United Nations – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that terrorism is threatening to erase any gains made in reducing sectarian killings and establishing democratic principles in his country.
He also warned that Iraq’s neighbors must stop the continued flow into his country of weapons, suicide bombers and funding for terrorism, saying there would be “disastrous consequences” for the region and the world if they failed.
“National reconciliation is stronger than the weapons of terrorism,” al-Maliki said. But he said healing is “not the responsibility of the government alone.”
“Today we feel optimistic that countries of the region realize the danger of the terrorist attacks against Iraq, that it is not in their interest for Iraq to be weak,” he said.
Washington has accused Iran of arming and aiding Shiite militias in Iraq. Iran disputes those allegations.
Following al-Maliki’s speech, Cuba’s foreign minister launched a blistering attack on President Bush in response to Bush’s speech the day before in which he envisioned a Cuba without ailing leader Fidel Castro. “In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end,” Bush said. “The Cuban people are ready for their freedom.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque accused Bush of “lying” about his respect for democracy and said he has “no moral authority or credibility to judge anyone. … He came into office through fraud and deceit. We would have been spared his presence yesterday, and we would have listened to President Al Gore talking about climate change and the risks to our species.”
Bolivia’s leftist President Evo Morales also dismissed Bush’s criticism of Castro, saying the Cuban leader “sends troops to other countries to save lives, not like the president of the United States who sends troops to take lives.”
