Iraq Winners Allied With Iran Are the Opposite of U.S. Vision

"This is a government that will have very good relations with Iran. The Kurdish victory reinforces this conclusion. Talabani is very close to Tehran," said Juan Cole, a University of Michigan expert on Iraq. "In terms of regional geopolitics, this is not the outcome that the United States was hoping for."

Many saw this coming with the elections in Iraq since Shiites make up the majority of the population. One of the, if not the most, influential religious figures in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is from Iran. The possible long term implications of this power shift for both Iraq and Iran provide reason for concern.