Cooling it off with Iran

The media scene in Sep...

2 months ago the rhethoric being played worldwide was strong. The IAEA was pissed about nuclear inspections, EFPs and 240mm Rocket attacks were rampant across Iraq, and that assbag Ahmadinejad came to Columbia University to say that the Holocaust needed to be "investigated" and that there were no men who dressed well and liked showtunes in Iran. I remember Fox running all sorts of pieces on Iran, and it appeared some kind of military action was imminent.

But now it seems the tune has changed. President Bush said diplomacy was the best option and so did Admiral Fallon (head of CENTCOM) during an interview w/Al Jazeera. EFP attacks are way down, and all the recent caches seized have been acknowledged by our leaders to be before Iran made commitments to Iraq. The US just released 9 Iranians in detention in Iraq. So what should one make of all this. Dr. Dabbagh, Government of Iraq spokesman, discusses with AFP:

"Iran is showing more restraint in sending people and weapons todestabilise Iraq," he said, echoing comments by US military commanders in recent weeks. The change came when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Iran in August, Dabbagh said."He spoke very frankly with the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)in Mashad. He said Iran had to choose whether to support the (Iraqi)government or any other party."Maliki had then received a pledge from Iranian leaders that they wouldclamp down on the flow of weapons, money and people across the border.

Prime Minister Maliki's visit to Iran in August was the one where he was holding hands with Ahmadinejad, which is pretty normal around these parts, but still a bit sketchy in this context. Well, it's hard to say right now, but military action is definitely not imminent, I can tell because the hawkish Fox ran this clip the other day. Looks like US and Iraq and Iran might get together for another round of talks. Strange times we live in, since the 24/7 news cycle can change world events at the drop of hat. I just try and keep up without my head spinning too fast.

A completely different media scene in Nov.!