Haaretz
Kislev 6, 5767
Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad proposed Sunday that he would help the United States calm Iraq
if Washington changes what he described as its "bullying" policy toward
Iran.
"We are ready to help you," Ahmadinejad declared while
addressing a group of members of the Basij paramilitary group, affiliated
with the elite Revolutionary Guard.
But Iran's firebrand president
took the U.S. to task, questioning its motives for invading
Iraq.
"You went to Iraq to topple Saddam and find weapons of mass
destruction, but it was clear to us that you came in order to dominate the
region and its oil."
Ahmadinejad said that the U.S. and Britain are
paying for the instability and violence in Iraq. "You have been trapped in
a quagmire and locked in your place with nowhere to go."
"The
Iranian nation is ready to help you to get out of the quagmire - on
condition that you resume behaving in a just manner and avoid bullying and
invading," he added.
"Then, nations of the region, headed by the
Iranian nation, will be ready to show you the path of salvation,"
Ahmadinejad said. "It is the time for the leaders of the U.S. and U.K to
listen. You have reached a dead end in our region as well as in the
world."
But Washington was unimpressed by the Iranian president's
offer.
"The Iranians have made comments similar to this in the
past. There's nothing new there," Julie Reside, a State Department
spokeswoman, said Sunday.
President George Bush is scheduled to
meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki when he visits Jordan Wednesday
and Thursday. His trip follows Vice President Dick Cheney's brief stop
Saturday in Saudi Arabia, another of Iraq's neighbors, to confer with its
leader on regional issues.
The unusual succession of trips appears
to reflect U.S. determination to rally allies at a time when Washington is
considering overhauling its Iraq policy.
Since the Democratic
victory in U.S. midterm elections, the Bush administration has been under
increased pressure at home to approach Iran and Syria for help in Iraq.
Such a measure is believed to be one of the
recommendations by a panel
on Iraq led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker.
Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani was scheduled to visit Tehran on Saturday. But on
Friday, he had to postpone his trip until Baghdad's airport - closed in a
security clampdown after the violence - reopens.
Iran is believed
to back Iraqi Shiite militias blamed in sectarian killings that have
killed thousands this year. Iran has repeatedly denied the
charges.