Iran loses ally in Iraq's Hakim, hard to replace

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BL0126684.htm

TEHRAN, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim may not have espoused an Iranian-style revolution in Iraq, but Iran lost a sympathetic ear that will be difficult to replace when the Iraqi Shi'ite leader was killed last week.

Analysts said Hakim, whose ties with Tehran were nurtured in more than 20 years of exile in Iran, was viewed as a key ally during the U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq.

These close ties, allied with Hakim's moderate views and his cautious cooperation with the United States, may have been seen by Tehran as helping ensure the emerging government in Iraq was not hostile to Iran, they said. snip

"It was like having a friend and sympathiser in a position of power in a neighbouring country. Whereas now, it (Iran) has to start all over again," Shirzad Bozorgmehr, managing editor of the English-language daily Iran News, told Reuters.

more

[Kbowe]

1. So you see yet who benefits from this bombing?

Do you need a map?

[NNN0LHI]

2. Gosh, I am glad that someone else noticed what I was thinking

I was ready to put my tin foil hat on until you posted. Thanks for your post to this thread.

Don

[StandWatie]

3. my bet is on the Saudi's or Kuwaiti's...

The last thing they want to hear about is any sort of "Islamic Revolution" going on north of their border.