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BAGHDAD — Politicians here are being offered substantial sums of money by the Iranian government, according to an Iraqi lawmaker who says the next front in the war for Iraqi freedom will be to ward off unwanted influence from the mullahs in Tehran.
Like most of the members of the Iraqi parliament, both Sunni and Shiite, Mithal al-Alusi has been offered cash by the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qomi. But unlike most of his colleagues in the parliament, Mr. al-Alusi has made the bribe public by telling the story to this journalist.
Sitting in his living room underneath a photo of his two sons who were slain by terrorists in 2005, Mr. al-Alusi says at first the offer of influence was conveyed by a local sheik he knew but declined to name. "They offered me anything I want," he said.
A meeting was arranged through the interlocutor with Mr. Qomi, who brought to Mr. al-Alusi's office a fine red Persian carpet. "I told the ambassador," Mr. al-Alusi said, "I have a problem. You are involved in the terrorist problems of Iraq." The ambassador replied that Iran had no connection to terrorism, but Mr. al-Alusi continued: "I said, ‘You cannot yet attack London or New York with the atom bomb you build, but I am your neighbor. You could attack us.'"
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