Iraq on verge of collapse: Report

[karlrschneider]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070517/wl_nm/iraq_report_dc

Duh.

[CottonBear]

1. "(Iraq) is now a theatre in which Iran can 'fight' the U.S. without doing so openly,"

...snip...

The author of the report, Middle East expert Gareth Stansfield, said instability in Iraq was "not necessarily contrary to the interests" of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

"(Iraq) is now a theatre in which Iran can 'fight' the U.S. without doing so openly," Stansfield said, adding that Iran was the "most capable foreign power" in Iraq in terms of influencing future events, more so than the United States.

The rise to power of Iraq's long-oppressed Shi'ite majority has caused concern in Sunni Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, which deeply distrusts non-Arab, Shi'ite Iran's influence in Iraq, Stansfield wrote.

Should a U.S. withdrawal herald the beginning of a full-scale Sunni-Shi'ite civil war in Iraq, Saudi Arabia "might not stand by," the paper said, "with the possibility of Iran and Saudi Arabia fighting each other through proxies in Iraq."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070517/wl_nm/iraq_report_dc

:scared: