Middle East power shifts put region in state of flux

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A new cold war has begun between the US, Iran and their proxies, writes Paul McGeough.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-e...#ixzz1KK8qa6sI

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Re: Middle East power shifts put region in state of flux

Interesting comment from Israel. The same thing has been pondered here in WEDG

“There is no doubt that the failed military intervention in Libya was meant to create a precedent for a similar process against Israel.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143672

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Re: Middle East power shifts put region in state of flux

Just some more interesting quotes in articles

President Barack Obama and Netanyahu and has kicked off a bizarre diplomatic race for who will be the first to lay out a new proposal to reopen the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"People seem to think that whoever goes first gets the upper hand," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator and a director at the New America Foundation.
Using Netanyahu's nickname, he said: "If Bibi went first and didn't lay out a bold peace plan, it would be harder for Obama to say, 'Actually,
despite what you said to Congress and their applause, this is what I think you should do.' "

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-...nclick_check=1

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Re: Middle East power shifts put region in state of flux

AP on the Syria and Iran

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110423/...Jhbm9uZWRnZWFz

Iran wary of uprising against Syrian ally Assad

Now, a nervous leadership in Iran has imposed a media blackout on Bashar Assad's struggle against a swelling Syrian uprising and Tehran faces the unsettling prospect of losing its most stalwart ally in the region.

For Iran, its ties with Syria represent far more than just a rare friend in a region dominated by Arab suspicions of Tehran's aims. Syria is Iran's great enabler: a conduit for aid to powerful anti-Israel proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner in a region profoundly realigned by uprisings demanding more freedom and democracy.

Iran's Ahmadinejad in new showdown with conservatives
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110424...20110424124806


Syria can spur Iran democracy: Nobel laureate
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110423...20110423195544

The articles about Iran lately seem to be indicating the Iranian power structure is starting to show a few cracks from within.
I have to wonder if they are seeing the prophecies of the Twelver's falling apart before their eyes and are distancing themselves.
It certainly seems Ahmadinejad is losing control more and more.