US warns Iran and Syria

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

Ryan Crocker, the US envoy in Baghdad since March 29 said the situation in Iraq is improving. "There were dramatic changes in the last couple of months in Anbar. We have seen those changes move from west to east through Abu Graib into Baghdad," he said.

Crocker, who is currently on a visit to the UAE, said: "We have literally seen tens of thousands of young men, who previously may have been involved in anti-coalition and anti-Iraqi government insurgencies, step forward and say we want to fight with you not against you.

"We have also seen the Iraqi government responding to that view. As many as 25,000 young men in Anbar province today are wearing the uniform of the Iraqi police and drawing salaries from the central government and preserving order in Anbar. The differences are there," Crocker said.

Regarding Iran's nuclear issue, he said there are no mysteries on what Iran needs to do to turn the crisis into an opportunity for Iran, for the region and for the international community.

"[US] Secretary [of State] [Condolezza] Rice and other international leaders made it clear in 2006 by 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 right now.

"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 off the table," he said.

Addressing the issue of US diplomats' opposition to postings in Iraq, Crocker said couple of thousands of US diplomats had gone to Iraq since 2003.

"They performed with real courage and distinction. ... I don't see anything extraordinary about this. 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 be convened in Istanbul today, Crocker said the US hopes 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."

Big gap

He said there is a big gap in 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 into Iraq. "It is still a problem."

"We and the Iraqis have seen some decline in the numbers but ... it is important for Syria to do more .... 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.

Crocker said his talks with Arab officials focused on finding ways to open 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.