Surprise Surprise Surprise

Why is Iran, the natural ally in the fight against Pashtun nationalist Taliban/al-Qaeda and Sunni Baathist or Salafi jihadism, still isolated? I just don't get it.

clipped from www.nytimes.com CAMP DAVID, Md., Aug. 6 — President Bush and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, close allies in fighting terrorism, found much to agree on as they completed a two-day meeting here on Monday, with one major exception: the role of Iran in Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai characterized Iran as “a helper” in a CNN interview broadcast Sunday. But when the two men greeted reporters here on Monday, Mr. Bush pointedly disagreed, saying, “I would be very cautious about whether the Iranian influence in Afghanistan is a positive force.”