The U.S. and Iran are not quite on the same page yet when it comes to Iraq, even though Ambassador Crocker diplomatically declared that the two countries are in "pretty good congruence right down the line." For me, the best part of the U.S.-Iran dialogue was Iran's sly offer to rebuild the Iraqi armed forces.

Crocker noted (without comment) that Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi ("The Man from Qom") criticized the U.S. for not doing enough to bolster Iraq's army and police, telling Crocker that "the effort to train and equip the Iraqi security forces had been inadequate to the challenges faced."

Making the point more explicitly, Qomi said later: "The Islamic Republic of Iran offered to provide all kinds of support, such as consultations, rehabilitation training, and provision of weapons to the Iraqi forces." Right. I guess Iran is tired of providing those weapons to Shia militia, who then infiltrate the security forces, and so they'd prefer just to do it directly. I don't guess Crocker is going to take Qomi up on that one--just a hunch.