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  The US will continue to fail to convince Arabs that Iran, not Israel, poses the greatest threat to regional stability. Lamis Andoni
Last Modified: 25 Oct 2010 16:10 GMT
   

No sooner had Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, left Beirut
last week, than Jeffrey Feltman, the US secretary of state for Near
East affairs, arrived in the Lebanese capital.

Washington wasted no time in seeking to counter what it views as
Iran's growing influence across the Arab world and Ahmadinejad's message
of resistance to Israel.

But it is precisely that message that has so far foiled the US'
relentless efforts to form a regional security pact to isolate and
confront Tehran. Washington has failed - and will continue to fail - to
convince Arabs that Iran, not Israel, is the real enemy.

A sectarian formula

This does not mean that Iran's agenda in the region has been entirely
palatable to Arab states. It has been complicit in the invasion and
occupation of Iraq, where its position remains opportunistic and deeply
sectarian.

But Washington has no issue with that as... >>>