New York Times wrote on August 12th : Under the influence of Iran, Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, supports Syria. While the world and Arab leaders condemned the crackdown on protests by Syrian regime, al-Maliki had a friendly tone. He urged the protestors not to ” abotage” their country. He also hosted a delegation of Syrian officials.
Maliki’s support for Assad illustrates how much Iraq is involved in the region’s axis led by Iran. It has also aggravated the crevasse and gap between Iraqi Shiite majority whose leaders accepted Assads’s account that al-Qaeda leaders are behind the uprising, and Sunni minority whose leader condemned the crackdown of demonstrators by Syria.
