Isolating Iran behind diplomatic offensive

Telegraph/Washington Times:

A weeklong, high-stakes diplomatic offensive for control of the Middle East is gathering steam as the Bush administration rallies allies against Iran's growing influence in the region.
The diplomatic push, which began with Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, will climax with President Bush's meeting later this week with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan.
The goal is to marshal a force of friendly Sunni regimes against the radical leadership of Shi'ite Iran, which Washington thinks is trying to develop a nuclear bomb.
Leaders from two crucial members of that Sunni bloc -- Jordan and Turkey -- met for emergency talks Saturday to discuss the implications of the diplomatic drive. After the meetings, held in Amman, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Bush and al-Maliki summit was crucial for the fate of the region.
Jordan's King Abdullah II said yesterday on ABC's "This Week" that something "dramatic" must come out of the summit. He said the two leaders must find ways to reconcile Iraq's various factions "and they need to do it now, because, obviously, as we're seeing, things are beginning to spiral out of control."
The U.S.-led alliance is attempting to mobilize a "Sunni crescent" of friendly countries, running from Oman in the east of the Persian Gulf, through Yemen and Saudi Arabia westward to Jordan, Turkey and Egypt.
It is designed to counter what many Sunni states fear is a rapidly emerging "Shi'ite crescent" of influence, that runs from Iran to Lebanon and could spread by inciting revolt among Shi'ite elements of their own populations.
...
I do not think diplomacy can solve the problems in Iraq. The Sunnis in Iraq have put themselves in a deep hole and the more they attack the deeper the hole gets. The Sunnis who are smart enough to reach an accommodation put their lives at risk from other Sunnis in Baghdad. Where the Sunnis are making a positive difference is in Anbar province where they are fighting to defeat al Qaeda. It is what is happening in that province that is the most hopeful sign in Iraq. If the Sunnis can prevail there it will cut off the ones in Baghdad from their supply lines of human bombs coming through there from Syria. The problems in Baghdad stem in large part from the governments failure to take control over the Shia militias. The politics of doing that has only gotten more difficult.

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