In the great competition now taking place between Iran and the United States for influence in Iraq, who’s ahead? Centering his column around the long-term security agreement now under negotiation with the United States, Fateh Abdusalam writes for Iraq’s Azzaman newspaper:
“It seems that Iran’s project to compete with America for the approval of Iraq’s shattered heart is slowly gaining impetus. Politicians and nationalists are busy discussing the security agreement with the United States, which has met with categorical Iranian refusal even before an Iraqi one. …
…The Iranians believe that first and foremost, the deal should be a regional Security Agreement rather than one guaranteed by the “Great Satan.”
But according to Abdusalam, Iran is unlikely to get what it wants. He writes:
“Iran has so-far failed to dissipate the fear and suspicion that was deposited in the Iraqi heart as a result of the eight-year war [1980-1988] and the long period of embargo which followed, during which Iran did nothing to break the siege of the Iraqi people. Tehran treated Iraqis just as they treated Saddam’s oppressive regime, putting the people and the despot on an equal footing.”
By Fateh Abdusalam
Translated By James Jacobson
June 9, 2008
Iraq – Azzaman – Original Article (Arabic)
It seems that Iran’s project to compete with America for the approval of Iraq’s shattered heart is slowly gaining impetus. Politicians and nationalists are busy discussing the security agreement with the United States, which has met with categorical Iranian refusal even before an Iraqi one. Iran has its own proposal under which Teheran would guarantee the security and stability of Iraq and the region. The Iranians believe that first and foremost, the deal should be a regional Security Agreement rather than one guaranteed by the “Great Satan.”
On a practical level, any Iraqi-American security deal must meet with the approval of Iraq’s neighboring countries. And simply by virtue of Iran’s long border with Iraq, Teheran has a major influence over the regional balance of power. This isn’t something that any Iraqi government can reject, given the importance of Iranian cooperation on a slew of major international agreements and the long string of requests and signs of good faith that the two countries have openly exchanged.
So after meddling freely in Iraq for the past five years, it appears that the Iranians want to carry on a complimentary relationship with Iraq that safeguards the economic interests of both countries and would be a pillar of political partnership and vision for the entire region.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated Iraqi coverage of the war in Iraq.
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