WASHINGTON — The top U.S. commander in Iraq revealed Thursday that he quietly visited several Middle East countries as part of diplomatic efforts to slow the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.
Gen. David Petraeus’ foray into a broader role of regional diplomacy will not be his last. President Bush has directed Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker to stop in Saudi Arabia on their trip back to Iraq and encourage leaders to reopen their embassy in Baghdad and increase their overall support for the war-torn country.
Petraeus said Thursday that a number of U.S. military and intelligence officials have traveled to several countries, including some identified as sources of foreign fighters who routinely cross the borders into Iraq.
Petraeus did not name the countries he visited. The Associated Press has learned that the trips — all taken since September — were to Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Washington has complained repeatedly that Iran and Syria have not done enough to prevent foreign fighters from crossing their borders into Iraq.
The larger diplomatic role underscores what military leaders have been saying for months — that progress in Iraq hinges not just on a military solution but on diplomatic, economic and political gains.
Within Iraq on Thursday, the prime minister got a show of support from political leaders of both Muslim sects as he moved to isolate anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers.
The meeting drew warnings from Sadrist lawmakers that the government’s effort against them could backfire even as fighting between Shiite militants and U.S.-Iraqi forces eased somewhat after days of fierce clashes in Baghdad’s Sadr City district.
The fighting has taken its toll on all sides. The U.S. military announced that an American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday in central Baghdad, raising to 18 the number of Americans who died in Iraq the first 10 days of April.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, convened the meeting of the main political blocs to discuss the Iraqi-led crackdown on militias that began March 25 in the southern city of Basra, triggering the current crisis.
