    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [June 28, 2004]
    [Pages 1144-1151]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom in Istanbul
    June 28, 2004

    Transfer of Sovereignty in Iraq

        President Bush. Good afternoon. Earlier today, 15 months after the
    liberation of Iraq, and 2 days ahead of schedule, the world witnessed
    the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi Government. Iraqi officials
    informed us that they are ready to assume power, and Prime Minister
    Allawi believes that making this transition now
    is best for his country. After decades of brutal rule by a terror
    regime, the Iraqi people have their country back.
        This is a day of great hope for Iraqis and a day that terrorist
    enemies hoped never to see. The terrorists are doing all they can to
    stop the rise of a free Iraq. But their bombs and attacks have not
    prevented Iraqi sovereignty, and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy.
    Iraqi sovereignty is a tribute to the will of the Iraqi people and the
    courage of Iraqi leaders.
        This day also marks a proud moral achievement for members of our
    coalition. We pledged to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed,
    and to restore sovereignty. We have kept our word.
        Fifteen months ago, Saddam's regime was
    an enemy of America and the civilized world. Today Iraq's Government is
    an ally of both. Fifteen months ago, Iraq was a state sponsor of
    terrorism. Today Iraq's leaders, with our support, are systematically
    fighting terrorists across their country. Fifteen months ago, we faced
    the threat of a dictator with a history of using weapons of mass
    destruction. Today the dictator is a threat to no one, from the cell he
    now occupies. Fifteen months ago, the regime in Baghdad was the most
    aggressive in the Middle East and a constant source of fear and alarm
    for Iraq's neighbors. Today Iraq threatens no other country, and its
    democratic progress will be an example to the broader Middle East.
    Fifteen months ago, Iraq was ruled by a regime that brutalized and
    tortured its own people, murdered hundreds of thousands, and buried them
    in mass graves. Today Iraqis live under a Government that strives for
    justice, upholds the rule of law, and defends the dignity of every
    citizen.
        Iraq today still has many challenges to overcome. We recognize that.
    But it is a world away from the tormented, exhausted, and isolated
    country we found last year. Now the transfer of sovereignty begins a new
    phase in Iraq's progress toward full democracy. Together with the Iraqi
    Government, we're moving forward on every element of our five-part plan
    for Iraqi self-government.
        Iraq's interim government has gained broad international support and
    has been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. The United States and
    our coalition partners are helping prepare Iraqis for the defense of
    their own country, and we appreciate NATO's decision to approve Prime
    Minister Allawi's request for assistance in
    training Iraqi security forces--in training the Iraqi security forces.
    We're helping Iraqis rebuild their country's infrastructure, and Iraq
    will move--continue moving toward free elections, with important
    assistance from the United Nations.
        All this progress is being attacked by foreign terrorists and by
    thugs from the fallen regime. The terrorists know they face defeat
    unless they break the spirit and commitment of the civilized world. The
    civilized world will not be frightened or intimidated. And Iraq's new
    leaders have made their position clear: Prime Minister Allawi recently said that ``The insurgents are trying to
    destroy our country, and we're not going to allow this.''

    [[Page 1145]]

