Zhirinovsky Crows About Pal Saddam

Vladimir Zhirinovsky brags happily about his "good friend" Saddam Hussein. He eagerly takes credit for a planned $40 billion cooperation agreement between Russia and Iraq and can't wait to tell a visitor to his smoky parliamentary office just how beloved Russians are in Baghdad these days. The State Duma deputy speaker even compares Saddam with Stalin -- and it's meant to be a compliment to both.

An honored guest at Saddam's birthday party last year, Zhirinovsky once likened U.S. bombing raids against Iraq to Hitler's treatment of the Jews. And he still waxes rhapsodic about the first time he met the Iraqi dictator, bonding with him in a four-hour tete-a-tete in 1992.

Last week, Zhirinovsky was scheduled to head back to Baghdad for the third time this year -- each trip designed to show support for Iraq at a time when the United States has threatened to attack.

Oil industry experts said Zhirinovsky has managed to become a middleman between Russian businesses that want to work in Iraq's rich oil fields and Baghdad bureaucrats who crave Russia's political support. He regularly leads delegations to Iraq of influential businessmen from such industry giants as LUKoil and Slavneft, and arranges for audiences with top officials in Saddam's government.

As a result, many in Russian political circles believe that Zhirinovsky is a bought-and-paid-for envoy, parroting whatever Baghdad tells him in exchange for financial support for his Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

When it comes to Iraq, though, Zhirinovsky is not as isolated as his outlandish statements might make him seem. Indeed, large parts of the Russian public and the political elite agree with him on Iraq, believing the country to be key to Russia's economic future and strongly opposing any U.S. attack. Such an attack, Zhirinovsky said, would backfire on the United States. "If Bush Jr. starts this attack against Iraq, he will destroy America," he said.

In an interview the other day, between bizarre reflections on global warming and conducting a radio interview about the first day of school, Zhirinovsky agreed that part of his support for Iraq is meant for domestic political consumption.

At the same time, he claimed to have asked for -- and not received -- money for his services from the Iraqis. "I want money, I asked for money, they didn't give the money," he said.

By all accounts, Zhirinovsky has been the most aggressive promoter of Russian businesses in Iraq.

"A lot of contracts were signed because of me," he said as he reeled off a list of major Russian oil firms. "I try to help them. They were accepted only because of me."

In May, Zhirinovsky brought a group of Russian businessmen to Baghdad, then personally shepherded them through a series of meetings with high-ranking officials. Several of the business executives said they couldn't have had the meetings without Zhirinovsky's clout. One, an executive with Transneft, called him "the locomotive who wanted to open doors for us at all the ministries."

"When you put aside the manner of his behavior, Zhirinovsky is actually a real sensible player in Iraq," said another. "His connections are indeed very big in Iraq."