Debkafile was right, this time.
Iran’s position as the greatest threat to Iraq was highlighted by Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker in their testimony to Congress last week - to the point that al Qaeda scarcely rated a mention.
President George W. Bush commented on April 11 that if Iran continues to help militias in Iraq “then we’ll deal with them.” But he also reaffirmed his disinclination for war and preference for diplomatic solutions. “You can’t solve these problems unilaterally. You’re going to need a multilateral forum,” he said.
This testimony and the president’s remarks did not set to rest the Washington cliffhanger over whether the president will opt for military action against Iran after all, before he leaves the White House, or stick to quiet diplomacy and relegate the Iran nuclear headache to his successor.
Bush’s immediate reaction confirmed the latter view: Without prior notice, he sent Petraeus and Crocker to Riyadh. Last week, there was talk of a limited US military action against the Iranian command centers directing, training and army Iraq’s militias. Now, the commander-in-chief was instructing the top Americans in Iraq to persuade the Saudis to blaze the way for Arab rulers to throw their support behind the Maliki government in Baghdad. The object of this exercise was to offset rather than challenge Iranian influence in Baghdad.
A diplomatic, multilateral course appeared to have been set in motion for dealing with Iranian troublemaking in Iraq - if not its nuclear defiance. …
Today, from the BBC:
… Ms Rice, in the Middle East for conferences with Gulf states, has been calling on Iraq’s neighbours to show more diplomatic support for the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
During her journey to Baghdad, Ms Rice praised Mr Maliki’s security efforts.
“The neighbours could do more to live up to their obligations because I do believe the Iraqis are beginning to live up to theirs,” she told reporters travelling with her.
She said she saw a “coalescing of a centre in Iraqi politics” and Sunnis, Shias and Kurds had been working together better than ever before. …
