News

In January 2010, a US Congressional delegation is received by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi.

This is a rich conversation, with material of interest on the alleged abuses of the US contractor Blackwater, an Iranian-Iraqi border incident, and the forthcoming Iraqi elections. (Note the inadvertent humour, in light of subsequent events, in Abd al-Mahdi's assurance of "faster Government formation in 2010".

What caught my eye, however, was Talabani's reading of the state of the Iranian regime and of the opposition posed by the Green Movement. Commenting a week after the demonstrations on 27 December and the regime's mobilisation of support three days later, Talabani assesses, "Tt was not that the Iranian regime was weak, but rather that the opposing side was strong....Whereas the demonstrations at first were attacking Iranian President Ahmadinejad, they have now shifted to being against Supreme Leader Khamenei."

Then Talabani offers the prophetic warning: "The Iranian government feels threatened. In response, Iran has threatened to use any force necessary, and was presently trying to pass a law in the Parliament to hang those found to be against the regime."

And the Iraqi President poses the dilemma of the Green Movement and actors outside Iran: "Unlike in previous scenarios, the current re... >>>