Iranian leader on official visit to Iraq…first since 1979 revolution.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made a trip to Iraq (finally!) this weekend, with Al Jazeera English calling it ‘a landmark visit’. The New York Times points out that his trip overlaps with Adm. Mike Mullen’s trip to Baghdad, but makes sure to note that there were no plans for the two of them ‘to cross paths, and the timing of their visits appeared to be coincidental’. Thank you, dears at the NYT. The London Times has a great piece analyzing the situation (by Deborah Haynes) called “The Day the Former Foes Became Friends” that discusses President Ahmadinejad’s visit in depth and its more strategic ramifications.
The BBC details the President’s speech in which he blames the United States for bringing terrorism to the region with its invasion of Iraq. The article has commentary from the BBC’s correspondents in Iraq which note that many Iraqis see this as part of a ‘normalization process’ of ties with Iran, and still more Iraqis blame Iran for funding and training militias that have caused so much violence and havoc in the Iraq. The reaction from the Iraqi citizens is clearly mixed.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
One may argue that both, host leaders and visitors, are brave to let such a visit take place in first place and particularly at the time when the race for winning Iraq is on the rise. By cultural standards of the region, the purpose of this visit in large could be seen as the first step towards ending the historical animosity between the two rival neighbors. There is no doubt that each wanted to send clear messages to their aggressive rivals telling not to account for the hostility that took place between the two neighbors until the operation of Iraq Freedom. The operation automatically terminated the function of the poisonous fuel that was driving the rusty machine of the relations between the two. The visit now could be that very first dose of dopes which pops up the biceps of a muscular relationship between the old rivals and new friends in a near future. The relationship that is driven by the spirit of a common sect of religion. The question to be asked is “Are they smart, enough, willing and able to invest the proposed calm relationship in bringing peace back to the streets of Baghdad and the Sunni inhabited territories? Or would stick to the black vision of division and factional segregation.