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Aiming at forcing the US into talks, Iran opens up three fronts
As American investigators are focusing on a Jordanian with ties to al-Qaeda as the possible mastermind of the explosion of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, Iranian political analysts said Tehran is using all its assets in Iraq and the region to force Washington into entering negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
| If so, they're going about it the wrong way... |
The last Saturday blast that killed at least 19, all Iraqis, and wounded many more, is reported to be the work of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a noted terrorist affiliated with the Iran-backed Ansar al-Islam.
At almost the same time, the Iran-supported and trained Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas fired shells over northern Israel, killing one person and injuring four other. Hezbollah said the shelling was retaliation for the 2 August killing of Ali Hoseyn Saleh, one of its security official by a bomb in his car south of Beirut, blaming Israel for his death. The Organisationâs Deputy Secretary-General Sheik Naim Qassem said Sunday that Hezbollah "is fully prepared and ready to respond in the proper manner to any Israel aggression or threat."
| They're kinda the Elite Republican Guard⢠of Lebanon... |
British forces in the predominately Shiite region of Basra were not spared, as they also suffered new attacks on the same day, after irate Iraqis, waiting in the searing heat to fill up their cars with petrol, threw stones in frustration, according to a British army spokesman. A foreign security guard and two Iraqis were killed in a second day of violence in Basra on Sunday in which British troops fired warning shots as crowds attacked vehicles and blocked streets with burning tires. The British patrolled in tanks as hundreds of stone-throwing Iraqis rampaged in protest against fuel and power shortages. In one incident troops said they returned fire from gunmen, but a tense calm settled over Iraq's second city by evening. The violence was some of the worst in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by U.S.-led forces on April 9 and occurred in a city at the heart of the mostly Shi'ite Muslim south, which has been relatively peaceful in the wake of his fall.
| Stinky Iranian fingerprints on any one of the three incidents would be enough to earn the nearest ayatollah a stern talking-to... |
Following the Jordan Embassy blast, the U.S. civilian Administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer on Saturday said the security is far being satisfactory in Iraq and added that he suspected that foreign fighters, Ansar al-Islam could have been involved in the attack.
He was referring to mounting and repeated attacks by the pro-Saddam Hoseyn Iraqis as well as both the radical Shiâites and Sunnis backed by Tehran. Iran piously condemned the attack on the Jordanian Embassy and at the same time, repeated that it would try on its soil those of the al-Qaeda whose identities were not established.
| And now comes the good part. This cracks me up... |
Tehran has acknowledged that it holds some 500 al-Qaeda and Taliban members, prominent among them are, besides Zarqawi, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, al-Qaedaâs treasurer, Saif al-Adel, the networkâs chief of staff alleged to have organised the 12 May explosions in Riyadh, as well as Saad Bin Laden, Osamaâs elder son, according to US intelligence and Administration sources.
Now, lemme see here. I ain't too bright, but it seems to me that if these four beauzeaux are in custody of the Medes and Persians that would imply an inability on their part to engage in extracurricular activities against the rest of the world. "In custody" implies being in some sort of jug, be it the big house, the local calaboose, or even just house arrest at the local Marriott Sheraton Holiday Inn. But the Jordan blast whispered "Zarqawi" loud enough for my tin ear to pick it up, and the Riyadh blasts whispered "Saad and Saif" loud enough for the tin ear of Prince Nayef fewgawdsake to pick it up. That would imply that either the Medes and Persians aren't real good at this "custody" thing, or that the Qaeda snuffies are being use as agents of Iranian policy, to whit, exporting death and destruction while using wahhabi thugs as their agents. If Bush is feeling particularly prickly, that'd be a causus belli right there, forget the nuclear power plants. And Tony and the Brits could play, too, because Basra's Moqtada Sadr country, and guess who owns him? |
Government official spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh did his best to keep the issue murky said recently that due to security problems, Iran would not disclose the names of the senior terrorists it has arrested and repeated that anyhow, none of them would be handed over to the Americans, who have placed the Islamic Republic in their list of "rogue states" and with whom Tehran has no relations.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-08-12 |
