In an analysis regarding the Iraq’s crisis, the Washington Post wrote on Aug 26: “The Bush administration, beyond the daily temperature readings about the progress of the U.S. troop surge in Baghdad, is making a subtle but important shift in its strategy for the Middle East — establishing containment of Iranian power in the region as a top American priority.”
The Washington Post asserted:” The frustration with Iran also helps explain the administration’s growing disillusionment with Maliki, whose Shiite-led government might have been a joint U.S.-Iranian project. He has proved to be a weak, sectarian politician unable to stop the violence, provide services or halt Iraq’s rampant corruption. The rationale for the U.S. troop surge was that it would provide political space for this government to make compromises, but that isn’t happening.
“What modest progress the United States has recently made in Iraq has largely been in Sunni areas, such as Anbar province. It’s an alliance of convenience: The Sunnis increasingly see U.S. troops as their best ally for containing the power of Iran and its proxies in Iraq. As the leverage of America’s new Sunni friends grows, there has been increasing interest in a coalition to replace the feeble Maliki.” “In “back to the future” mode, the name being mentioned these days is Ayad Allawi ”
The Washington post continued: “The administration will continue to “turn up the heat” on Iran, says the State Department official. The United States will press for a third U.N. resolution next month imposing sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. America is readying a new weapon in the impending designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. That would squeeze the guard and all of the businesses it owns — banks, trading companies, tech companies that are part of the nuclear program. “