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Iraqi president Jalal Talabani arrives in
U.S. for medical checkup
21.5.2007
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Talabani takes US help to lose weight
May 21, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
President Jalal Talabani left Iraq on Sunday for a
nearly three-week trip to the United States that was
expected to include a medical checkup.
Talabani, a 73-year-old Sunni Kurd, boarded a plane
in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan
region (Iraq), 160 miles northeast of Baghdad. He
arrived Sunday night in Rochester, Minn., where he
left a car surrounded by several security guards and
entered the Mayo Clinic, local television showed.
"I will go to the USA and stay nearly three weeks to
lose weight and have some rest and relaxation ...
away from meetings and work," he said laughing.
A senior Kurdish politician close to the Iraqi
leader said Saturday that Talabani was going for a
checkup that had been scheduled for weeks.
The politician spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to discuss the
president's plans.
Azad Jindyani, spokesman of Talabani's Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan, denied the president had health
problems.
"Talabani's health is very good, but he felt tired
recently ... because of the work and meetings," he
said. |
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (C) walks with his
bodyguards to board a plane at an airport in
Sulaimaniyah 20 May 2007 Reuters |
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Talabani was
admitted to King Hussein Medical Center in Amman
in neighboring Jordan Feb. 25 after he collapsed in
Sulaimaniyah. He was unconscious as he was rushed to
a local hospital, but recovered enough to be flown
to Jordan.
Doctors said he suffered from exhaustion and
dehydration caused by lung and sinus infections.
He returned home 17 days later, flying directly to
Sulaimaniyah where thousands of Kurds greeted him.
Talabani met earlier Saturday with visiting British
Prime Minister Tony Blair and the two addressed a
news conference along with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Looking pale and slightly unkempt, Talabani was
visibly angry when answering a reporter's question
on the chances of a coup toppling al-Maliki's
government.
"A coup is an illusion that will never materialize,"
Talabani said. "If it becomes necessary, hundreds of
thousands of popular and military forces will be
prepared to stand by the government against any coup
attempt."
Talabani was the second top Iraqi politician to fly
to the United States for medical reasons in four
days.
Senior Shiite politician
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim
flew there aboard a U.S. military aircraft
Wednesday for further tests to determine if he is
suffering from lung cancer, according to members of
his staff.
Al-Hakim is the leader of the Supreme Islamic
Council in Iraq, the country's largest Shiite party
and a partner in al-Maliki's coalition government.
AP
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