PZN: "...very little to be gained by either side."

MW_2006_1121_PZN
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Length: 2:35

PAULA ZAHN: And that's something we are going to ask our man on the ground in Baghdad about. Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much.

Let's turn to Michael Ware, who joins us now from that country's capital.

So, what is it, Michael, these countries expect from Iraq, and what does Iraq get out of these new diplomatic relations?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, I mean, certainly in the short term, there's very little to be gained for either side.

However, the normalization of diplomatic relations with Iraq's neighbors has always been a stated goal, not just of the Iraqi government, but also of the U.S. mission here. Realistic that Iraq has to fit in within its neighborhood.

Now, what Iraq is looking for is some security guarantees from Syria, for example, that the flow of these fighters will stop. As the Americans say, between 50 to 70 foreign fighters cross the Syrian border. The question is, how much involvement is there with the Syrian government in this? The U.S. military says it doesn't know. But one thing that is clear is that they are not doing enough to stop it.

From Iran, it's money, weapons and training for Shia militias. Iraq would like to see all of this stop. The likelihood of any of that is very little. It's -- there is no incentive for any of these regional players to give up the ghost here in Iraq -- Paula.

ZAHN: Michael, though, tell us about some of the skepticism that some Iraqi citizens have about Syria, in spite of these new contacts that have been made, particularly now that there's an accusation that the Syrians killed this interior minister of Lebanon today.

WARE: Well, that doesn't really play into the ground here at all, as far as anyone can tell, Paula.

I mean, Syria, particularly for Iraq's Sunni minority, that feels right now it is under siege, an ethnic minority that shares its kinship with many parts of Syria -- indeed, I have spent a lot of time up on the Syrian-Iraqi border. And, up there, to the tribes, to the families, that border means nothing.

There is also long historical connections between Iraqi Baath and Syrian Baath. So, while the Iraqi government severed contacts way back in the '80s, when Syria sided with Iran in the bloody Iran-Iraq War, generally, the population with that -- within that part of the country very much welcomes Syrian involvement.

The Shia, however, will be much more suspicious -- Paula.

ZAHN: Michael Ware, thanks so much for the update.