President Bush has Iran Encircled

Whether by accident or by design, President Bush has succeeded in almost completely encircling Iran, a brilliant move that will be appreciated long after he leaves office.

Take a moment to study a map of the Persian Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia. President Bush has assembled an array of allies that should keep Ahmadinejad in his box. To Iran's west lies US and coalition forces in Iraq, across the Persian Gulf are Saudi Arabia and other US friendly Gulf States, to the east are Pakistan and US/NATO forces in Afghanistan. Other than the less reliable northern border area of Central Asia, Iran's madman is contained.

Just as important as the bordering states is the fairly new key strategic ally of India. In July of 2005, India and the US made a joint statement, that among other things said that they would "combat terrorism relentlessly and everywhere". As we all know, the US gave India a pass at that time with regard to its nuclear programs as well. This couldn't have happened without the quiet cooperation from Pakistan.

Why is Pakistan turning a blind eye to its traditional foe upgrading its nuclear capabilities? Because the Pakistanis know very well that the real threat emanates from Iran and its terrorist puppets, and India acting as a long range deterrent against Iran is very useful. Being a predominantly Muslim nation, Pakistan cannot be publicly seen taking a lead in confronting Iran in the event of a nuclear confrontation.

Iran's only strategy to deal with the mess is to find ways to force the US to leave, to destabilize allied regimes in the area and to find friends in Central Asia and Syria/Lebanon. That is why they sponsored Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon, why they are fomenting Shiite resistance in Iraq, why they are funding terrorist organizations around the world and why they are courting Syria and Central Asian states.

Although, Bush must work harder to bring the Russians into the fold as they could be helpful in bringing the Central Asian states more reliably into the West's camp, he really has achieved a master-stroke of brilliant geo-political significance. And for these reasons alone, the US cannot leave Iraq and if anything, should be building its forces in the region. That is the only way to prevent Iran from becoming dangerously adventurous.