The great games over Iraq

[Dover]

Jan 20, 2007



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The great games over Iraq
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

No doubt, we are now witnessing the dawn of a new great game over Iraq. A recent communique by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has stated its "collective desire to prevent Iraq from becoming a battleground for regional and international powers".

The irony, however, is that this communique is also signed by two "out of area" Arab states, Jordan and Egypt, whose inclusion in the security calculus of the Persian Gulf rattles Iran and fuels the
growing rivalry between the Shi'ite power bloc and the Sunni Arabs led by Saudi Arabia.

Simultaneously, in a clue to the rather dizzying pattern of cross-cutting, paradoxical alliances and would-be alliances, the US has signaled a dramatic shift in its Iraq policy, aimed at deterring Iran's "hegemony", which puts Washington in league with the anti-Iran Sunni alliance precisely at a time when the US-Shi'ite alliance in Iraq is, while strained, still holding and there is no conceivable alternative to it, given the Shi'ite majority in the country. Or is there? ..>

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IA20Ak01.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. So, let me get this right?

In a basic sense, our soldiers are remaining to protect the Sunni Muslims (Saudi Arabian influence)?

Wow! I bet Saddam, not yet cold in his grave, is rolling over with a smirk.

Absolutely FUBAR! :crazy: