High-level political sources in Baghdad revealed that there have been recent Iraqi communications with the former Syrian Vice President, Abdul Halim Khaddam. They mentioned that Baghdad initiated contact with Khaddam to inquire about Syria’s role in supporting the current terrorist operations in Iraq. They added, “In truth, Khaddam welcomed these Iraqi communications and informed us that he intended to contact us, but the Iraqis beat him to it.” These sources indicated that preparations are underway for an Iraqi delegation, including representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and National Security Advisor, to visit Khaddam in either Paris or a European city. They also reported that “Baghdad is convinced that a direct meeting with Khaddam will help reveal many details about the role of the Syrian government and its intelligence agencies in the terrorism issue within Iraq.”
They stated that the Americans strongly encouraged the Iraqi government to meet with Khaddam because they believe he possesses a great deal of information about Syria’s official stance regarding the internal Iraqi situation. These sources considered the accusations made by some Lebanese party leaders against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a terrorist to be highly provocative, carrying significant implications about Syria’s role in the Iraqi issue, especially the security aspect.
They did not rule out that Syria’s role might be similar in both Lebanon and Iraq, and they denied any Iraqi-Syrian communications regarding the statements of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa about restoring diplomatic relations with Baghdad after the formation of the new Iraqi government. They concluded by stating, “Syrian involvement in the Iraqi security issue is a serious strategic matter, and President Assad is well aware of it. It’s ironic to discuss an official Syrian role without Assad’s knowledge against Iraq.”