This new change seems to indicate an abrupt about face in U.S. policy. It's about time that the Bush administration started heeding the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, but it remains to be seen whether this will be a serious effort. From Haaretz:

Rice: U.S. joining Iraq in inviting Iran, Syria to 'neighbors meeting'

The United States and the Iraqi government are launching a new diplomatic initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a neighbors meeting on stabilizing Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.
"We hope that all governments seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region," Rice said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Senate committee. Excerpts were released in advance by the State Department.

The move reflects a change of approach by the Bush administration, which previously had resisted calls by members of Congress and by a bipartisan Iraq review group to include Iran and Syria in diplomatic talks on stabilizing Iraq.

"I am pleased to announce that we are also supporting the Iraqis in a new iplomatic offensive: to build greater support, both within the region and beyond, for peace and prosperity in Iraq," Rice said, adding that U.S. and Iraqi officials agree that success in Iraq requires the positive support of Iraq's neighbors.

This may be the only way the U.S. will be able to withdraw from Iraq without leaving a further bloodbath, but does it also indicate that the U.S. is now ceding the primary role in the region to Iran? How will our other allies in the region, such as Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia, react to this news?

Also, Fareed Zakaria outlines how some of our most pressing problems in Iraq aren't really military, in this excellent article, The Surge That Might Work.