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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq |
| 2007-05-22 |
| A long, interesting article. This is an excerpt. Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say. "Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq and it's a very dangerous course for them to be following. They are already committing daily acts of war against US and British forces," a senior US official in Baghdad warned. "They [Iran] are behind a lot of high-profile attacks meant to undermine US will and British will, such as the rocket attacks on Basra palace and the Green Zone [in Baghdad]. The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard who are connected right to the top [of the Iranian government]." The official said US commanders were bracing for a nationwide, Iranian-orchestrated summer offensive, linking al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents to Tehran's Shia militia allies, that Iran hoped would trigger a political mutiny in Washington and a US retreat. "We expect that al-Qaida and Iran will both attempt to increase the propaganda and increase the violence prior to Petraeus's report in September [when the US commander General David Petraeus will report to Congress on President George Bush's controversial, six-month security "surge" of 30,000 troop reinforcements]," the official said. "Certainly it [the violence] is going to pick up from their side. There is significant latent capability in Iraq, especially Iranian-sponsored capability. They can turn it up whenever they want. You can see that from the pre-positioning that's been going on and the huge stockpiles of Iranian weapons that we've turned up in the last couple of months. The relationships between Iran and groups like al-Qaida are very fluid," the official said. "It often comes down to individuals, and people constantly move around. For instance, the Sunni Arab so-called resistance groups use Salafi jihadist ideology for their own purposes. But the whole Iran- al-Qaida linkup is very sinister." Iran has maintained close links to Iraq's Shia political parties and militias but has previously eschewed collaboration with al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents. US officials now say they have firm evidence that Tehran has switched tack as it senses a chance of victory in Iraq. In a parallel development, they say they also have proof that Iran has reversed its previous policy in Afghanistan and is now supporting and supplying the Taliban's campaign against US, British and other Nato forces. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #6 Secret? Only secret to the American public, kept secret by the American MSM who, as always, are happy to openly print info on American secrets. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-22 15:39 |
| #5 I'd like to see Bush develop a pair, and completely devastate the MME - nuking Iran (Qom, Isfahan, Natanz, Busaher, Bandar Abbas, etc), Soddy aRabida (Riyadh, Jedda, Mecca Medina, Dahran), Syria (Damascus, Homs, Latakia, etc.), and pakiwakiland. It may not stop the jihad, but it will set it back 40 years or more, and give the West some breathing room. Getting rid of the house of |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-05-22 15:28 |
| #4 Predictable. Wimps get kicked around. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-05-22 14:09 |
| #3 Pi$$ on Iran. Close the border. Kill anything that has an IR signature within 10 miles. Send in teams to blow up a gasoline terminal or refinery, or two. Send millions to fund Kurdish insurrection in the north. strangle their finances and trade. Pi$$ on the blackhats...and their little dog, Toto. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2007-05-22 14:07 |
| #2 Iran recognizes the lack of will of America, as demonstrated by both polls and Congress. Therefor they have little fear of being counter-attacked at home as they push forward in both Iraq and Afghanistan (and in their nuclear weapons program.) This is pretty much the same situation bin Laden saw during the Clinton administration - and thought existed on 9/11. Turns out he was probably right, but with a brief speedbump in the road. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-22 13:01 |
| #1 This was in the Guardian?!? Did a seniour managing editor have a mini-stroke in the Cognitive Dissonance part of the brain? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-22 12:59 |