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Crocker Calls for US to Treat Iraq Like an Ally

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, former US ambassador Ryan Crocker said now is a “good time for discussion” between Washington and Tehran about Syria.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (R) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and General John Allen (L), head of the NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan, upon his arrival at Kabul International Airport June 7, 2012. Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on Thursday for talks with military leaders amid rising violence in the war against the Taliban and a spate of deadly incidents, including a NATO air strike said to have killed 18 villagers. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor about developments in Syria and Iraq, Ryan Crocker, one of America’s most distinguished diplomats, said that it is a “good time for discussion” between the US and Iran about Syria.

Crocker, who held talks with Iranian officials while serving as US ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009, said, “I would like to see us or others try to engage the Iranians now on Syria because Syria is their only ally.”

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