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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| IRAN OPERATES 18 SPY CENTERS IN IRAQ |
| 2004-04-12 |
| Iranian intelligence has been operating at least 18 covert centers in Iraq as well as targeting Shi'ites deemed as aligned with the United States in a nearly $1 billion effort to prevent the spread of democracy in that Arab country. A former Iranian official in Teheran's intelligence community publicly disclosed the first details on Iran's intelligence presence in Iraq. The defector said Iran has bolstered its intelligence presence throughout Iraq where Teheran has sought to exacerbate ethnic tensions and encourage a nationwide revolt against the United States. The centers have been located in Baghdad, Basra, Karbala, Najaf, Nasseriya and Suleimaniya, the Iranian defector said. The centers, operating under the cover of charities, have also been used to recruit Iraqis to spy for Iran. The defector, identified as Haj Saidi and who fled Iran in late 2003, told the London-based daily A-Sharq Al Awsat on April 3 that Iran has sent hundreds of intelligence agents into Iraq over the last 18 months. Many of them came under the guise of Iranian pilgrims and Iraqi refugees. He said more than 300 Iranian agents -- benefiting from about 2,700 safe houses in 14 cities -- were operating in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Old Spook, if I was serious about cleaning up Iran with local forces, do you really think I would have included Greece? Unless you include Macedonia as part of Greece, they haven't been an offensive force since the Trojan War. To your point, how can we get control of the Iranian border at this point? Is the Pershmerga force large enough to help us out on the border? Alone, I don't think we can stop the flow with a defensive posture. We would have to make an incursion to a natural chokepoint. It would be easier if some of the Shiites were not funded from Iran. Sadr killed the only non-Iranian guy rather quickly. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-13 12:24:47 AM |
| #8 I've been trying to point you folks to Tehran. They pay the bills for Hezbollah and Hamas, and bankroll the radical fringe Shia in Iraq. They have the most to lose: if Iraq succeeds as a relatively secular democracy, they wil be handed their heads by the Iranian middle class. Our mistake: not closing down the borders quickly, especially Syrian and Iranian. Hose: You are dead wrong. This is a regional problem and neither Greece nor Turkey is capable of handling it nor do they have anything at stake. And like it or not, we are in the center of that region and are dealing now with the consequences of not dealing earlier with the Iranian Fundie Shia Terrorist problems. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-04-12 10:45:45 PM |
| #7 This defector is telling us what we want to hear. So did Chalabi. Iran is a regional problem for Turkey and Greece to take care of unless they move against Israel that would piss me off. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-12 6:22:09 PM |
| #6 Opportunities abound. (via Roger Simon) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-12 4:46:58 PM |
| #5 Lets give the Iranian folks who are mullah-weary a boost, and take out that nuke plant. That would help us in the long run as well--- Bad stuff is going on there - - - |
| Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-12 4:37:41 PM |
| #4 Don't need all sorts of troops. The Iranian population is, from all appearances, tired of being under the mullah's collective thumbs, and are quite capable of doing the jobs themselves. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-12 2:06:38 PM |
| #3 Easily said but AFAIK you don't have the troops to battle Iraq and Iran (and Syria) at the same time. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-04-12 1:43:08 PM |
| #2 Methinks it is time (actually, way PAST time) to take the fight to the mullahs in Iran. If the Mad Mullahs want a conflict, give them a conflict. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-12 12:43:36 PM |
| #1 Ralph Peters is reporting a direct attack by Iranian agents against at US convoy in Northern Iraq: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/22552.htm |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-04-12 11:52:07 AM |