Iran Set Up for Big Gains in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3912973.html

Iran Set Up for Big Gains in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq — With a new Iraqi government in place, Iran is positioning itself to play a major role here at a time when American influence is showing signs of faltering.

That is worrisome to Iraq's Arab neighbors, especially Sunni-dominated countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. But it also raises serious questions for Washington, including the wisdom of withdrawing entirely from Iraq when it has long been considered the eastern defense against Iranian expansion.

...

Iran has wasted little time in moving to shore up ties with the new government that took power last month in Baghdad. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki flew to Baghdad on Friday, where he was warmly welcomed by Iraq's new leadership, including not only Shiites but also Sunni and Kurdish politicians.

In addition, work has already started on a multimillion-dollar international airport near the Shiite holy city of Najaf, financed mostly by a low-interest loan from Iran. The airport is designed to serve Shiite religious pilgrims visiting Najaf's shrines and provide a major boost to the economy of Iraqi's impoverished Shiite south.

[Old and In the Way]

1. Is this a big surprise to Iraq's neighbors?

When Bandar was brought in to look at the "secret, no foreigner" plans for invading/occupying Iraq....why didn't he tell them the neocon braintrust that this was a stupid idea? I know SA was no friend of Iraq, but couldn't they see the Shia religious radicalization of Iraq once Saddam was deposed? A secular Iraq was a buffer for Saudi Arabia. I really don't understand why they weren't opposed to this folly from the get go.