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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iraq ratchets up rhetoric in row with Syria |
| 2009-09-04 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki has called on neighboring Syria to explain alleged granting of refuge to suspected bombers wanted by Iraq. "Why must they insist on sheltering the armed organizations and those wanted by Iraqi courts and Interpol on Syrian lands?" Maliki was quoted by his office as saying. The Iraqi leader added "neighboring countries" could no longer use the excuse of Iraq's occupation by US forces for backing insurgents, since American forces left Iraqi cities in June. Iraq and Syria continue to exchange insults following the August 19 bombings at Baghdad's finance and foreign ministries that left about 100 people killed and hundreds others injured. On Sunday, Iraq aired a confession from a suspected al-Qaeda militant who accused Syrian intelligence agents of training foreign fighters like him in a camp before sending them to fight in conflict-plagued Iraq. The dispute comes after a thaw in relations between Syria and Iraq earlier this year. The Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Muallem traveled to Baghdad in March and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki paid a visit to Damascus the day before the terrorist assaults. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 The leftie "Iraq is a victory for Iran brigade" are now saying (see Mark Lynch in FP) that the iraqis are falsely accusing Syria, on Irans behest, to under cut the optician's talks with the US. Nice package huh - ties together the meme that we fought the Iraq war to benefit Iran, with the meme that Syria is innocent, and that the talks are going swimmingly. elegant as it is, I find it a bit of a stretch. If its false, and maliki is either telling the truth, or lying for other reasons, it would imply that Iraq is closer to US interests and further from Irans than advertised. |
| Posted by: liberal hawk 2009-09-04 10:15 |