With Iraq quieter, leader to travel abroad

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister plans trips to Europe and the Persian Gulf this month, apparently hoping improved security at home will pay dividends in greater international support - including from a country that did not back the U.S. invasion.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit the United Arab Emirates tomorrow and then Germany and Italy later in July, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters yesterday.

He did not give dates for the European stops, saying only that the visits will "enhance European-Iraqi cooperation and the mutual relations with these countries."

Violence in Iraq has dropped to its lowest level in more than four years as a result of the 2007 buildup of American forces, the Sunni revolt against al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Iraqi government crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias, among other factors.

Maliki's government is hoping to capitalize on the downward trend in violence to bolster Iraq's image internationally and shore up support for his Shiite-led administration.

Germany was a leading opponent of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and Italy withdrew troops from Iraq in 2006 because of widespread public opposition to the war.

Dabbagh also said Jordan's King Abdullah II would visit Iraq soon. It would be the first visit to Baghdad by an Arab head of state since Hussein's regime collapsed.

Iraq's mostly Sunni Arab neighbors have been wary of the Shiite-dominated government's ties to Iran. No Arab government has an ambassador in Baghdad, although several have promised to send one soon.

The United States hopes efforts to improve stability will receive a boost when Iraqi voters choose governing councils in the 18 provinces. The Americans hope the elections, expected this fall, will increase Sunni participation in the political process and bolster popular support for local administrations in Shiite areas.

Many Sunnis boycotted the last provincial elections in January 2005, as did most followers of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Shiite religious parties won the major share of power in the balloting, a development that widened sectarian tensions.

Yesterday, the government banned political parties from using pictures of religious figures and noncandidates on posters and campaign material, a move clearly directed not only at Sadr's followers but also their principal Shiite rival, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.