"In a shift, Iraq urges Syrian president to step down" September 21, 2011|By Michael S. Schmidt and Yasir Ghazi, New York Times
BAGHDAD - After months of striking a far friendlier tone toward the government of Syrian president Bashar Assad, the Iraqi government has joined a chorus of other nations calling on him to step down....
The statements from Ali al-Moussawi, an adviser to the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, in an interview with the New York Times yesterday, mark a significant change for Iraq. When the United States and several of its major allies called last month for Assad to cede power, the Iraqi government appeared to be more in line with Iran, which has supported Assad. The same day as the US statement, Maliki gave a speech warning Arab leaders that Israel would benefit the most from the Arab Spring.
“There is no doubt that there is a country that is waiting for the Arab countries to be ripped and is waiting for internal corrosion,’’ Maliki said in that speech. “Zionists and Israel are the first and biggest beneficiaries of this whole process.’’
How often do you see the Z-word in the AmeriKan newspaper, 'eh? These types of statements can not have gone over well in the halls of power in USrael.
As violence began to spread across Syria in June, Maliki received a delegation of visiting Syrian businesspeople and government officials, including the foreign minister, to discuss closer economic ties between the two countries. At the time, Maliki called on Syrians to stick to peaceful protests and rely on the government to enact reforms.
Moussawi said yesterday that the Iraqi government was very worried that if Assad’s government collapses, violence will spill over the border and further destabilize Iraq.
And yet they are calling on him and his to step down?
Mixed messages from my media in a very strange article.
He said the Iraqi government was asking Washington what the US plans were in the event of Assad’s departure.
Then the wheels are in motion, 'eh?
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