BAGHDAD, Oct 24 (Reuters) - America's civilian and military leaders in Iraq linked Iran and Syria with al Qaeda on Tuesday as forces trying to tear the country apart and prevent the United States from establishing a stable democracy.
The comments from ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and General George Casey were among the strongest U.S. officials have levelled against Iraq's two neighbours over alleged support for armed groups behind much of the bloodshed.
Khalilzad depicted the struggle to build a united, democratic Iraq as "the defining challenge of our era" and said it would shape the future of the Middle East and global security.
"Those forces that constitute the extremist camp including not only al Qaeda but Iran and Syria are at work to keep us and the Iraqis from succeeding," Khalilzad told a rare joint news conference with Casey, two weeks before U.S. Congressional elections.
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