iraqi freedom fighters. The Regime has yet to substantiate its claim that Iran is arming them, but that doesn''t stop these accomplished liars from repeating it. He points out that VIP Americans are always targeted...of course they are! Leadership cadres are almost always priority targets. The Iraqi people are not at war with Iran...they are at war with the United States! Duh!
Odierno, working to be as big a fool as Petraus, also opined that Iran was the biggest danger to Iraq. What that means is that his masters want war with Iran and will never cease to keep blaming the Iranians because the Iraqis have the audacity to fight the empire and its psychopathic puppy killers and animal torturers. One million Iraqis are dead because of the likes of Odierno--and most of them were civilians. Four million are refugees...and many more are wounded, malnourished and unemployed...and this lying general says that Iran is Iraqs greatest danger...these officers are contemptible!
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=71030 - Reply to this comment
- It does for me - go to the United Nations if you want a more worldly answer...
Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:20 PM : Mar 04, 2008
OK - Reply to this comment
- Hey b-easy63,
If you wish to be a better person that others want to become, ask others to judge you instead of judging yourself.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 09:04 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Wrong. First and foremost--judge yourself. do it often and thoroughly, then judge your effect on others. Empathy and knowing yourself and thinking before doing is key--because others will only judge you based on their agenda or morality--in a room full of murderers--only those who kill have value and in a room full of deceit--only those who lie are upheld. So judge yourself and challenge yourself to be better--never wait or rely on another man--you can only be judged then--according to his interpretation and predilection for his own flaws. - Reply to this comment
- Hey b-easy63 ,
Sorry but I do not wish to be an Idiot American. So, I will continue to expose the face of America on the Mirror.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 09:02 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Uhmmm. Have at it. Just understand that all Americans are not idiots and all did not support or continue to support our illegal involvements or invasions around the world. Some do--others don''t. Unfortunately we have entered a time in American History where right no longer matters--he who spins the best controls the momentum of the top. - Reply to this comment
- Hey b-easy63,
If you wish to be a better person that others want to become, ask others to judge you instead of judging yourself. - Reply to this comment
- Hey b-easy63 ,
Sorry but I do not wish to be an Idiot American. So, I will continue to expose the face of America on the Mirror. - Reply to this comment
- would like to make a motion. I say that if you are going to bash America on this board, you should at least be American. Anyone opposed to that other than Prinzowhales? We can do this democracy style and vote.
My vote: Yay
Ban Prinzowhales
Posted by crusherking at 03:42 PM : Mar 04, 2008
I vote nay. The boards, this one or any other do not belong solely to America or Americans. if we really do not want citizens of the world to bash us--perhaps we should learn to mind our own business and not meddle. They can stop bashing us, when we stop invading, occupying, covert opting or meddling to manipulate the world for our own ends. We meddle--they meddle. That is only fair. - Reply to this comment
- The United States would be much richer - we would have our fallen heroes back with us...
Posted by IOWEIGN at 07:47 PM : Mar 04, 2008
That''s nice, but it didn''t answer the question.
Posted by AJMarine1 at 07:57 PM : Mar 04, 2008
It does for me - go to the United Nations if you want a more worldly answer... - Reply to this comment
- find it EXTREMELY interesting that the President of Iran could walk a street in Iraq without out rockets and suicide attacks occurring that day.
This suggests that Iran may be more involved in Iraqi violence than is currently perceived.
Posted by yongamerica at 05:41 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Or it could be we had no business to be there in the first place...
Posted by IOWEIGN at 07:43 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Or.......maybe they are all Shiites? - Reply to this comment
- The United States would be much richer - we would have our fallen heroes back with us...
Posted by IOWEIGN at 07:47 PM : Mar 04, 2008
That''s nice, but it didn''t answer the question. - Reply to this comment
- Answer me this; where would the world be if Saddam was still in power while Iran is working on nuclear energy?
Posted by AJMarine1 at 04:40 PM : Mar 04, 2008
The United States would be much richer - we would have our fallen heroes back with us... - Reply to this comment
- I find it EXTREMELY interesting that the President of Iran could walk a street in Iraq without out rockets and suicide attacks occurring that day.
This suggests that Iran may be more involved in Iraqi violence than is currently perceived.
Posted by yongamerica at 05:41 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Or it could be we had no business to be there in the first place... - Reply to this comment
- crusherking: I haven''t seen one brain washed, right-wing coward give any factual back up to comments made on these pages. Seems the majority of the statements are attacks on anyone who doesn''t agree with the slaughter of innocents, glorifying sacrifice of American service men and women, the double-standards of our support for Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, the stupidity and selfishness of current administration, the systematic deconstruction of the Bill of Rights and the mantra that if I don''t agree with you I am a traitor who doesn''t love America, support the troops or believe in democracy. People like me are greater Patriots then you will ever be, because we love the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights, want our troops to come home alive and will support intervention when there is a clear violation of human rights and genocide as in Darfur for example, want to protect our children, support the call for less guns, not more and want ALL citizens to have basic needs met, such as health care.
- Reply to this comment
- ovegetpeace - you forgot to mention the US with the invasion part. That''s how the US won its independence from a totalitarian monarchy.
- Reply to this comment
- I find it EXTREMELY interesting that the President of Iran could walk a street in Iraq without out rockets and suicide attacks occurring that day.
This suggests that Iran may be more involved in Iraqi violence than is currently perceived. - Reply to this comment
- Personally, I wish someone would declare war, have at it, and winner take all. I''''m past caring.
Posted by AJMarine1
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I''m in the same place. We''ve spent so much treasure and so many lives..... I think we should just get the h e l l out of the way and let ''em have their 30 years war.
I can''t say I''m a history expert, but from what I''ve read, their seems to be some fairly close parallels..
Why should we exhaust ourselves when we can just step back back and let ''em exhaust each other... - Reply to this comment
- Just more typical liberal defeatism...
Ahmadnejad visited Columbia University - does that mean he''s winning the hearts & minds of Americans? Well, besides liberals... who aren''t really Americans anyway...
He''s sh*ting his pants at the prospect of a Free Democratic successful oil producing US Ally sitting right next to him... so is Al Queda for that matter.... lucky for him, liberals are every bit as worried about that outcome as well - because they''d have to credit a Republican President for making it happen - and just like liberals would have preferred to lose the Cold War rather than credit Reagan with a victory... so too do liberals desperate yearn for radical Islamic victory in Iraq.
Liberals - back stabbing America since 1953 - Reply to this comment
- Posted by lovegetpeace at 04:58 PM : Mar 04, 2008
Loveget, my eyes glaze over when people start talking about Israel and the Palistinians.
The British should never have started the whole think with Israel in the first place. Now, people are numb to the plight of all the people involved
Personally, I wish someone would declare war, have at it, and winner take all. I''m past caring. - Reply to this comment
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