        The struggle is, first and foremost, an Iraqi struggle. The Prime
    Minister said of his people, ``We're prepared to
    fight and, if necessary, die for these objectives.'' America, Great
    Britain, our coalition respect that spirit, and the Iraqi people will
    not stand alone.
        The United States military and our coalition partners have made a
    clear, specific, and continuing mission in Iraq. As we train Iraqi
    security forces, we'll help those forces to find and destroy the
    killers. We'll protect infrastructure from the attacks. We'll provide
    security for the upcoming elections. Operating in a sovereign nation,
    our military will act in close consultation with the Iraqi Government.
    Yet coalition forces will remain under coalition command. Iraq's Prime
    Minister and President have told me that their goal is to eventually take full
    responsibility for the security of their country, and America wants
    Iraqi forces to take that role. Our military will stay as long as the
    stability of Iraq requires and only as long as their presence is needed
    and requested by the Iraqi Government.
        Today, at the moment sovereignty was transferred, the mission of the
    Coalition Provisional Authority came to an end. Ambassador Jerry
    Bremer has been tireless and
    dedicated, and he returns home with the thanks of his country. Thousands
    of American civilians have labored for progress in Iraq under difficult
    and sometimes dangerous conditions. They also have our gratitude.
        From the first hours of Operation Iraqi Freedom and to this very
    hour, in their battles against the terrorists, America's men and women
    in uniform have been unrelenting in the performance of their duty.
    They've had staunch allies, like Great Britain, at their side. We asked
    a lot of our military, and there's still much hard work ahead. We're
    grateful for the sacrifice of all who've served. We honor the memory of
    all who've died. The courage of our military has brought us to this
    hopeful day, and the continued service of our military assures the
    success of our cause.
        In Iraq, we're serving the cause of liberty, and liberty is always
    worth fighting for. In Iraq, we're serving the cause of peace by
    promoting progress and hope in the Middle East as the alternative to
    stagnation and hatred and violence for export. In Iraq, we're serving
    the cause of our own security, striking the terrorists where we find
    them, instead of waiting for them to strike us at home.
        For all these reasons, we accepted a difficult task in Iraq, and for
    all these reasons, we will finish that task.
        Mr. Prime Minister.
        Prime Minister Blair. Thank you, Mr. President.
        Today is, obviously, an important staging post on the journey of the
    people of Iraq towards a new future, one in which democracy replaces
    dictatorship, in which freedom replaces repression, and of which all the
    people of Iraq can look forward to the possibility and the hope of an
    Iraq that genuinely guarantees a future for people from whatever part of
    Iraq they come.
        I think it's just worth reflecting for a moment on what we now have
    before us, because today, of course, is extremely important. It's the
    transfer of real and full sovereignty to the people and the Government
    of Iraq. From now on, the coalition changes. We are there in support of
    the Iraqi Government and the Iraqi people.
        And what you have very clearly, therefore, is on one side you have
    the Iraqi Government, the Iraqi people, the international community that
    has now spoken through the United Nations, who want a free, stable,
    pluralist, democratic Iraq. And on the other hand you have some of the
    former Saddam supporters; you have outside terrorists; you have fanatics
    and extremists of one sort or another who want to stop the possibility
    of that new Iraq happening.
        And of course, it's going to carry on being difficult and dangerous.
    There was

    [[Page 1146]]

    the tragic loss of a British soldier today, and many American servicemen
    have died. Many Iraqi civilians have died. Many of those who are joining
    up to the new Iraqi security services have died, have given their lives.
    But they've all given their lives in the cause of trying to provide a
    different and better future for the people of Iraq.
        And I think what is interesting about this situation is that for
    those people who are there in Iraq causing this death and destruction,
    they have a very, very clear and simple objective. And the objective is
    not just to destabilize Iraq, to produce chaos, to produce bloodshed, to
    try and prevent democracy. The strategy of these terrorists is to try
    and prevent Iraq becoming a symbol of hope not just for the Iraqi people
    but, actually, for that region and the wider world.
        And that is why, in a very real sense, because Al Qaida and other
    terrorist groups are actually there in Iraq now, what is happening in
    Iraq, the battle in Iraq, the battle for Iraq and its future, if you
    like, is, in a genuine sense, the frontline of the battle against
    terrorism and the new security threat that we face.
        And that security threat is what has dominated our discussion here
    at the NATO summit. And that security threat, which is about this new
    and poisonous and evil form of extremism linked to a perversion of the
    true faith of Islam and repressive, unstable states that proliferate in
    and deal in chemical, biological, nuclear weapons--that security threat
    is the threat of our times.
        And the reason why it is so important that NATO fulfills its
    functions in respect of Afghanistan and Iraq is that in both those
    countries, the same struggle for democracy and freedom is going on. And
    you can see in Afghanistan--yes, of course, there are still tremendous
    difficulties--but 2\1/2\ million refugees have returned there; girls are
    now allowed to go to school--several million of them at school were
    banned from school under the Taliban; economic growth rates of 30
    percent last year, 20 percent this year.
        What is the struggle? The struggle in Afghanistan is the struggle
    between the majority of Afghans, 4 million of whom have already
    registered to vote, against Taliban elements, Al Qaida elements, people
    who want to drag the country backwards, who want to turn it back into a
    failed and repressive state.
        And so that's why it's right for NATO to step up to the mark today
    and say, ``We are going to extend the role of the security force.'' It's
    quite right for us to say, as the U.K., ``We will make a contribution in
    putting the ARRC force forward in 2006 to allow NATO to continue with
    its responsibilities.'' It's why it's right for us to look at the
    measures we need urgently in order to give the protection for the
    Afghans as they approach their September election date.
        And in respect to Iraq, exactly the same issues arise. As I say,
    there again--you have people trying to get towards freedom and democracy
    and people trying to stop them. And so our job's got to be, again as an
    international community, to give them help. And that's why it's
    important that NATO helps with the training of the Iraqi security
    forces.
        And everybody knows that ultimately we can be there in support, but
    as the Iraqis themselves will tell you, they know that ultimately their
    task, their responsibility is to make their country safe. And they want
    us to help. So that's what we're going to do, help with the training and
    equipping of the Iraqi security forces.
        Just one final point I want to make. I thought we had an interesting
    set of discussions this morning and at lunch today. But there was a very
    powerful speech that was made by the President of Latvia at our lunch
    today when we were discussing the question of what NATO should do to
    help Afghanistan and Iraq. And I think it's sometimes a very useful
    reminder for some of the newest democracies in our world

