According to a
front page article in the Washington Post yesterday, the recent improvements in Iraq are due in large part to the Iranian leadership putting out the word that the roadside bombers should scale back their operations. There is a lot of uncertainty in the US government as to why Iran is doing this, but the consensus appears to be that Iran is a big part of the decrease in violence in Iraq. Maybe the surge is simply coincidence.
Quote:
Iran Cited In Iraq's Decline in Violence
Order From Tehran Reined In Militias, U.S. Official Says
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 23, 2007; Page A01
The Iranian government has decided "at the most senior levels" to rein in the violent Shiite militias it supports in Iraq, a move reflected in a sharp decrease in sophisticated roadside bomb attacks over the past several months, according to the State Department's top official on Iraq.
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So if Iran changes its mind, will the violence escalate again?
If this is true, it reminds me a little of Reagan taking credit for the Berlin wall coming down, when it was all Gorbachev's doing.