Iran calls for summit with Iraq, Syria

[Wetzelbill]

Iran calls for summit with Iraq, Syria

By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
44 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iran has invited the Iraqi and Syrian presidents to Tehran for a weekend summit with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to hash out ways to cooperate in curbing the runaway violence that has taken Iraq to the verge of civil war and threatens to spread through the region, four key lawmakers told The Associated Press on Monday.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has accepted the invitation and will fly to the Iranian capital Saturday, a close parliamentary associate said.

The Iranian diplomatic gambit appeared designed to upstage expected moves from Washington to include Syria and Iran in a wider regional effort to clamp off violence in Iraq, where more civilians have been killed in the first 20 days of November than in any other month since the AP began tallying the figures in April 2005.

The Iranian move was also a display of its increasingly muscular role in the Middle East, where it already has established deep influence over Syria and Lebanon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[buddysmellgood]

1. Go Big, Go Long, Go Home or the new option 4, Go fuck yourself Mr. Cheney.

[Wetzelbill]

2. I will go with a combo of 3 and 4

:)

[buddysmellgood]

7. We need more people like you, who think outside the box.

:toast:

[BrotherBuzz]

3. BBC link to story

Iran to host Iraq security talks

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has accepted an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to discuss ways of tackling the raging violence in Iraq.

Mr Talabani will meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Saturday. Unconfirmed reports say Syria's President Bashar al-Assad may attend.

The US has given a guarded welcome to the prospect of the talks in Tehran.

But the state department said previous Iranian commitments to help reduce violence in Iraq had not been acted on.

Analysts say Iran's diplomatic push could be designed to upstage US efforts to force it and Syria to do more to help stabilise the situation in Iraq.

<more>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6166794.stm

Bushco's not invited...not even to sit at the 'Kids' table. ;)

[let us vote]

4. The violence will end when the U.S. leaves

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. It won't end but it will start to stop.

[Eugene]

6. AP: U.S. Wary of Iran, Syria Role in Iraq

U.S. Wary of Iran, Syria Role in Iraq


Tuesday November 21, 2006 4:01 AM

AP Photo XAI109

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration cast a wary eye Monday
on signs that Iran and Syria were taking a more active diplomatic role
in Iraq, even as debate in the U.S. centered on how many troops to
keep in the war.

Just days after reports that U.S. officials were discussing a broader role
for Iran and Syria, Iraqi lawmakers said Iranian leaders had invited the
Iraqi and Syrian presidents for a weekend summit. A State Department
official said that while strong relations between the three countries were
encouraged, actions would speak louder than words.

In the past, said deputy spokesman Tom Casey, "while there have been
positive statements from the Iranian government about wishing to play a
positive role in Iraq, those statements haven't been backed up by actions."

He offered a similar assessment of Syria, saying the problem "is not what
they say; the problem is what they do. ... What we would like to see the
Syrians do is take actions to, among other things, prevent foreign fighters
from coming across the border into Iraq."

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6229568,00.html