    [[Page 1147]]

    to tell us, from a standpoint of immense moral force, just what
    democracy means to people who have faced repression for so many years.
    And she made a very powerful intervention that reminded us and reminded
    me, certainly, again, of what it is we are here to do. We know the
    security threat we face. We know the ultimate answer to it is not just
    force of arms and security measures; it is ultimately the values of
    democracy and freedom and justice and the rule of law. And that's what
    we're trying to do.
        And for NATO, after the end of the cold war, after all the changes
    that have happened, I think it has its role today. It is to support that
    process of transition and change, the world over, because ultimately our
    best guarantee of security lies in the values that are not values that
    are American or British or Western values but the values of humanity.
        Thank you.
        President Bush. We'll answer a couple of questions. Dick [Richard
    Keil, Bloomberg News], you got a question?
        Q. I do, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Why don't you ask it?

    Possibility of Martial Law in Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, Iraq's new Prime Minister has talked in recent
    days about the possibility of imposing martial law there as a way of
    restoring security. Is that something that you think a new, emerging
    Government should do, and particularly with the use of U.S. forces, who
    would have to be instrumental in doing it?
        President Bush. You know, Prime Minister Allawi has fought tyranny. He's a guy that stood up to Saddam
    Hussein. He's a patriot, and every
    conversation I've had with him has been one the recognizes human
    liberty, human rights. I mean, he's a man who is willing to risk his
    life for a democratic future for Iraq.
        Having said that, he may take tough security measures to deal with
    Zarqawi, but he may have to. Zarqawi is
    the guy who beheads people on TV. He's the person that orders suiciders
    to kill women and children. And so Prime Minister Allawi, as the head of a sovereign Government, may decide he's
    going to have to take some tough measures to deal with a brutal,
    coldblooded killer. And our job is to help the Iraqis stand up forces
    that are able to deal with these thugs.
        I mean, it's tough; there's no question about it. Look, they can't
    whip our militaries. They can't whip our militaries. What they can do is
    get on your TV screens and stand in front of your TV cameras and cut
    somebody's head off, in order to try to cause us to cringe and retreat.
    That's their strongest weapon. And we just--as Prime Minister
    Allawi has said publicly many times, he will not
    cower in the face of such brutal murder, and neither will we--neither
    will we.
        Prime Minister Blair. I think you've got to distinguish very
    carefully between two separate things. The first is, undoubtedly, the
    new Iraqi Government will want to take tough security measures. They
    have to. They've got a situation where they've got these terrorists who
    are prepared to kill any number of innocent people. And remember, the
    innocent Iraqis who are dying in Iraq today are dying because of these
    terrorist acts.
        On the other hand, I know perfectly well from the discussions I've
    had not just with the Prime Minister but with the other Iraqi ministers,
    their purpose is to take tough security measures but in order to
    guarantee freedom for people, not to take it away. So they're not going
    to be wanting to introduce martial law that takes away the basic
    freedoms of the people. On the contrary, they will be wanting to take
    tough security measures, and we will want to help train their forces
    able to guard and get after the people doing this killing. But it's not
    going to be about taking away people's freedoms. It's going to be about
    allowing those freedoms to happen.
        Andy.

