[1967 R50/2]

This arcticle is pretty bogus. No other middle eastern country considers itself a "regional ally" of Iran. Iranians aren't Arabs...their Persians. They aren't Sunni...they are Shiite. They aren't Baathists monarchists or democrats...their fundamentalists. The are a double minority and a political pariah.

Sorry, but this article is just a piece of Iranian fantasy. Or maybe Irano-phobe nightmare...same deal really.

We may very well leave Iraq sooner rather than later, but they are kidding themselves if they think they will be able to set the course for the middle east. If they could've done it, they would have done it long before we got involved with Iraq or Afghanistan. The fact is that none of the other gulf states will follow their lead.

BTW: The bit about Iran backing Assad, widely regarded as an inept dictator who lost his country's foothold in Lebanon after his Dad nursed it for 30 years....is also bogus. Syria is the natural enemy of Iran. All the totalitarian Arab states are. They have fundamentalist nuts in their own midst who would like nothing better than to off them...a la Sadat. So you are going to play nice with the chief fundamentalist? Doubtful.