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Following are excerpts from an interview with Iraqi MP Ayad Jamal Al-Din, which aired on Al-Fayhaa TV on February 9, 2010.
Ayad Jamal Al-Din: The entire political process in Iraq was made possible solely by American efforts. It was the US that entered Baghdad, toppled Saddam, and ruled Iraq for a while, through Ambassador Bremer, and what ensued is known to all.
The US is not a bunch of teenagers or children, whose political conduct is reckless, like the conduct of Saddam and perhaps some of the current Arab leaders. The US is a country with institutions, plans, and a strategy. The work they do in Iraq is not futile or juvenile. It's not that they topple Saddam one day, and bring 'Izzat Al-Dori to power the next day. That's not how it works.
When the US entered Iraq, it aroused the fear of countries that are not part of the American camp – Iran and Syria, to be precise. These are two independent countries that have nothing to do with the US. As for Jordan, the Gulf countries, and Egypt – these are American countries par excellence. This is no secret. These countries do not, and cannot, deny it. These countries are part of the [American] lobby, and are considered strategic allies of the United States. They cannot object to the US will, or oppose its efforts and decisions.
The planes and tanks that toppled Saddam – where were they launched from? From the Gulf states, Jordan, and Egypt. These countries played a real role in these efforts – supporting the US with money, with intelligence, and even with soldiers. When one of the Gulf leaders writes his memoirs, you will know how many soldiers, from the Gulf and elsewhere, participated in the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime.
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I cannot blame Iran or Syria for being terrified by the US presence in Iraq. These countries are afraid. They say: We are the enemies of the US, and vice versa. Now the US is in Iraq.
But as for the weak Gulf states – they are as happy as can be that Iraq has become American. It is the American Iraq that defends them and protects their stability.
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Iraqi politicians – both party leaders and state officials – have voiced doubts about the US, and have said that the US wants to restore the Ba'th Party, and that the US has surrendered to the Sunni Arab countries, which want to restore Sunni rule in Iraq. All this talk has nothing to do with politics or with logic.
The US brought the seed of democracy, and planted it in a land alien to democracy. The US will continue to cultivate this seed, until the tree grows and offers shade to the region in its entirety.
Iraq is the beacon of democracy [in the Middle East]. The American democracy in Iraq terrifies Iran, first and foremost. Anyone who tries to say otherwise does not understand the political reality, or else he speaks on behalf of Iran.
Iran does not want to see a single US soldier in Iraq even for one moment. This is Iran's legitimate right. I'm not saying it isn't. But it is better for us, the Iraqis, for our country to be a democracy, sponsored by the strongest power in the world, the US, and for all America's friends to be our friends as well.
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We reject Iranian influence and money, as well as Saudi money. If the money of Saudi businessmen is used to support some impulsive people – we reject it as well. The Iraqi people reject both catastrophes – that of the Rule of the Jurisprudent and that of Wahhabism.