Bush in talks to speed up Iraq handover
US President George Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will discuss a speedier hand-over of security control to Iraqi forces as a prelude to the start of a US withdrawal when they meet in Amman, Jordan, later this week, top Iraqi government officials said today.
As al-Maliki prepared to meet the American leader, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today sought to enlist Iran’s help in quelling the escalating violence that threatens to tear the country apart.
“The issue of establishing security in Iraq is the most important part of our talks. We are in dire need of Iran’s help in establishing security and stability in Iraq,” Iran’s state-run television quoted Talabani as saying after he met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
Looking to the summit in Jordan, the Iraqi side viewed the talks as the most important between leaders of the two countries since the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
“The summit will deal with giving Iraqi forces more control over security. We believe President Bush is ready to agree to that and al-Maliki will then ask for the Americans to start discussing a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops,” said an official.
A second official said American officials had indicated in preparatory talks in Baghdad that Bush was open to increasing the pace of the security hand-over.
“The responsibilities of US troops will decrease when security is transferred to Iraqis, and that will mean the Americans have more soldiers here than they need,” the second official said.
Also on the Iraqi agenda, the officials said, would be al-Maliki’s insistence that the US pressure its Sunni Arab allies in the region to stop what Baghdad claims is support for the insurgency that is raging inside the country.
Lastly, al-Maliki wants to get an outline of the US view of the strategic relationship that would exist as the Americans draw down their presence in the country, the officials said.
As the summit approached, Britain Defence Secretary Des Browne said today the Government expected to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, and Poland and Italy announced the impending pullout of their remaining troops.
The Iraqi officials said they expected al-Maliki would brief the US leader on the outcome of Talabani’s meetings with Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
Al-Maliki also was expected to explain his thoughts on how Syria, Iraq’s western neighbour, could play a role in calming violence. Al-Maliki lived in exile in Syria during Saddam’s rule.
A bipartisan US panel headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democrat Rep Lee Hamilton was expected to put forth recommendations to the White House on alterations to Iraq policy. Seeking help from Iran and Syria were expected to be among the Iraq Study Group’s proposal.
The meeting between Talabani and Ahmadinejad, which was delayed for two days because of a security clampdown in Iraq, provided Tehran an opportunity to try to assert its role as the top regional power broker to counter Washington’s influence on Baghdad.
During their talks, Ahmadinejad pledged Tehran’s support in helping to improve security in Iraq.
“Definitely, the Iranian government and nation will stand next to its brother Iraq and will do every help it can to strengthen security in Iraq,” state-television quoted him as saying.
“We believe a stable, developed and powerful Iraq is in the interest of the Iraqi nation, Iran and the whole region,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the television report.
Iran had been trying to organise a summit joining Ahmadinejad, Talabani and Syrian President Bashar Assad, but Damascus decided against attending.
Talabani was finally able to fly to Tehran today after the government ended a three-day curfew on vehicle traffic and reopened the international airport. The curfew and closure were imposed after a series of bombings killed 215 people in Sadr City on Thursday in Baghdad’s main Shiite Muslim enclave.
Iran’s potential for heavy influence in Iraq is particularly troubling to the Bush administration. Many in Iraq’s new Shiite-dominated power structure have deep ties to Iran, and many of the key players spent considerable time in exile in Iran during Saddam’s rule. The two main Shiite militia’s in Iraq are believed to rely heavily on Iran for training, funding and weapons.
The US has been estranged from the Shiite theocracy that has run Iran since the pro-US shah was toppled nearly three decades ago, and the difficult relationship has only worsened as Washington accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons in disregard of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Thus, inviting Iran to become a formal player in an attempt to quell violence in Iraq would be an extraordinarily delicate diplomatic move for the White House.
It faces the same problem with Syria, which the United States has basically shunned in recent years, especially since the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syrian agents have been implicated in that crime and the US has pointed to Damascus in the most recent killing of another anti-Syrian Lebanese leader, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. He was gunned down in Beirut last week.