    [[Page 1148]]

    Iraqi Government Action Against Terror/Germany and France

        Q. Andrew Martin, BBC. Could I ask both leaders, following on from
    that, do we, in some sense, then give the new Iraqi administration carte
    blanche to go after these people? The Iraqi Defense Minister was talking
    this morning about hunting down and eliminating the insurgents. And if I
    could also just ask, do you now regard Germany and, in particular,
    France as shoulder to shoulder alongside you, after the difficult times
    you've had with them over the past 18 months?
        Prime Minister Blair. On the first point, I don't think there's any
    question of the Iraqis--no Iraqi minister has said this to me, of
    wanting to hunt people down, in the sense of kill people without a
    proper trial and end up taking away people's basic liberties. They don't
    want that at all. But you've got to understand what they're faced with
    there. They're faced with a group of people who will kill any number of
    people and who will do the most terrible acts of barbarity. And why--in
    order to stop them getting a democratic and stable country.
        As I keep saying to people, there are lots of things that we thought
    might happen as a result of the conflict in Iraq. I mean, we were
    confident of military victory. But there were lots of things that we
    thought might happen. We thought there might be a humanitarian crisis,
    and we made a lot of provisions for that. We thought that maybe--and we
    were told this by many people, many so-called experts who said, ``Well,
    the Iraqis, they'll want a theological state. They won't want a proper
    democracy.'' These issues have actually either been dealt with or
    resolved themselves.
        What we've got is a very simple problem to describe and a
    complicated problem to overcome. We have groups of terrorists and
    insurgents who will use suicide bombs, who do not care in the least
    about killing innocent people, who will do whatever it takes to stop the
    country functioning properly.
         Now, in those circumstances, I don't blame at all the Iraqi
    ministers--any of us would be doing this, as politicians in the same
    situation--of wanting to get after those people and hunt them down. But
    they're not getting after them and hunting them down in defiance of
    basic freedoms but in order to help basic freedoms. And so I don't think
    we should set this new thing away that somehow the new Iraqi Government
    wants to--somehow wants to put aside democracy and freedom and all the
    rest of it. The reason they're trying to stop the terrorists is so that
    democracy and freedom can flourish in Iraq.
        Secondly, in relation to France and Germany, look, I mean, there's
    no point in thinking--we haven't overcome the disagreement there was
    about whether the conflict was justified. I mean, there's no point in us
    standing here and saying, ``All the previous disagreements have
    disappeared.'' They haven't. On the other hand, what is important is
    you've got a United Nations resolution that has blessed the new
    Government in Iraq, and you've got a situation in which we have accepted
    today that there is a good and sound NATO role, which is actually the
    only role we ever sought for NATO, of training and helping to train the
    Iraqis so that they can do their own security work, which is the request
    that they have made to us. And in that sense, I think the international
    community has come together, and I welcome it.
        President Bush. Yes, my sense is, is that there's a hope that we
    succeed with all the nations sitting around the table. Everybody
    understands the stakes. And the stakes are high, particularly for those
    of us who recognize that the long-term defeat of terror will happen when
    freedom takes hold in the broader Middle East. It's a long-term
    solution.
        And if you really think about what's happened since September the
    11th, there's been some amazing progress. Pakistan has now joined the
    battle against Al Qaida. President Musharraf has made a concerted

    [[Page 1149]]

    decision to go after Al Qaida, which hides in remote regions of his
    country on the Afghanistan border. Libya has declared and produced its
    weapons programs that we're now destroying. You know, Turkey is solid.
    There's a solid democracy here in the broader Middle East which is a
    great example.
        Afghanistan, which was a terrorist haven--this is where the
    terrorists plotted and trained to come and kill, not only in America but
    elsewhere--is now heading toward elections. Who ever thought Afghanistan
    was going to have elections? Three years ago you said, ``Gosh, you think
    Afghanistan is going to have elections,'' I probably would have said,
    ``No.'' And so is Iraq--Iraq is headed towards elections too. It's
    substantial change in a quick period of time. And I think everybody
    sitting around the table is hopeful that democracy will serve as an
    agent of change in this part of the world.
        In terms of hunting them down, look, I think the Iraqis understand
    what we know, that the best way to defend yourself is to go on the
    offense and find the killers before they kill. I presume that's what
    he was saying; I haven't
    asked him his language. I have sometimes used that language myself. And
    I've used it because my most solemn duty is to defend my country, is to
    defend it from people that obviously are willing to kill innocent life
    just like that. And my position is, is the best way to defend yourself
    is to find the few, the few--and I believe that's what he's saying--that
    we're going to find those few before they continue to bomb whoever
    happens to be in their way. And we'll support him. We'll help him.
        Let's see--Jim [Jim Angle, FOX News].

    Opposition to Coalition Action in Iraq

        Q. We were reminded by the anniversary of D-day that 60 years ago it
    took an massive invasion to end the occupation of France and other
    European nations. Now, in Iraq, the coalition has gladly and willingly
    returned sovereignty to the Iraqis. And I wonder, is there any sign that
    this has changed the views of your more skeptical NATO brethren, any
    evidence that the critics are now persuaded to the view that you both
    argued, that it was, in fact, a liberation? Or at this point, does it
    matter to each of you what the critics say?
        President Bush. Yes, it matters to me what you say. I mean, it
    matters to me what--[laughter]--sorry. [Laughter] Just a little humor.
    [Laughter] Yes, it matters. It matters because it is important for
    nations that are blessed by freedom to come together to help nations
    that are struggling to be free, and that's why it matters. The more
    people participating in the process, the better off it is. The more
    reconstruction there is, the more people willing to help with the
    education of children, the more people willing to help rebuild
    hospitals, the more people willing to help to rebuild this destroyed
    infrastructure, infrastructure destroyed by the Taliban or by Saddam
    Hussein, the better off the world will be.
        And so, yes, the more people who say this is worthwhile, the more
    likely it is 50 million people are going to realize the blessings that
    we have, and the world will be better off for it.
        And the examples of free societies in their neighborhoods are going
    to make a huge difference in the lives of others. Listen, there are
    people inside of Iran who are watching what's happening, young, vibrant,
    professional people who want to be free, and they're wondering whether
    or not they'll have that opportunity. And I think a free Iraq and a free
    Afghanistan are going to set such a vibrant, bright example for others.
        And so, yes, it matters. And I think people are beginning to see
    that we were, in fact, liberators and that we're not only going to
    liberate, we'll follow through, no matter how tough it gets on the
    ground.
        Prime Minister Blair. I think, speaking as someone with a largely
    uncritical media--[laughter]--I think that, sure--I'm

    [[Page 1150]]

    not sure that we will have persuaded all our critics, no. But I think
    that--I think it's just worth emphasizing the degree to which our own
    strategy has evolved, post-September the 11th. Sometimes people talk
    about this issue to do with international terrorism today as if somehow
    it was because of what we have done in Afghanistan or Iraq that this
    terrorist threat exists. This terrorist threat was building up there for
    a long time. September the 11th did--and should have--changed our
    thinking. And the way our strategy has evolved is that I think we know
    now that it is important not simply to go in and get after the Taliban
    in Afghanistan but also to say, ``No, we're going to do something else.
    We're also going to give that country democracy and freedom, because
    that is actually part of the battle against terrorism as well.''
        And that's why it's important to see this as a whole picture. The
    fact is, if Iraq becomes a stable and democratic country--and I'm not
    underestimating for a single instant the difficulties in doing that,
    incidentally--but if it does, that is a huge blow to the propaganda and
    to the effort of the extremists. That's, in fact, why sometimes I think
    they have a clearer idea of how important it is to stop us than
    sometimes the Western world has of why it's so important that we get
    there with Iraq and with the Iraqi people.
        And so the Greater Middle East Initiative and the idea of spreading
    democracy there, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue on the basis of
    two states, both democratic states--because what we want for the
    Palestinians is not just their own state; we want a democratic state for
    them, where they have proper freedoms as well.
        So I think that you can see this as part of an evolving strategy,
    where we realize we've got to be prepared to take tough security
    measures and tough action where necessary, but we know that that is not
    all that it's about. It's also about trying to show that there is a
    value system there that isn't related to any religion or one religion,
    one civilization. It's about these basic values of humanity that,
    wherever they're implemented and tried, you get greater security,
    because basically democracies--well, they have to fight sometimes when
    they have to defend themselves, but they don't have the same aggressive
    intent that these unstable or extreme or fanatical regimes do.
        So part of what we're trying to do--and yes, it's tough at the
    moment, and of course, you get into a situation where people will fight
    us very hard. That's in the nature of any of these struggles that you
    undertake, but our honest belief is the world will be a safer place if
    we're able to make this work. And I don't know whether we've convinced
    people of this or not, but I do think--the one thing that interests me
    is occasionally when people who opposed our action in Iraq will say,
    ``The really important thing now is to get those democratic elections.''
    And I think that's fantastic, but let's be clear: We wouldn't be talking
    about democratic elections in Iraq if Saddam was still there.

