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News Analysis, Jalal Ghazi,
Pacific News Service, Dec 10, 2004
Editor's Note: Arab media are tracking Iran's emerging strategic importance with great interest, watching as the nation skillfully plays its nuclear and oil cards against U.S. desires for the region.
Arab media are mesmerized by Iran's ability to outmaneuver the United States, not just on the nuclear front, but in Iraq as well.
Some observers believe the only solution to the Iraqi conundrum is to divide Iraq into three federated states. But because most Iraqis share the same Shiite faith as the Iranians, sooner or later Iran will extend its influence over Southern Iraq. Iran could then control a huge part of the world's fossil fuel resources. If this should happen, the United States will have no choice but to welcome a "New Persian Empire," as it did for nuclear-armed enemies the Soviet Union and China.
No single country has benefited as much from the war on terror as Iran. America eliminated two of Iran's fiercest enemies, with which Iran shares long borders to the east and the west: the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. And because the United States is bogged down in Iraq, Iran feels free to expand its influence, developing its nuclear technology and strengthening its economic ties with China and Europe.
In Iraq, the Americans routed Iran's Baathist enemies, and empowered the Iraqi Shiites. After being oppressed for 35 years under Saddam, the Shiites are now uniting under the roof of what is known in the Arab world as the "Shiite House." The upcoming Iraqi elections will only legitimize the role of the interim government, which the Iraqi Shiites have been controlling since the regime's fall.
Iran could not agree more with U.S. President George W. Bush's demand to hold Iraqi elections on Jan. 30, 2005, despite strong reservations by some Arab countries in the Gulf, which ironically are now accusing Iran of having common interests with the United States. The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper published an article titled "The Lebanon-ization of Iraq," criticizing the upcoming elections and warning that, should the Iraqi Shiites win illegitimately, the whole region could ignite in ethnic conflict.
Arab media have also been suspicious of the relative calm that has prevailed in Shiite areas in central and southern Iraq since the start of the U.S. occupation. They also question Iraqi Shiite leader Ali Sistani's silence toward American military operations in Falluja. Hoda Husseni, in the Dec. 2 Asharq Al-Awsat, writes, Iran want to open back-door negotiations with the United States in order to ensure that the elections take place on time."
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a25d126d76de17e057fd69dfdea80976
Pacific News Service, Dec 10, 2004
Editor's Note: Arab media are tracking Iran's emerging strategic importance with great interest, watching as the nation skillfully plays its nuclear and oil cards against U.S. desires for the region.
Arab media are mesmerized by Iran's ability to outmaneuver the United States, not just on the nuclear front, but in Iraq as well.
Some observers believe the only solution to the Iraqi conundrum is to divide Iraq into three federated states. But because most Iraqis share the same Shiite faith as the Iranians, sooner or later Iran will extend its influence over Southern Iraq. Iran could then control a huge part of the world's fossil fuel resources. If this should happen, the United States will have no choice but to welcome a "New Persian Empire," as it did for nuclear-armed enemies the Soviet Union and China.
No single country has benefited as much from the war on terror as Iran. America eliminated two of Iran's fiercest enemies, with which Iran shares long borders to the east and the west: the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. And because the United States is bogged down in Iraq, Iran feels free to expand its influence, developing its nuclear technology and strengthening its economic ties with China and Europe.
In Iraq, the Americans routed Iran's Baathist enemies, and empowered the Iraqi Shiites. After being oppressed for 35 years under Saddam, the Shiites are now uniting under the roof of what is known in the Arab world as the "Shiite House." The upcoming Iraqi elections will only legitimize the role of the interim government, which the Iraqi Shiites have been controlling since the regime's fall.
Iran could not agree more with U.S. President George W. Bush's demand to hold Iraqi elections on Jan. 30, 2005, despite strong reservations by some Arab countries in the Gulf, which ironically are now accusing Iran of having common interests with the United States. The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper published an article titled "The Lebanon-ization of Iraq," criticizing the upcoming elections and warning that, should the Iraqi Shiites win illegitimately, the whole region could ignite in ethnic conflict.
Arab media have also been suspicious of the relative calm that has prevailed in Shiite areas in central and southern Iraq since the start of the U.S. occupation. They also question Iraqi Shiite leader Ali Sistani's silence toward American military operations in Falluja. Hoda Husseni, in the Dec. 2 Asharq Al-Awsat, writes, Iran want to open back-door negotiations with the United States in order to ensure that the elections take place on time."
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a25d126d76de17e057fd69dfdea80976
