Saad Abdul-Wahab reflects on the visitor that not everyone was happy to see Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landmark visit to Iraq sent shockwaves from Baghdad to Washington. It gave him a chance to highlight the budding romance his country has with post- Saddam Hussein Iraq which, like Iran, is predominantly Shia, while also serving as an act of defiance towards the United States, that accuses Iran of training and giving weapons to Shia extremists, charges that Iran denies. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the Iranian president was invited to spend two days visiting Iraq, the first Iranian president ever to do so. He went from Baghdad's airport straight to a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Ahmadinejad, who expressed happiness to "visit post-Saddam Iraq", added, "I am here to consolidate the friendly ties between the two countries." Ahmadinejad said his historic visit opened a new chapter in the "brotherly" relations between the two countries. "We had very good talks that were friendly and brotherly. We have mutual understandings and views in all fields, and both sides plan to improve relations as much as possible," Ahmadinejad said in a joint news conference with Talabani at the Iraqi president's residence, which just happens to be located across the Tigris River from the new US Embassy in the fortified Green Zone. Talabani said the two discussed economic, political, security and oil issues and planned to sign several agreements. But he said the issue of borders, including the disputed Shatt Al-Arab waterway between the two countries, was not discussed. Ahmadinejad stressed that Iran wanted a stable Iraq that would benefit the region. "A united Iraq, a sovereign Iraq and an advanced Iraq is to the benefit of all regional nations and the people of Iran," he said. The news conference appeared to end suddenly after a reporter asked about the Mujahideen Khalq in Iraq, which opposes Iran's ruling clerics. The group, also known as the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, was allied with Saddam's regime in Iraq during the war between the two countries. The US and European Union list it as a terrorist group. Talabani interrupted and said, "this issue has been discussed earlier and the presence of those recognised as a terrorist organisation is constitutionally not allowed. We will try to get them out of Iraqi territory soon." Despite all the public talk focussing on the warming relations between the two countries, Ahmadinejad denounced US accusations that Iran was training and supplying Shia militia fighters in Iraq with weapons designed to kill American troops. "Such accusations increase the problems of the Americans in the region and they are not going to solve their problems," Ahmadinejad said in a separate press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. Al-Maliki emphasised that the Iranian leader's visit was "an expression of the strong desire to enhance the relations and develop mutual interests after the past tensions during the dictatorship era." The two countries fought a fierce eight-year war after Saddam launched an invasion of Iran in 1980. More than a million people died in the conflict. But when Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime fell and Iraq's Shia majority took power after the US-led invasion in 2003, long-standing ties between the Shias of both countries flourished again, though the two neighbours have yet to sign a peace treaty. Many of Iraq's Shia leaders lived in exile in Iran during Saddam's rule, including Talabani, who speaks fluent Farsi. The US has tried to downplay Ahmadinejad's visit, saying it welcomed Iran's stated policy of promoting stability but that its actions have been creating just the opposite. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said the Iraqi government would provide the principal security for Ahmadinejad and had the capacity and equipment to do so. "Iraq has a responsibility as a neighbour to provide security," he said during a press conference in the Green Zone, adding that the US hoped the visit "produces real and tangible results". US President George W Bush denied that Ahmadinejad's visit undermined US efforts to isolate Tehran but had some advice for what Al-Maliki should say to the Iranian leader. "He's a neighbour. And the message needs to be, quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's killing our citizens," Bush told reporters in Crawford, Texas. The Green Zone contains the core of the US diplomatic mission to Iraq, including a massive new embassy, and is heavily protected against occasional rocket attacks, which the Americans loudly blame on Iranian-backed Shia extremists. Iran just as loudly denies the charges, and Ahmadinejad lashed out at the US in a news conference with Al-Maliki. "Such accusations increase the problems of the Americans in the region," Ahmadinejad said. "The Iraqi people do not like the Americans." The Iranian delegation alluded to the contrast between Ahmadinejad's visit to Iraq by the Americans, and Bush in particular. Ahmadinejad arrived in Iraq just 24 hours after Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came -- unannounced -- to Baghdad. Though they almost crossed paths, Ahmadinejad saw no need to creep around; instead, he announced the dates of his visit in advance, landing at Baghdad international airport in broad daylight and driving through the capital, albeit in a heavily guarded convoy, with nary a bomb blast or sniper's bullet to worry about. Iraqi forces provided security. Bush's visits are typically a surprise and involve trips only to US military bases, like his journey to an air base in Anbar province last September or his Thanksgiving photo-ops with US troops. Some Iraqis, however, were unhappy to see the president of Iraq's Shia neighbour in the capital. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Falluja, the scene of two battles between US troops and Sunni insurgents, and demonstrated for an hour. "The chieftains of Falluja condemn the visit of Ahmadinejad to Baghdad," one of their banners read. But Adnan Al-Dulaimi, one of Iraq's most influential Sunni politicians, called for restraint. He said the visit indicated the strong Iranian influence in Iraq but hoped it would decrease tension between the two countries. He also said Iraq should not be used as the staging ground for a US-Iranian conflict. "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, leader of the largest Shia political bloc. The Iranian president called for the foreign troops to leave Iraq and not interfere in its internal affairs. He went on to say "peace and security will prevail without the presence of these foreign troops." He referred ironically to Bush's recent visit, and expressed satisfaction at the seven Memoranda of Understanding which he signed with his Iraqi counterpart "aimed at enhancing the relations between two countries in the fields of industry, trade, customs and others, assuring again the support of his country for the political process in Iraq." The Iraqis are precariously balanced between the US and Iran, with government officials saying in recent weeks that they don't want the country torn apart in a power struggle between the two sides. Considering everything, the visit was a success and marked a milestone in the pursuit of regional understanding.
