Case of a reporter getting OVEREXCITED and thus giving a false impression
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Dramatic Shift: US to Talk to Iran, Syria
US signals dramatic shift in Iraq policy
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 1:53am GMT 28/02/2007
(edit; whoa son! slow down!:) What we have here U.S. situation is so dire in Iraq they can NOT say no to a conference being convened by the Iraqi Government. If U.S. were to turn their back on the conference they would then have every Shi'ite gun in Iraq pointed at U.S. troops. You would see anti-american Shia hostility to america BOIL OVER such that SCIRI would join up with Sadr.U.S. has zero choice but to attend.--max )
President George W Bush has signalled a dramatic shift in his Middle East policy by agreeing to discuss the future of Iraq with Iran and Syria despite his belief that the two countries are fuelling the insurgency that has plunged the country into civil war.
Car bombings have been a daily occurrence in Baghdad
The United States is to attend a conference in Baghdad next month to discuss the "stabilisation" of Iraq with its six neighbours, including Iran which Mr Bush once described as being part of an "Axis of Evil".
A second meeting is due to be held in April and the State Department last night held open the possibility of one-to-one talks with Iranian ministers, which the US has previously refused to do unless Teheran suspended its uranium enrichment programme.
President Bush had repeatedly rejected calls from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, opposition Democrats and some Republicans to engage with Iran.
American officials accuse Iran and Syria of providing financial and logistical support to insurgents in Iraq. But the conferences could be the first step towards direct engagement. “We will be there,” said Sean McCormack, State Department spokesman.
Asked about bilateral talks with Iran during the conference, he said: “We’ll see. The focus is on Iraq. The Iraqi government is convening the meeting. We look forward to attending it.”
The shift appeared to be part of a strategy of increasing diplomatic engagement while stepping up criticism of Iranian activities in Iraq and threatening military retaliation in the form of a naval carrier group patrolling the western coast of Iran in the Gulf.
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was convening a “neighbours meeting” involving mid-level officials next month and a meeting of ministers in April which would include other interested parties such as Britain.
“Prime Minister Maliki believes, and President Bush and I agree, that success in Iraq requires the positive support of Iraq’s neighbours,” she said.
“This is also one of the key findings of the Iraq Study Group.
“So I’m pleased to inform you that the Iraqis are launching a new diplomatic initiative that we fully support.
“The Iraqi government has invited Syria and Iran to attend both of these regional meetings. We hope these governments seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq - and to work for peace and stability in the region.”
In recent weeks, the Bush administration has stepped up its rhetoric against Iran, blaming its Revolutionary Guards for arming and training insurgents and being responsible for the deaths of American and British troops killed by increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs.
America’s confrontation with Iran over its nuclear programme has also intensified with Washington demanding that the United Nations Security Council expand its limited sanctions against Iran as a penalty for ignoring a UN deadline to suspend uranium enrichment.
Syria has been accused of giving sanctuary to insurgent leaders and allowing weapons and foreign fighters to cross its borders into Iraq.
Sami al-Askari, a spokesman for Mr Maliki, said that Syria, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, the five permanent Security Council members, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference had been invited to the March meeting.
The American decision to attend the conference came as Michael McConnell, the new US Director of National Intelligence, told senators that the situation in Iraq was “moving in a negative direction” and that the term “civil war” accurately described elements of the violence.
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