THIS SEEMS LIKE A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT:

LONDON (Reuters) – Jordan said Thursday it was willing to send troops to Iraq, becoming the first Arab state to do so, if Baghdad’s new interim government requested it.

King Abdullah, whose country would also be the first of Iraq’s neighbors to send troops, was speaking in a television interview with Britain’s BBC Newsnight program. He said he had not yet discussed the issue with Iraqis.

Abdullah’s comments, welcomed by U.S. officials, reflect a major shift in his country’s views on the international military presence in Iraq now that Washington has handed power to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s interim government.

Stay tuned.