Iran wins big in Iraq's elections

"We knew ever since the beginning that the Americans would become trapped in a quagmire ... Iraq has become a turning point in the history of the Middle East. If the Americans had succeeded in subjugating Iraq, our region would have suffered once again from colonialism, but if Iraq becomes a democratic country that can stand on its own feet, the Americans will face the greatest loss. In such an eventuality, Iran and other regional states will be able to play an important role in world issues since they provide a huge share of the world's energy needs. We see now that the United States has been defeated."

Such a statement has to have come out of Iran, and without a doubt President George W Bush would attribute it to that "odd guy", as he referred to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in a recent PBS TV interview.

But, as with just about anything else these days concerning the Middle East, Bush would be dead wrong, as would be many others who have misread Iran at this momentous juncture in the region. The excerpts are from a speech at Friday prayers at Tehran University, made by someone whom the Western world has come to regard as the consummate "pragmatic conservative" (whatever that might mean) of Iranian politics, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

There is one thing for which Rafsanjani is famous - he seldom mixes illusions with reality. And the reality is that the Middle East's political compass shifted last week.

Asia Times

Iraq's Shia government will play nice for a few months, say thanks, and ask us to leave in a high profile way. Probably a national referendum that'll show 90% of Iraqi's want us out of there. What choice will Bush have? The UN will support this, the world will support this, the ME will support it, and more than 50% of the American public (closer to 70%) will support it. As soon as we leave, Iraq can go about building a proper Islamic theocracy with Iran as it's benevolent protector.

Nice job neocons!

They'll all try to kill each other. Then it''ll become a proper Islamic theocracy.

to understand the people and theri history here. The minute Americans leave you can say goodbye to the American puppets. Wont be pretty, but heck they follow their American master out very fast cause they know GAME OVER.