Iranian President Visits Former Enemy Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 2, 2008— -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Baghdad today for the first visit by an Iranian leader since the two countries fought a war that cost some 1 million lives in the 1980s.

Ahmadinejad was welcomed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite. Many Sunnis, however, who accuse Iran of backing Shiite death squads in Iraq, were unhappy with the visit, and there were some street protests in the largely Sunni town of Fallujah.

The Iranian leader discussed some economic projects, but the purpose of the visit was mostly symbolic — designed to show off the level of influence Iran now has in a country that used to be its enemy.

It was also a show of defiance to the United States, which accuses Iran of contributing to the destabilization of Iraq.

Unlike visits by President Bush, which are kept secret until the last minute, for security reasons, Ahmadinejad's visit had been telegraphed long in advance.

The United States did not provide security for Ahmadinejad's visit. Instead, the Iraqis brought in hundreds of extra police and soldiers to protect the route from the airport into the center of Baghdad.

The Iranian president was due to spend the night at the residence of Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, and not in a villa inside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, which is where most high-level visitors stay.

Ahmadinejad criticized the United States at a press conference with Maliki, saying that "the Iraqi people do not like America."

He has repeatedly called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq — something that even the Iraqi government opposes in the short term.

The Iraqi defense minister recently said he thought some U.S. troops should remain for 10 years until the Iraqi army is ready to defend the country on its own.