USA Kill or Capture Strategy in Iraq - Constructive or Destructive

Constructive or Destructive

There are differences of opinion as to whether the successful toppling of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein was constructive or destructive. In a press conference in 2007 in Iran, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem stated that Iran and Syria's shared borders with Iraq is an undeniable geographical fact, and stressed that the constructive role of these two countries in assisting Iraq to restore security and stability is undeniable. He described those who have come to Iraq from remote continents as intruders of Iraq's domestic affairs, and viewed Bush's new Iraq strategy as wrong.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is defending the U.S.-backed Iraqi government and warns against attempts to undermine it. Trying to weaken the Iraqi government is tantamount to "treason for the Iraqi people and Islamic nation," Ahmadinejad said in a telephone conversation with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in January 2007.

On January 20, 2007, Mohammad Jaafari, a member of the Iran's Supreme National Security Council, declared: "The United States seeks to justify its failure in Iraq and blame the situation on Iran."

On the other hand, in June 2007 U.S. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell stated there is “overwhelming evidence” that Iran supports terrorists in Iraq and “compelling” evidence that it does the same in Afghanistan.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said that Iranian-born Ayatollah Ali Sistani has played an important role in helping to establish security in Iraq.

President Talabani also mentioned that Iran and Syria have begun to help the Iraqi government in a good manner. "we do not want the Iranian-US relations to develop into a conflict in Iraq. On the contrary, we have exerted efforts to bring about a US-Iranian agreement or understanding for a joint action for the security and stability in Iraq." he said in an interview with Al-Hayat in January 2007.

Following two US raids in January 2007 and December 2006 in which Iranians were arrested, one of Iraq's most powerful Shia politicians Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, has condemned the arrest of Iranians by US forces in Iraq as an attack on the country's sovereignty.

In an interview in January 2007, German deputy foreign minister, Gernot Erler said there will be no solution to the Iraqi conflict unless Iran and Syria are also involved in international efforts to restore peace to the war-stricken country. Berlin has repeatedly stressed Iran's important regional role for peace and security in the Mideast.