Iran And The IEDs

IRAN AND THE IEDs....Apparently Iran is living up to its promise to try to halt the flow of IEDs and other explosives across the border into Iraq:

"We have not seen any recent evidence that weapons continue to come across the border into Iraq," Maj. Gen. James Simmons said. "We believe that the initiatives and the commitments that the Iranians have made appear to be holding up."

....The U.S. military last week released nine Iranians detained in Iraq, including two men the Americans had accused of belonging to the elite Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. In a show of optimism, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he hoped the move would pave the way this month for a fourth meeting of U.S. and Iranian officials regarding Iraqi security.

Obviously this doesn't mean the Iranian leadership has suddenly turned into a lovable clutch of care bears, but it is, as they say in the biz, a signal. Whether it's happening in deference to Iran's allies in Iraq or as a way of indicating that Iran wants to ratchet down tensions with the U.S. is hard to say, but who cares? It's a small opening, and hopefully Ryan Crocker and Condi Rice can keep Dick Cheney's crew holed up in their secret bunkers long enough to give it a chance to play it out. Stay tuned.