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| Afghanistan |
| Iranian Weapons Intended for Taliban Intercepted |
| 2007-04-17 |
| U.S. forces recently intercepted Iranian-made weapons intended for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's top general said Tuesday, suggesting wider Iranian war involvement in the region. It appeared to be the first publicly disclosed instance of Iranian arms entering Afghanistan, although it was not immediately clear whether the weapons came directly from Iran or were shipped through a third party. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that unlike in Iraq, where U.S. officials say they are certain that arms are being supplied to insurgents by Iran's secretive Quds Force, the Iranian link in Afghanistan is murky. "It is not as clear in Afghanistan which Iranian entity is responsible, but we have intercepted weapons in Afghanistan headed for the Taliban that were made in Iran," Pace told a group of reporters over breakfast. He said the weapons, including mortars and C-4 plastic explosives, were intercepted in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan within the past month. Iran has had an uneven relationship with Afghanistan over the years. During the wars of the past quarter-century — the 1979-89 Soviet occupation, the subsequent civil war, Taliban rule starting in 1996 and the 2001 U.S.-led invasion — millions of Afghans, particularly from the western provinces, took refuge in Iran. In recent years Iran has contributed to numerous economic improvements in western Afghanistan, including roadways, schools and several clinics. But Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute, sees reason for concern about Iran's efforts to increase its influence inside Afghanistan. "Iran's leadership often strikes pragmatic relationships to further their influence at our expense," he said Tuesday. "A lot of testimonials about Iranian assistance in Afghanistan are based more on wishful thinking than reality." In a statement issued in response to Pace's comments, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of Iranian opposition groups, said Iran's Quds Force has been active in Afghanistan for several years. With regard to Iranian activities in Iraq, Pace said it is clear that Quds Force members are involved in the network that supplies materials to make roadside bombs, which are a leading killer of U.S. troops in Iraq. "We know that there are munitions that were made in Iran that are in Iraq and in Afghanistan," he said, adding that it also is clear that the Quds Force reports to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which reports directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #7 Few regimes in history have ever deserved an as-yet-unreceived asskicking like Iran. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-17 23:25 |
| #6 RUSSIAN news websites a while back were ironically were all roughly hinting or indic that Radical Iran is desirous of expanding her influence in Central Asia includ Muslim former Soviet SSR's. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-04-17 23:20 |
| #5 I'm all for arming the resistance movements in Iran, especially with their own weapons. Take that and fuck you and your goat, Admanahole. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-04-17 19:43 |
| #4 Now wouldn't it just suck if they somehow accidently found there way back to the Iranian general population. I hear they're not so crazy about those Wacky Mulluhs in charge. I'm just saying I'd hate or for a bunch of weapons to fall off the Hummus truck in downtown Tehran. |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2007-04-17 19:28 |
| #3 Radical Shia Persians arming arch-Sunni Talibans. Good heavens, is nothing sacred?! |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-04-17 18:49 |
| #2 Causus Belli. Death Warrant for Aqua Velva Jacket man |
| Posted by: Galloways Outcropping 2007-04-17 18:28 |
| #1 It is way past time for spanking Iran. Phucqers. |
| Posted by: Unique Battle 2007-04-17 17:57 |