Iraq's Dangerous New Friend

[SHRED]

Iraq's Dangerous New Friend

By Robert Scheer, AlterNet. Posted July 19, 2005.

Since the much-lauded Iraqi elections, Bush has had little choice but to embrace the country’s mostly Shiite, mostly fundamentalist leaders as the saviors of a free Iraq. Now those leaders are in turn embracing Iran.

Last Sunday, George W. Bush's war against terror was turned upside down -- and this time the president might even notice. That's because when "our guys" in Iraq start firmly allying with an "axis of evil" nation, it's got to ring some warning bells, no?

I am referring to the joint declaration issued in Tehran by the leaders of Iraq and Iran: "Today, we need a double and common effort to confront terrorism that may spread in the region and the world," said Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, visiting Iran along with 10 of his ministers, following a similar visit from his defense minister. The statement he and his Iranian counterparts produced heralds mutual cooperation between the two neighbors, which will include a cross-border oil pipeline, joint security proposals and shared intelligence information.

Suddenly everyone's against terror!

>>>>>>>>> http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/23618/

[tocqueville]

1. Let's talk about war

Let's talk about war
By Daniel Smith

Posted with permission from Foreign Policy in Focus)

General John Abizaid, who heads US Central Command, is all for full dialogue about American policy on Iraq. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 23, he said: "Maybe it's something we're not doing right in the field. But I can tell you that when my soldiers ... ask me the question whether or not they've got support from the American people, that worries me. And they're starting to do that. So I would say we better have a frank discussion with ourselves. I am not against the debate."

Combined with Abizaid's acknowledgement that the insurgent and resistance fighters in Iraq are as strong as they were six months ago, this statement is a remarkably candid warning to US politicians that the present course of American policy in Iraq is in trouble.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GG22Ak01.html

[FloridaPat]

2. If Iraq joins with Iran, that would leave 2 axis of evils right? That woul

be a straight line of evil. Or do we add the US in as the third party?