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| Author: | Helena Cobban |
|---|
March 29, 2007
Analysis published by the Christian Science Monitor of opinion on the Iraq war from the perspective of other Arab countries. The article reports that policymakers and strategic analysts in the Arab world have little confidence that the current US troop surge in Iraq will do much more than postpone a complete political-security breakdown in Iraq, which they fear, could then spread across the Middle East. It also says that Arabs had long viewed the Iraqi state as a bulwark against the extension of Iranian power from the east, but with that bulwark largely destroyed, they foresee Iran's influence extending and directly threatening the stability of many other Arab states, especially in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the broad deployment of US troops in Iraq has transformed that country from an American asset in the region into a liability that erodes US power and standing. But most analysts prefer that US troops stay tied down inside Iraq than withdraw.
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