Iran, Syria, Iraq to develop regional cooperation

What does one make of a statement like this? The Iranian mullahs are after the atomic bomb and Syria has decided to marry its fate to them, for better or for worse. If the Shia in Iraq decide to marry their fates to the mullahs, come what may, we'll have a whole new set of problems in the Middle East, not to mention a nightmare scenario with regards to Israel.

Though, reading the article, all three nations are talking about stopping terrorism and moving together to put down the insurgency. Specifically they cite the recent, "...assassination of Egyptian and Iranian diplomats in Iraq, the mass murder of civilians and children in terrorist operations and attacking Bahraini and Pakistani officials..." as serious bones of contention.

The question thus becomes, "Is this all just a clever ruse to throw the West off track or has someone in the Middle Eastern leadership finally woken up?" The cynic in me says the former but I'm praying for the latter.

Here's the story:

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, his counterpart from Iraq Bayan Baqir Jabr and the Syrian Minister of Interior Ghazi Kanan called for tripartite cooperation on regional issues.

During a meeting, the three ministers discussed the procedure for implementing 20-point final statement issued by Iraqi neighboring states, according to IRNA.

The ministers also examined ways of preventing illegal trafficking through the borders of the three countries.

The statement, issued at the end of the second session of Iraqi neighboring states in Istanbul on July 18-19, called for implementing UN Resolution 1546 on the legal procedure of formation of a government in Iraq and complete withdrawal of the occupying forces from the country.

The session was held at Istanbul Cheraghan palace.

The statement condemns global arrogance and terrorism in Iraq under any condition and calls upon the member states to assist the Iraqi government to establish security and tranquility in the country.

Helping the Iraqi security and military forces, cooperating to stop cross-border movements and preventing presence of terrorist groups across the country are included in Istanbul statement.

The signatories of the statement condemned the assassination of Egyptian and Iranian diplomats in Iraq, the mass murder of civilians and children in terrorist operations and attacking Bahraini and Pakistani officials.

Meanwhile, the statement calls for expediting the trial of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his assistants.