Ahmadinejad is right, so what will the US do?

A power vacuum is imminent in Iraq and Iran is ready to help fill the gap, says Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. No kidding. Isn't this what he has been working toward for the past year, by sending in his military, supplies, weapons and training the shia militias in Iraq? Of course it is. Is anybody surprised?

"The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran, referring to U.S. troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation." (Forbes)

Stratfor says:

The latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) summarizing the U.S. intelligence community's view of Iraq contains two critical findings: First, the Iraqi government is not jelling into an effective entity. Iraq's leaders, according to the NIE, neither can nor want to create an effective coalition government. Second, U.S. military operations under the surge have improved security in some areas, but on the whole have failed to change the underlying strategic situation. Both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias remain armed, motivated and operational.

Since the Iraq insurgency began in 2003, the United States has had a clear strategic goal: to create a pro-American coalition government in Baghdad. [snip]

What the NIE is saying is that, more than four years after the war began, the strategic goal has not been achieved -- and there is little evidence that it will be achieved. [snip]

For a long time, we have seen U.S.-Iranian negotiations on Iraq as a viable and even likely endgame. We no longer believe that to be the case. [snip]

Iran no longer is facing its worst-case scenario. It has no motivation to bail the United States out. [snip]

If withdrawal is the plan, ... [snip] ... The weakness of this strategy is that it opens the door for Iran to dominate Iraq. Unless the Turks wanted to fight the Iranians, there is no regional force that could stop Iran from moving in, whether covertly, through the infiltration of forces, or overtly. [snip]

The solution is to be found in redefining the mission, the strategic goal. [snip]

The new U.S. mission, therefore, must be to block Iran in the aftermath of the Iraq war. (Strategic Forecast, Endgame: American Options in Iraq)

Others:

Infidel Bloggers Alliance, THIS IS NOT NEWS. THIS IS WHO IRAN IS TODAY AND SINCE 1979.

Stop the ACLU, Iran Prepared To Take Control In Iraq

Pajamas Media, From the 'Say What?' Department

Minstrel Boy, Iran Prepared to Fill Iraq Power Vacuum
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Comments

[michael]

This is why the US needs to conduct a concerted, large scale, naval attack on Iran's Gulf Coast, to destroy their economic base, and pull their military away from Iraq to fight it cannot win.

[Christi]

Debbie, I think we should send a 'thank you' note to Ahmadinejad for letting the liberal wimps in Congress know his plans if we leave Iraq prematurely.

Will they stop calling for our troops to pull out in light of these recent statements? Doubtful. But hopefully, they are paying attention and can get over their hatred of Bush long enough to see the consequences.

[Yankee Doodle]

"Isn't this what he has been working toward for the past year, by sending in his military, supplies, weapons and training the shia militias in Iraq?"

I wonder if they're not just offsetting Saudi influence, which is direct via support to terrorists, and indirect, via lobbying of the US Government. Saudi Wahhabis want to destroy Shia culture and kill its adherents; and, Saudi Arabia has control of nuclear weapons that are stored in Pakistan -- they are complete with Saudi markings.

The surge was never a strategy; either Bush is a liar for saying it was, or he's an incompetent fool for believing it was.

Iran and Turkey cooperate just fine, when it comes to dealing with the Kurds and trafficking narcotics.