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Length:
4:35
HALA GORANI: Welcome back
to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
JIM CLANCY: That's right. This is where we bring
CNN's international and U.S. viewers up to speed on
some of the most important international stories of
the day.
Well, the growing tensions between Iran and the
United States worrisome to Iraq's prime minister,
Nuri al-Maliki.
GORANI: He says he's concerned the tensions could
evolve into a proxy war inside of Iraq itself. In an
interview with CNN, al-Maliki laid out his concerns
and talked about what it's going to take to bring
security back to his country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is the nature
of Iranian activity in Iraq today?
NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through
translator): All the regional countries want to
interfere in Iraq: Iran, Turkey, Arabic countries
like Jordan and Saudi. And each one of them has his
own reason to interfere in Iraq.
Some of them come from the position of facing America
in Iraq. For some of them it's about the sectarian
confrontation in Iraq. And for others, from the
position of political confrontation in Iraq.
Interference exists in Iraq. And we have talked about
it frankly and clearly, whether it was by trafficking
weapons or supporting specific sides. And when our
delegations go to those countries, their message is:
Stop your interference in Iraq, because we will not
allow you, no matter how good our relations are.
For example, Iran is Shiite and we are Shiite. And we
have many Shiites in Iraq. But this does not justify
Iran interfering in Iraq. We respect this
relationship. We will not allow such interference to
exist.
Also, Iraq is an Arab country. The majority are
Arabs. But this also will not justify for Arab
countries to interfere in Iraq.
WARE: Is American intelligence wrong when it says
Iran is working to kill American soldiers in your
country?
AL-MALIKI (through translator): I didn't say it does
not exist. And the Americans, when they say that
their intelligence is saying that Iranians are
killing their soldiers, it means their intelligence
is based on information that they got. And this is
not an obscure thing.
There is a struggle between Iran and America. And we
have told the Iranians and the Americans, we know
that you have a problem with each other, but we're
asking you, please, solve your problems outside of
Iraq.
We do not want the American forces to take Iraq as a
field to attack Iran or Syria, and we will not accept
Iran to use Iraq to attack the American forces. But
does this not exist? It exists, and I assure you it
exists.
But it is based on the struggle between the two
countries. And from our side, we're trying to stop
the effort to have a struggle in Iraq.
We're always encouraging the two sides to negotiate
and to try to find an agreement away from Iraq. Iran
and America, we are ready to pay efforts to solve the
problems between them if it is possible. But not on
the account on Iraq.
Iraq has nothing to do with the American-Iranian
struggle. And we will not let Iran play a role
against the American army. And we will not allow
America to play a role against the Iranian army. And
everyone should respect the sovereignty of Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Now, correspondent Michael Ware, of course,
who sat down with the prime minister in that
interview, joins us now live to talk a little bit
more about it.
Michael, what is the nature of the prime minister's
relationship now with the United States?
WARE: Well, clearly, the prime minister of Iraq and
the U.S. mission here on the ground have thrown their
lot in together. He firmly believes that the current
plan to secure Baghdad with a surge of 21,000-plus
American soldiers will work.
Nonetheless, he leaves the door open for an
escalation, an increase in U.S. troops. Nonetheless,
there's evidently friction in the relationship.
He made it very clear to us that he believes America
has made a number of strategic blunders. He seems
that he feels he's been forced to run a race with a
horse that's been nobbled.
He says that terrorism in this country has grown
because of the strategic errors that America made in
the past in building the security forces that he now
has. He also vowed that his forces could take over
security in this country within three to six months,
but it will need increased support, principally
financial and arming, by America.
So, obviously, this is somewhat of a prickly,
difficult relationship that's under great strain --
Jim.
CLANCY: All right. Michael Ware reporting to us there
live from Baghdad.