Establishing a Nation

Before everybody gets their panties in a bunch over over Iraqian Prime Minister al Maliki's visit with Iran's President Ahmadinejad, let's look at the circumstances.
Al Maliki is trying to make the fledgling democracy work, he is trying to protect it, and. since so many of the "insurgents" are foreigners, and since they are being supported from Iran, it only makes sense that the Iraqi government to take action to protect its borders. In the long run, a real agreement between the two countries may be essential in the ability of the US to withdraw forces from Iraq.
There is more to it than that. The fact that Iraq is establishing diplomatic relations with Iran is only one step in legitimizing the government of Iraq. It should help in quelling the violence initiated by Shi'ite militants in that country, who believe that al Maliki's government is only a puppet of the United States. Iran is not considered friendly to the United States
This should not be, however, a case of "The friend of my enemy is my enemy." Diplomatic relations between the two nations does not mean an alliance. It means, however, that Iraq's legitimacy as a nation will lead to stability in the region.
It should be noted that Ahmadinejad represents the Iranian government as a spokesperson--he does not make policy in Iran. Iran's official policy maker is the Islamic Supreme Council, the group of religious leaders who make up the government of that country. So, important as it may be as a public relations event, the meeting between al Maliki and Ahmadinejad may not mean anything more than that.
For anyone to say that this points to the failure of the democracization policy would be a leap to the wrong conclusion. Al Maliki is doing what it takes to make that policy a success. If Iran does end it's support of the insurgancy, then it is a giant step toward that end.