DAR AL HARB - AUSTRALIA: THE UNITED STATES IS WOOING BOTH IRAN & SYRIA

US does about-turn, wooing Iran and Syria

IN A SUDDEN policy shift by the Bush Administration, the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has announced a conference of Iraq's neighbours, including Iran and Syria, to discuss ways of stabilising Iraq and wider regional issues.

While Dr Rice said that the proposed conference, which would also include China, Russia and France, was an initiative of the Iraqi Government, most observers agreed that without US support it could not take place.

They pointed to the fact that Dr Rice rather than the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, made the announcement and that she emphasised the fact that the US President, George Bush, had approved the idea.

"We hope all governments will seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region," she said.

Dr Rice announced the conference at a hearing of the US Senate appropriations committee, which is considering a request from the Administration for $US100 billion ($127 billion) for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in addition to the $US70 billion already allocated.

The conference, which would bring together the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbours and of the four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, would be held in April. A meeting to set the agenda is likely to take place in Baghdad in a fortnight and involve officials of the key participating countries, including Iran and Syria.

The announcement represents a retreat by the Bush Administration from its long-held position that there was no point in any engagement with Iran and Syria, countries which the Administration accuses of fomenting sectarian violence in Iraq and arming militias that have attacked US forces there.

Dr Rice conceded that the Administration had changed its mind about the key recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, a recommendation Mr Bush unequivocally rejected in December.

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COWARDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ! ! !
THE WHOLE LOT OF THEM, COWARDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ! ! !


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1) US does about-turn, wooing Iran and Syria