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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Containment of Iran a quiet goal after Annapolis |
| 2007-12-02 |
| US President George W Bush's stepped up determination to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict within a year appears to have an underlying goal of stemming Iran's growing influence in the region. Bush closely tied the need to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to counter rising extremism in the region during his speech at the Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland this week, where he secured a deal between Israeli and Palestinians to resume negotiations. "The battle is underway for the future of the Middle East," Bush said. "And we must not cede victory to the extremists, with their violent actions and contempt for human life." By focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bush in Annapolis brought together Sunni Arab states who share Washington's concern about increasing extremism and Iranian power in the region. "The Israeli-Palestinian issue is the driver of regional politics, so the idea is to turn that into a plus by decreasing Iranian influence," said Daniel Byman, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institute, a centre-left Washington think tank. |
| Posted by:Fred |