US envoy urges Arab countries to open embassies in Baghdad

Dubai: The US Ambassador to Iraq warned yesterday both Iran and Syria for not doing enough to stop movement of terrorists into Iraq, but affirmed that the security in the country is much better than it was few months ago.

The envoy, who is currently on a visit to the UAE,also urged neighbouring countries to help stablise the situation in Iraq. Ryan said his talks with Arab officials focused on finding ways to open up Arab embassies in Baghdad with ambassadorial-level representation.

Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador in Baghdad since March 29, said the situation in Iraq is improving by any measure. "There were dramatic changes in the last couple of months in Anbar to the west. We have seen those changes move from west to east though Abu Ghuraib into Baghdad itself, in Dyala province," he said.

Ryan, who is currently on a visit to the UAE, said: "We have seen literally tens of thousands of young men, who previously may been involved in anti- coalition and antiIraqi government insurgency, now stepping forward and saying 'We want to fight with you not against you'".

"We have seen also the Iraqi government responding to that view. 25,000 roughly young men in Anbar Province today are wearing the uniform of the Iraqi Police and drawing the salary from the central government and reserving order in Anbar. The differences are there," Ryan said.

Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, he said there are no mysteries or secrets of what Iran needs to do turn a budding crisis into an opportunity for a way forward for Iran itself, for the region and for the internati

"Secretary Rice and other International leaders made that clear in 2006 in which we laid down the terms for Iran to move ahead in cooperation with the International community and to meet its energy needs as well as other thing rather than confrontation.

"That offer is still on the table, but Iran needs to move away from the very dangerous course it is on just right now. It terms of our own position obviously we are seeking a diplomatic and political solution for this crisis. We are not looking for military confrontation. We have been twice to the Security Council for Chapter 7 resolution and we will go again if necessary. But at the same time this is an evolving situation we are not going to take any option of the table," he said.

Addressing the opposition among US diplomats to be posted in Iraq that break up recently, Ryan said couple of thousands of US diplomats had gone to Iraq since 2003.

"They performed with real courage and distinction. We are asking a lot of a very small service to keep our most important foreign policy priority adequately staffed in Iraq where we are also deal with many missions in difficult places like in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"I don't see anything extraordinary about this. As we said about the efforts to staff the Iraq mission properly, it is good for all my colleagues to remember that we raised the right hands when we entered the service and sworn just like military sworn off. We are committed to support and defend the constitution of the United States and this doesn't mean we choose which fight we should be into," he said.

Regarding the meeting of Iraqi neighbours scheduled to convene in Istanbul on Saturday, Ryan said the US hope all the neighbours that are going to be represented in the meeting will live up to commitments that created the neighbour mechanism in the first place, which is to support the government of Iraq, to find ways to strengthen the Iraqi efforts to improve security, stability and to provide services for the Iraqi people and to coordinate in a positive way these kind of efforts.

"Most of Iraqi's neighbours are doing just that. Iran is unfortunately playing a distinctly negative role. We would like to see that change and again events such as this conference are a way of putting pressure on countries like Iran to make their actions match their policies.

He said there is a big gap of what Iran says it wants for Iraq and what they are doing on the ground to undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government.

With Syria, he said we would like to see Syria do more particularly with respect to the flow of foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq, it is still a problem.

"We and Iraqi seen some decline in the numbers but we thing it is important for Syria to do more and to do what they can to shut this off. These suicide bombers and fighters are clearly a danger to Iraq but they are also a danger to every state in the region including Syria. So we like to see some unified coordinated act to bring this transit to a halt," he said.

In his consultation tour with officials in the countries he had visited, Ryan said he was not marketing the US policies. "I was conveying impression of the conditions in Iraq I have developed over the period I have been there since March. And also to get the views of our friends and partners in this region. One of the points that we have all agreed on that on the view of the progress that have been made this is a good time for Iraq's Arab neighbours to take a careful look at what they might be able to do under better circumstances now to give greater support to the Iraqi government and people in their effort to reach a sustainable stability.

In particularly, Ryan said his talks with Arab officials focused on finding ways to open up Arab embassies in Baghdad with ambassadorial-level representation.

"Certainly there are risks in Baghdad, but embassies can be secured and it is important to be there. It is important for the Arab states to be present in a positive way and reinforce Iraq's own sense of deep attachment to the Arab world," he said.

He said Iraqi Arabs, Sunni or Shiite, have very deep attachment to Arab identity and this is an opportunity for the Arab states to reach out and show their fellow Arabs in Iraq that they present they support don't care what happens. "It is also an important message for Iraq's non-Arab population like Kurds to see that Arab neighbours are engaged in a positive way that make all Iraqi feels that they have strong ties and strong support with the Arab World," Ryan said.

He said many in this region are concerned about the negative Iranian influence in Iraq. The best way to counter that is for the Arab States to be on the ground and active in a positive way to counteract this influence. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs. They are not Persians and would welcome more pronounced Arab role.

"I find willingness in the Arab countries I have visited to do more for Iraq. It is very good way to reinforce to what all Iraqis want which is a unified Iraqi state. There is a debate in Iraq of how such the state should be structured and what are the relationships would be between provinces and the centre but there is universal agreement that Iraq must remain a unified state," he said.