Reuters: Iran's Mideast influence boosted by "war on terror"

[Totally Committed]

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's standing in the Middle East has been bolstered by President George W Bush's "war on terror" and its power will continue to grow unless stability is restored to its neighbors, a top think tank said on Tuesday. London's Royal Institute for International Affairs said wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and with Lebanon's Hizbollah had put Iran "in a position of considerable strength."

"There is little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on terror in the Middle East," the RIIA said in a report on the region. The United States, with coalition support, has eliminated two of Iran's regional rival governments -- the Taliban in Afghanistan in November 2001 and Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in April 2003 -- but has failed to replace either with coherent and stable political structures."

Seeing a regional political void opening, Iran had moved swiftly to fill it, the report said, and now has a level of influence which cannot be ignored. The report said Tehran sees Iraq as its "own backyard" and had now superseded the U.S. as the most influential power there, affording it a "key role in Iraq's future."

"Iran is also a prominent presence in its other war-torn neighbor with close social ties -- Afghanistan," it added. The RIIA warned the U.S. that Iran's new-found influence would make it far more difficult to confront Tehran. The West needed to understand better Iran's links with its neighbors to see "why Iran feels able to resist Western pressure," it added.

"Iran is simply too important -- for political, economic, cultural, religions and military reasons -- to be treated lightly," the report said. "The U.S.-driven agenda for confronting Iran is severely compromised by the confident ease with which Iran sits in its region."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060823/ts_nm/mideast_iran_dc

Gee.... wonder what London's Royal Institute for International Affairs would have to say about Pyongyang?

TC

[whistle]

1. Dubya's swagger and puffery is as foolish as a boxer in the ring...

...dropping his guard and sticking out his chin, except it is America which takes the hit :hurts: