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| Axis of Evil |
| ''Treason!'' Iran squawks... |
| 2002-09-20 |
| A senior hard-line Iranian cleric said Friday that Qatar was guilty of "treason" against Muslims for providing the United States with an air base that could be used to attack Iraq. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in his Friday sermon that Qatar, just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, had helped America to "impose its hegemony" on the oil-rich region by allowing the U.S. military access to its al-Udeid air base. "America is going to use the soil of a Muslim country to kill the Iraqi people, spread its overall domination over Iraq and from there throughout the region," Jannati said. "Qatar is committing treason against all Muslims." Uhhh... Iraq is a secular state. And Iraqi Shiites are (somewhat) on our side... Jannati heads the powerful Guardian Council, which approves candidates for elections, reviews parliamentary acts and has often been accused of thwarting the reform program of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. "Gimme that o-o-o-o-old time religion...!" On Wednesday, the head of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. Tommy Franks, discussed military cooperation with Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who also holds the defense portfolio in his Cabinet. "We're thinking of kicking the snot out of the Iraqis again. Wouldja mind?" "Lemme think. No. More tea?" Core staff of the central command, responsible for U.S. military operations in the Gulf and Central Asia, will be shifted from their Florida headquarters to the al-Udeid air base in November for training exercise while the Pentagon considers establishing a permanent command center there. They could also set it up on a ship — the Navy's at least as cooperative as the Qataris — but this way the Saudis get slapped. It rubs in the fact that we don't need their scrotty airbase... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |