Iran stokes Iraq unrest, U.S. says

[sabra]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/11/business/iraq.php

Iran stokes Iraq unrest, U.S. says

BAGHDAD Iran is pressing Shiite militias here to step up attacks against the American-led forces because of the Israeli assault on Lebanon, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Friday.

Iran could foment even more violence as it faces off with the United States and United Nations over its nuclear program in the coming weeks, he added.
The Iranian incitement has led to a surge in bold mortar and rocket attacks on the fortified Green Zone, said the ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad.

...

"One of the main points of contact is some groups have ties to Hezbollah," Khalilzad said in an interview Friday in his home inside the Green Zone. "I think this is an effort that is continuing, that Iran is seeking to put more pressure, encourage more pressure on the coalition from the forces that they are allied with here, and the same is maybe true of Hezbollah."

Khalilzad's remarks are the first public statements by a senior Bush administration official that directly link violence here in Iraq to the war in Lebanon and Israel, and to growing American pressure over Iran's nuclear program. Until now, U.S. officials have characterized Iranian influence in Iraq in vague terms, and none have publicly drawn a direct connection between Shiite militant groups here and Hezbollah in Lebanon

[IndianaGreen]

1. The American occupation is what stokes the "unrest" in Iraq

Beware that the same people that got us into the Iraq war are now trying to get us into war against Iran and Syria!

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ronnie624]

4. I agree.

The U.S. does indeed stoke violence, unrest and chaos in the region.

One of the primary strategies of the West in general and the U.S. in particular with regard to the Middle East has been to foment conflict in the region in order to discourage political organization between factions and states. This makes it possible for the United States to establish and maintain a certain amount of influence in the region that is favorable to U.S. political and business interests. Divide and conquer, if you will.

I'm sure over the years you have read about how April Gillespie deceived the Iraqi government into invading Kuwait as a means to producing a pretext for the Bush administration to re-establish a powerful military presence in the region. There is also the fact that the Reagan administration was supplying weapons to both Iran and Iraq during their war. I have also read that the U.S. government encouraged Saddam to attack Iran, and that the Reagan administration was particularly keen on keeping the conflict going. Even further, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter's National Security Adviser, once admitted in an interview that the Carter administration deliberately provoked the invasion of Afghanistan by financing terrorist attacks against the Soviet Union.

Given the record of U.S. involvement in this region of Asia, I cannot imagine a rational argument against Iran for attempting to have some sort of influence in the turmoil that is Iraq. After all, Iraq is a neighboring country that has been invaded by a power that has clearly shown itself to be hostile to Iran as well. Why would iran not attempt to thwart U.S. intentions in Iraq and the greater Middle East?

[Barrett808]

5. Fyi: "April Glaspie"

I saw Joe Wilson on his speaking tour a couple years ago, and he said he didn't think Ms. Glaspie was giving Saddam the green light with her "US takes no position on the various Arab-Arab conflicts" message.

Fwiw.

[mbperrin]

7. Sure didn't give him the red light, did it?

And the US providing aid to both Iran and Iraq during their war wasn't exactly the straightest of dealings for peace, either, would you say?

[Barrett808]

8. Yes, our participation in the Iran-Iraq war was cynical and shameful

And arming Saddam with the makings of ballistic missiles and biological weapons was criminal.

[Monkeyman]

2. Leave to Bush to play the blame game

[Barrett808]

6. Nonsense. Juan Cole puts the lie to this claim:

US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad expressed his belief that Iran will exploit the war in Lebanon to spread more turmoil in Iraq, and charging that there are Iranian forces in Iraq. (Cole: Neither allegation makes any sense. Iran wants a stable, Shiite-majority Iraq with the Shiites in charge. It is the Sunni Arabs who are trying to destabilize the situation. And, I'll believe there are Iranian forces in Iraq when Iranian military men are captured there. If Badr Corps is so pro-Iranian, why would Tehran need to risk putting Persian speakers into Iraq. Makes no sense.)

http://www.juancole.com/2006/08/malikius-military-rift-over-bombing.html

[anotherdrew]

9. meanwhile in reality - "our" terrorists the MEK continue to bomb Iran n/t