Heard Iran and Iraq signed a mutual defense treaty?

[rurallib]

Is this true?
What are the implications?

[patrice]

1. Those darned borders again!

Is it destabilizing (with the more Iranian neo-Taliban? Ahmadinajad just elected. What Islamic sect is A?)

[patrice]

4. Google News also says China is setting up Tourist Trade with Iran.

[justinsb]

2. Yep true

Al Jazeera

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4035176&mesg_id=4035176

Rueters

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1609957

The immediate impact is that * will have a * of a time trying to start a war with Iran

[justinsb]

3. Also the Iraqis are apparently meeting with Syria in the next few days n/t

[rurallib]

5. So Iran is kind of hedging their bets? As it were?

Entering into agreements that will make it hard for the US to invade? What does Iraq get out of it? Border protection? Doesn't this kind of spit in dubya's face?

[justinsb]

6. I'm not sure what's going on behind the scenes...

maybe just the new Iranian leader and the new Iraqi leader making peace. I'd love to be an Arabic speaking fly on the wall in the back room talks on this though.

[jaxx]

7. How do they invade Iran when they're helping Iraq now?

I bet dubya lost his lunch on this one. It seems the area is ganging up on the U.S. Russia and China wanting us out of the region...

US: WASHINGTON REJECTS CALL FOR TROOP PULL-OUT FROM CENTRAL ASIA
Washington D.C., 7 July (AKI/DAWN) - The US State Department has rejected demands from Russia, China and some Central Asian states to withdraw its troops from the region, saying that US troops in Afghanistan and neighbouring states would remain for as long as those countries want them to stay. Russian and Chinese officials made the demand at a meeting in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which took place against the backdrop of veiled criticism of Western influence in the Central Asian region.

SCO delegates asked the US-led troop contingent to fix a date for their departure from military bases in the region that were set up to support operations in Afghanistan in 2001.

Founded in June 2001, the SCO includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.184568024&par=0