    Timing of Transfer of Sovereignty in Iraq

        Q. A question for both of you. How do you counter the impression
    you've created today that you couldn't hand over the burden of Iraq
    quickly enough and the way that it was done is proof, is a symbol, if
    you like, of a shambles in Iraq?
        Prime Minister Blair. It's a little bit tough there, Bill--I mean,
    you know--[laughter].
        President Bush. Well, let me try it then. You know that last Friday
    we handed over the final ministry to the Iraqi interim government. In
    other words, we have been making a transfer of sovereignty all along.
    And the--actually, we've been contemplating this move for a while. But
    the final decision was by Prime Minister Allawi,
    and he thought it would strengthen his hand. And so that's why the
    handover took place today, as opposed to 48 hours later. And so, not
    only is there full sovereignty in the

    [[Page 1151]]

    hands of the Government, but all the ministries have been transferred,
    and they're up and running.
        I supported the decision. I thought it was a smart thing to do,
    primarily because the Prime Minister was ready
    for it. And it's a sign of confidence. It's a sign that we're ready to
    go, and it's a proud moment--it really is--for the Iraqi people. And
    frankly, I feel comfortable in making the decision, because I feel
    comfortable about Prime Minister Allawi and President al-Yawr. These are strong people. They're gutsy.
    They're courageous. They're, as we say in Texas, standup guys. You know,
    they'll lead. They'll lead their people to a better day. And it's going
    to be very hard for them and very trying, but they just--they and the
    Iraqi people need to hear, loud and clear, they'll have our friendship
    and our support, no matter how tough it gets.
        Prime Minister Blair. I think it's worth just pointing out as well--
    I agree, obviously, with what's just been said, but I think you've got
    somewhere in the region of, is it 10 or 11 ministries that are already
    effectively run by the Iraqis themselves. I mean, their health and
    education ministries are already run by Iraqis. But it's a sign of their
    confidence and their desire to get on with it. They want to do it. They
    know that in the end, they've got to do it. They want that
    responsibility.
        And I think one of the exciting things about the last few weeks is
    that the Iraqi people, in a sense, through their Prime Minister and
    President, have indicated, ``We want the responsibility.'' Now, we then
    stay and support, however, and we're not walking out of this at all. We
    stay and support them, and we'll stay for as long as it takes to make
    sure that that support is there for them, so that we help them to that
    freedom and democracy they want to see. And it's a--I think that, in a
    way, the relationship between us and the Iraqi Government has been--it's
    a healthier, better relationship now that there's this transfer of
    sovereignty there, and where they really want the responsibility of
    running their own country. But they know the practical fact is, for the
    moment, until their own security forces are built up properly, they need
    our support, and they have our support.
        President Bush. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 4:55 p.m. at the Hilton
    Istanbul. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and
    President Ghazi al-Ujayl al-Yawr of the Iraqi interim government; L.
    Paul ``Jerry'' Bremer III, former Presidential Envoy to Iraq; former
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al
    Zarqawi; and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. Prime Minister
    Blair referred to President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia. A reporter
    referred to Minister of Defense Hazim Qutran al-Khuzai al-Shalan of
    Iraq.