Ahmadinejad: US fueling Iraqi violence

Ahmadinejad: US fueling Iraqi violence

 

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and JOHN AFFLECK, Associated Press Writers

Sun Mar 2, 5:29 PM ET

 

BAGHDAD - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on an historic trip to Baghdad Sunday that America fueled the violence in Iraq, portraying his nation as a close friend of the neighbor it once fought in a bitter eight-year war.

 

Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian president to visit Iraq, disputed U.S. allegations that Tehran is training and equipping Shiite militias there. The American presence, he said, was responsible for drawing terrorists.

 

"The Iraqi people do not like the Americans," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference with U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Green Zone — the heart of the American diplomatic presence.

 

"Six years ago, there were no terrorists in our region. As soon as the others landed in this country and the region, we witnessed their arrival and presence," Ahmadinejad said Sunday night after meeting Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq's largest Shiite political bloc.

 

The trip by Ahmadinejad, who once fought Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime as a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was a dramatic illustration of one of the unintended consequences of the 2003 U.S. invasion — the replacement of Saddam with Shiite forces closely allied to the cleric-led Islamic republic next door.

Ahmadinejad: US fueling Iraqi violence - Yahoo! News

This is scary. This guy is insane. He is claiming to be a friend of Iraq, yet he is the first Iranian president to visit.

It looks like Iran is getting friendly so that, if the next US President is a Dem, and they pull out of Iraq, Iran can say, "I told you so" to Iraq and be the shady rebound guy, taking advantage of the emotionally vulnerable, newly single lady.

You think our oil prices are high now, wait until, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela organize the next OPEC conference afterwards.