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| Axis of Evil |
| Iran to Fight al-Qaeda in Northern Iraq |
| 2002-11-08 |
| A Kurdish leader said in an interview yesterday that Iran intends to drive alleged al-Qaeda members out of northern Iraq. The US remains skeptical about the allegations, and Iraq seems to be completely out of the picture. Sammy's government doesn't count anymore. Except for the lilies, they're dead... In an interview in Damascus, in which parts of it were published by the New York Times, Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, claimed that there are about 150 fighters from Afghanistan operating in northern Iraq, close to the Iranian border. Joining them he said, are hundreds of Kurdish fighters. "They are Americas enemies and the Kurdish peoples enemies and the enemies of the people of the Middle East," Talabani was quoted while on a visit to Syria. He is reportedly touring various Middle East countries to assure them that his group is not interested in establishing an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Thanks to the United States military and the no-fly-zone the central government in Baghdad lost control over much of its north, leaving the state open for civil wars, foreign invasions and chaos. Except that they haven't happened, and the Kurds have managed to prosper rather more than the Iraqis. Ain't that interesting? Talabani seemed unsure about the real identities of the Afghani fighters. "I cannot say if they are Taliban or al-Qaeda, but they are people from Afghanistan, and they are well trained there," he claimed. My guess would be a few Arabs — usually it's Saudis or Yemenis — leading a larger number of Pashtuns... The United States is reportedly skeptical about such reports, although it constantly tries to manufacture ties between Iraqs government and al-Qaeda, enough to justify an expected war on the sanctions-hit Arab country. But for the US, accepting such premises means direct military involvement in northern Iraq, close to the Iranian border and the pouring of more money in the endless war on terror, a war that has proven costly, financially as well as politically. Guess that's the difference between "costly" and "essential," isn't it? If it's essential, you do it anyway, even if it is costly... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |