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Jan 10, 2021
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Former Iraqi PM Ayad Allawi: Former U.S. President Barack Obama Surrendered Iraq To Iranian Influence

#8618 | 02:20
Source: Asharq TV (Saudi Arabia)

Former Iraqi prime minister, Ayad Allawi spoke about former U.S. President Barack Obama's involvement in the region on Asharq TV (Saudi Arabia) on January 10, 2021. He said that according to Obama's book A Promised Land, Obama was involved in the return of Iranian influence over Iraq. He said that Obama wrote in his book that he believed that the Arabs were backward and ignoramuses. Allawi added that unlike President George W. Bush, who was trustworthy and shared common interests with Arab countries, Obama was completely untrustworthy. Allawi shared that he had met with Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif during a visit to Iraq. In the meeting Allawi asked FM Zarif why Iran supplies weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah, divides the Palestinian factions, and encourages them to target Israel. Zarif responded that he is interested in a non-aggression pact with the Arab countries. Allawi said that all Zarif did for this sake was to write an article, he did nothing to resolve the issues, to promote a non-aggression pact, and to strengthen mutual interests.

For more about Ayad Allawi, see MEMRI TV clips No. 8296, 7884, 7584, 4829, and 478.

Interviewer: "Did President Barack Obama have anything to do with the return of the Iranian influence to Iraq?"

Ayad Allawi: "Of course. You can read it in his book…"

Interviewer: "A Promised Land."

Allawi: "He says that the Arabs are backward, Bedouins, ignoramuses...This is how he speaks of the Arabs. It is in the book.

[...]

"One day, the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz [of Saudi Arabia] asked me: 'Do you trust America?' It was during [the presidency of George W.] Bush. I told him: 'It is not a question of trust but a question of interests. I know that Bush loves you and respects you, and so on. So why not take advantage of it for the sake of the interests of the Arab nation?' This was a conversation I had with the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The truth is that Obama was not like that. He came and gave his famous speech in Cairo…"

Interviewer: "He wasn't trustworthy."

Allawi: "Not at all.

[...]

"[Iranian FM] Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Iraq a few months ago. He asked to meet with me and we did. We met in my office, and a bunch of Iraqi brothers were there with me. I asked him why Iran was giving missiles to Hamas, dividing the Palestinian factions, sending missiles to Hizbullah so that they would target Israel, and then Israel would enter the scene and turn everything upside down. That's not right... He told me that he wants a non-aggression pact with the Arab countries. I asked him: 'What do you do to get this non-aggression pact?' He said: 'I did something. I wrote an article.' I asked him: 'Is this the way you treat the Arab foreign ministers? You wrote a letter to the 'Big Satan,' asking him to solve the nuclear issue through negotiations. Why don't you write a letter to the Arab foreign ministers?' I told him he should include three issues [in the letter]: Resolution of the problems, a non-aggression pact, which includes the countries and their proxies, and the strengthening of mutual interests. That's it…"

Interviewer: "But his response to that was writing an article instead of keeping his promises."

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