Turning The Corner

Here's some more good news out of Iraq...

Iraq has turned to its neighbor Iran for support-

Iran's president -- hosting a visit from Iraq's prime minister and expressing support for his country's beleaguered war-torn neighbor -- says the Islamic republic supports a "united" Iraq and will help the nation "establish full security," an Iranian news agency reported...

..."Iran will provide assistance to the Iraqi government to establish full security. We believe strengthening the Iraqi government is tantamount to promoting security, peace and friendship in that country," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying...

...Iran and Iraq are linked in large part by common religion, but their relationship is complicated. Iran -- populated largely by Persians, Azeris and Kurds -- is predominantly Shiite Muslim. About 60 percent of the people in Iraq are Shiite, most of whom Arabs...

...Asked what he meant by [a relationship with] no interference, [Iraqi government spokesman Ali] Dabbagh replied that Iraq did not want to be drawn into the disputes between Iran and the United States...

This strong relationship between the two countries no doubt will make it harder for the neocons to sell an invasion of Iran as the next stop in their crusade to remake the Middle East in our image. The Bush defenders will no doubt assure us they don't mind this because, hey Iraq is a free country and can make its own alliances (agreed there), but deep inside they realize what a defeat this for their original gameplan.

As will this news too-

U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document "outrageous and dishonest" and offering evidence to refute its central claims.

Officials of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements."...

...The committee report, written by a single Republican staffer with a hard-line position on Iran, chastised the CIA and other agencies for not providing evidence to back assertions that Iran is building nuclear weapons....

On Iraq- UN = right; White House = wrong. But hey, no need to pay attention to them, right?

Meanwhile, nearly 100 people were killed in Baghdad in just a 24-hour period. Freedom sure is untidy.