Katie Couric - Kerry: US open to working with Iran against extremists in Iraq

Yahoo News ^ | June 16, 2014 | Olivier Knox

[maggief]

Secretary of State John Kerry cautiously signalled on Monday that the United States would be open to cooperating with Iran militarily in Iraq to beat back al Qaida-inspired fighters who pose an "existential" danger to that war-torn country and may look to target Europe and the United States.

“This is a challenge to the stability of the region. It is obviously an existential challenge to Iraq itself. This is a terrorist group,” Kerry told Yahoo News Global Anchor Katie Couric in an exclusive interview.

Prodded on whether the United States would consider cooperating militarily with Iran, Kerry replied: "Let’s see what Iran might or might not be willing to do before we start making any pronouncements."

But "I think we are open to any constructive process here that could minimize the violence, hold Iraq together, the integrity of the country and eliminate the presence of outside terrorist forces that are ripping it apart," the top U.S. diplomat told Couric.

"I wouldn’t rule out anything that would be constructive to providing real stability, a respect for the (Iraqi) constitution, a respect for the election process, and a respect for the Iraqi people to form a government that represents all of the interests of Iraq -- not one sectarian group over another," he said.

[b4its2late]

LOL....

[jpsb]

Good stuff, a lot of which I did not know. Thanks for posting. Good luck to Brat in the general.

[cashless]

Thanks for sharing Kerry in Paris info and being only 20 at the time just didn't register in the old memory.

[TigersEye]

You are welcome. I am sure there are many who are much younger than you who have no idea. A friend of mine was in Vietnam wearing a USMC uniform at the time and never heard of this until I told him a few weeks ago. FWIW the “two delegations” mentioned were the N. Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. There was no one from South Vietnam in attendance. Kerry was still a commisioned Naval officer at the time as well although it would have been treason even for a civilian.