OP-ED: "Beyond Saber Rattling," by Jim Hoagland, Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 28 May-3 June 2007, p. 5.

The money quote:

Arab allies are urging such a course on Bush [deposing Maliki] and would not object to U.S. military action against Iran. There is growing concern in Baghdad that Washington is developing a "Plan B" that involves both hitting Iran and ousting Maliki ...

Another:

"Why should we fight somebody else's war in Iran?" asked Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Maliki's national security adviser .... "We say no to Saudi Arabia fighting Iran in Iraq."

State of the World, my friends.

Haogland's advice is what I wrote in Esquire more than two years ago:

Fully engaging with Iran on both Iraq and nuclear weapons, and bringing the Gulf Arabs and European allies into that dialogue. That would be the work of a confident giant.

Exactly.