Mukasey Visits Iraq, Talks to Officials
BAGHDAD (AP) — America's top lawyer met Wednesday with the head of Iraq's judicial council during a quick trip to Baghdad to review U.S. efforts to help build the nation's legal system.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey also met with key U.S. officials in Iraq, as well as soldiers and some of the more than 200 Justice Department officials working here in a "rule of law" mission.
"I'm encouraged by the work that's being accomplished here," Mukasey said at a news conference held in Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone.
"My assessment is that the Iraqis are firmly committed to the notion of the rule of law as distinct from the rule of might, and are committed to the independence of the judiciary."
The Justice Department, citing security concerns, did not publicly announce Mukasey's trip before Wednesday morning. He left Washington on Tuesday and will return by week's end after stops in Qatar and Turkey, the department said.
Mukasey met with Chief Judge Medhat al-Mahoud, the head of Iraq's Higher Judicial Council and two other high-ranking members of the Iraqi judiciary. He also met with Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador.
"We discussed generally the issue of the importance of the rule of law in Iraq, specifically the importance of a strong stand on the part of Iraq's legal institutions to combat corruption, which is an enormous problem in the development of a stable secure and democratic state," Mukasey said.
Mukasey, who is on his first foreign trip since becoming attorney general in November, also cited American-Iraqi cooperation in prosecuting members of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Coinciding with his visit, U.S. officials gave a series of briefings on law-and-order issues.
Crocker, who also appeared at the news conference, defended the process in which criminal proceedings against American troops in Iraq are handled by the U.S. military. He said the U.S. government is in "very close coordination with the government of Iraq in matters such as these."
Associated Press writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.