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Iraq

Iran Welcomes President Talebani

Juan Cole 07/01/2007

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Talabani and Ahmadinejad Buddy Around

This video of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani visiting Tehran last week and hanging around gleefully with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad raises many questions:

Didn’t Bush say to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, “We’re proud to call you, friend, Mr. President, and proud to have you as an ally in the war on terror.” ?

Didn’t Bush put Iran in the Axis of Evil, and didn’t he make “a direct appeal to the Iranian people from the United Nations, telling them their leaders were misleading them about U.S. intentions while using their national treasury to sponsor terrorists and build the bomb.”? And isn’t the Bush administration charging Iran with destabilizing Iraq?

So how come Talabani is hanging around with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad wreathed in smiles?

Why was it reported that,

‘ “Talabani, for his part, appreciated the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution about Iraqi reconstruction and contribution of Iranian government to Iraqi nation’s progress and welfare. “Baghdad is keen on sharing experience with Tehran to implement economic development projects.” President Talabani said that both Iranian and Iraqi governments are working for prosperity and progress of the two nations. ‘

How come Talabani blamed Iraq’s Arab neighbors, not Iran, for the country being destabilized?

And, finally, wasn’t Talabani supposed to have lost weight at a clinic in Minnesota recently?

Filed Under: Iraq

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

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