Double Or Nothing

Are the Sunni states of the ME worried about a Shiite-dominated Iraq? Sure they are. So it's no surprise, really, that they'd also be worried about a nuclear Iran:

John R. Bolton, US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, has claimed that the "Gulf states share US perception on Iran's clandestine nuclear programme in a broader sense."

"The countries of the region do not want to see Iran equipped with nuclear weapons," Bolton said while speaking at a Press conference here yesterday. The programme has "threatened the interests of the US and its allies in the region," he added.

A very high-stakes game of leverage is now underway. Iran has long been the key to enabling long-term democracy throughout the entire region, even moreso than Iraq; Iraq was just the logical beachhead.

Best guess: the US will get specific cooperation from the neighbors on matters pertaining to Iran's nuke program, even as most of those same neighbors try to figure out how to subvert this damn democracy thing before it blows their whole racket.