Ahmadinejad slams presence of foreign forces in region

Daily Star 25 May 2009
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked the presence of foreign forces in the region at a summit with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday aimed at tackling terrorism and other security problems. The three neighbors’ first such meeting, which ended with pledges of cooperation but without any specific measures being announced, took place as Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling the spread of Taliban insurgencies in their countries.

Iran and Pakistan border Afghanistan and have a large stake in its stability because the impact of a flourishing drugs trade, decades of violence and millions of refugees have often spilled across borders.

Although it is a long-time foe of Iran, the United States is also pushing for a more regional approach against the growing strength of Taliban-linked insurgents in Afghanistan, one of the areas where Washington is seeking to engage Tehran.

“If we can save Pakistan and Afghanistan from these problems, from extremism, then such trilateral meetings are meaningful,” Karzai told the summit in comments broadcast by Iran’s English-language Press TV.

“The problems come from amongst ourselves,” he said.

But Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, took aim at outside intervention in the region, “by others who are alien to the nations and culture of our nations.”

Clearly referring to tens of thousands of US and mostly NATO troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said they were pursuing their own interests.

The United States is pouring thousands more troops into Afghanistan this year to try to reverse gains by a resurgent Taliban, particularly in its southern heartland.

“Although the presence of foreign forces in our region was under the pretext of establishing security it has not been much of a help to the establishment of permanent security and political and economic growth,” Ahmadinejad said.

“Regional people are able to tackle the security issues by themselves,” he said.

Despite such comments and three decades of mutual mistrust, analysts say Iran and the United States share an interest in regional stability. Iran says Washington is failing in Afghanistan, but that Tehran is ready to help its neighbor.

At a UN meeting in The Hague in March, Iran offered to help Afghanistan combat the narcotics trade, which helps fund the Taliban, in a gesture that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called promising.

In a statement after the one-day summit ended, Ahmadinejad said the three presidents had signed a declaration of “paramount importance” to increase cooperation, without giving details.

Zardari said they “reached broad consensus on giving further shape to our tripartite cooperation,” including working towards free trade.