Briar patch

I wasn’t sure what to make of this story. According to the story there’s some concern in Iran about the talk of U. S. withdrawal from Iraq:

LONDON — Iran has consistently opposed the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq, but new prospects of a stepped-up American withdrawal are prompting growing unease in the Islamic Republic, where many fear the repercussions of a dangerously unstable neighbor.

Officially, Iran’s policy remains flatly opposed to American troops in Iraq and characterizes them as a key contributor to the escalating violence. Iran’s government says it wants the U.S. to withdraw at the earliest possible opportunity.
But the U.S. elections this month that swept in a Democratic majority to Congress and subsequent talk of a phased pullout have touched off a discussion in Tehran about the outright anarchy that could result.

On Tuesday night, Tehran’s English-language news channel featured commentary from political scientist Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh, who called for the U.S. to remain in Iraq until it has established a strong, stable central government capable of providing adequate security.

“The Americans can’t simply withdraw from Iraq, leaving the mess as it is,” Mojtahedzadeh said in a telephone interview from the Iranian capital afterward. “Who’s going to look for the safety of the Iraqis there? The Iranians can’t do it. The Turks can’t do it…. This is not a question of political rivalry between Iran and the West. It has to do with the fact that the society has to have a government structure in place.”

Now, I agree with that reasoning but I’m a little concerned about the provenance.  If this isn’t just the opinion of one intellectual in Iran and is actually the concern of the Tehran government, a good start might be to stop supporting groups whose goal is to destabilize the Iraqi government.

Until that happens my reaction to reports like this must be tinged with a bit of traditional American wisdom:

“Please, oh please don’t fling me into that briar patch!”