BAGHDAD — President Bush’s last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base. Eight hours later he left, after Iraq’s leaders traveled to meet him there.
In contrast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit, the first ever by an Iranian leader to Iraq, was announced in advance. He plans to spend the night here, and Iranian TV will broadcast his departure ceremony live.
Once considered Iraq’s archenemy, Iran is cozy with Baghdad’s Shiite-led government and eager to show off Teh ran’s rising influence as debate rages in the U.S. over how quickly to leave.
Ahmadinejad was to arrive this morning at Baghdad’s airport and head to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s headquarters, across the Tigris River from the mammoth new U.S. Embassy in the fortified Green Zone.
Ahmadinejad sought to reassure Iraqis ahead of the trip by disputing U.S. accusations that Iran is meddling in Iraqi affairs and fueling violence among Shiite militias.
“Iran has no need to intervene in Iraq. It is friendly to all groups in Iraq. Isn’t it ridiculous that those who have deployed 160,000 troops in Iraq accuse us of intervening there?” the Iranian state-run news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
During the two-day visit, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to meet with Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — both of whom have made official visits to Iran since taking office.
The trip symbolically serves several purposes for Iran. Ahmadinejad wants to highlight Shiite-dominated Iran’s influence but at the same time show that Iran is not a bully, analysts say.
He also might be trying to bolster his support back home ahead of parliamentary elections this month that are seen as a referendum on the Iranian president.
The U.S. has tried to downplay Ahmadinejad’s visit, saying it welcomed Iran’s stated policy of promoting stability but had not seen any evidence.
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CRAWFORD, Texas — Bush hedges on more troop withdrawals
President Bush declined Saturday to promise more U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq before he leaves office and underscored the need for a strong military presence during Iraqi provincial elections in October.
Security has improved markedly since last summer when the last of five Army brigades arrived in Iraq to complete the president’s buildup of 30,000 service members. One brigade has returned home and the four others are to leave by July.
The president spoke at his Texas ranch, where he hosted Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for talks about NATO’s complex mission in Afghanistan, climate change, Iran and other trans-Atlantic issues. They took time, though, for two mountain bike rides at sunset Friday and again at sunrise Saturday.
Bush said decisions about troop cuts — beyond those planned through July — would be based on recommendations from his generals, but he said there needs to be strong military support in place to ensure the viability of Iraqi provincial elections. It was an indication that more troop reductions might have to wait until after the voting in Iraq on Oct. 1.
The Associated Press
