World News - Iran could play Iraq card in row over nuclear plans

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Iran may have no interest in fomenting full-scale civil war in Iraq, but could stir trouble for the United States and Britain there if it felt threatened by international action to curb its nuclear ambitions. Washington and London have long accused Tehran of playing a destabilising role in Iraq by backing Shi'ite militants and sending infiltrators and sophisticated bombs across the border. Tehran derides the charges, but has also hinted in the past that it has the potential to inflict pain on its Western foes locally if they tighten the screws over the nuclear issue. "If these countries use all their means...to put pressure on Iran, Iran will use its capacity in the region," Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has said. For now Iran appears to be holding back, wary of regional rivalries and the unrest that could arise among its own minorities if Iraq slid into outright civil war and fell apart....
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Editor - 00:12:00 03-01-06

Spy Chief: Iraq May Spark Regional Battle

A civil war in Iraq could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East, pitting the region's rival Islamic sects against each another, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in an unusually frank assessment Tuesday. "If chaos were to descend upon Iraq or the forces of democracy were to be defeated in that country ... this would have implications for the rest of the Middle East region and, indeed, the world," Negroponte said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats.Negroponte served as U.S. ambassador to Baghdad before taking over as the nation's top intelligence official last April.Iraqis have faced a chain of attacks and reprisals since bombs destroyed the gold dome of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra last week. Hundreds, if not thousands, have died, including more than 65 who were killed Tuesday by suicide attackers, car bombers and insurgents firing mortars....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060228/ap_on_go_co/intelligence_congress

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Editor - 00:06:00 03-01-06

Bush denies Iraq heading toward civil war

President George W. Bush, hit by polls showing America's support for the Iraq war at an all-time low, denied on Tuesday Iraq was sliding into civil war, despite the worst sectarian strife since a U.S. invasion.The decline in Bush's public approval ratings came as he told Iraqis they faced a choice between "chaos or unity" amid violence that has dented U.S. hopes for the stability needed to pave the way for a U.S. troop withdrawal.At least 60 people were killed in Baghdad on Tuesday in the latest in a series of deadly attacks following the bombing of a major Shi'ite mosque last week.Asked what Washington would do if civil war broke out in Iraq, Bush told ABC News: "I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war."He said he had spoken to leaders of all Iraqi sects and "I heard loud and clear that they understand that they're going to choose unification, and we're going to help them do so."...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28221869.htm

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