Iran Training Pro-Iran Factions in Iraq

We must add that the UNITED STATES is also "training pro-Iran factions in Iraq"--namely, the al-Maliki government.

The Shiite al-Maliki, of course, owes his skin to the Islamic regime in Iran. They gave him political asylum in the early 1980s as he was targeted by Hussein. His party, al-Dawa, has been supported by Iran for a quarter of a century.

This is not a spin. Iran is engaging in acts of war with us, some people just don't realize it yet. We are not yet at the point of total involvement, but it is a few incidents away. Even with all the rhetoric, Iran can't be that stupid. We are still very capable of inflicting horrifying damage on them and they ought to know it.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), while calling the use of military force against Iran "the very last resort," suggested that the United States use its Navy to conduct "battleship diplomacy" and create a "ring of deterrence" around Iran.

Ummm... are either Warner or Fallon aware of the fact that Iran has borders other than the Persian Gulf? I mean, yeah, we could interdict their tankers with very little trouble - even with our current deployments in Iraq - but what then?

If Iran thinks their efforts in molding the future Iraq are critical to their own future (a not unreasonable assumption, IMHO), it's going to take a lot more than just a little economic pressure on the oil trade to get them to change their tactics. Not to mention the havoc that will play on our own economy. What happened to all the people in DC who used to be able to ask the question "What if this doesn't work?"

Over at my place I've been pretty consistent: I oppose invading or bombing Iran. But I can't understand the hyperventilating over engaging Iranians in Iraq including by folks like Pat Lang, for whom I have substantial respect, who has characterized the reported change in practice in Iraq towards one of engaging Iranians involved in action against U. S. or Iraqi government forces in Iraq or supporting those who do, as “dangerous escalation”.

Since when is shooting back an escalation?

Like you, I am not surprised by Iran's involvement, nor by the Bush administrations handling of this. Right from the start, way back when the administration should have, but wasn't, planning for the aftermath of a war they were always going to win, Colin Powell and others were highlighting the fact that Iran would immediately insert itself into whatever came next in an Iraq left reeling. Wouldn't that have been the time to factor in some kind of a response, some tactic that would counteract what everyone and their great aunt Shelly's dog knew was coming?

Like the stockpiles of weapons left unguarded and the disbandment of the Iraq army and police forces, this belated reaction to what should have been obvious is just one more piece of evidence leading to the inevitable conclusion that those charged with protecting America are incapable of doing so.

Mentre John Kerry spopola sulle prime pagine dei giornali iraniani, Fox News rivela che la Casa Bianca ha tra le mani un dossier esplosivo sul coinvolgimento di Teheran nell'escalation terroristica in Iraq. Un dossier che l'amministrazione Bush non h...

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Vice President Dick Cheney shot back at Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has accused the...

On the Right, Dan Riehl doesn’t “understand pushing something like this if you don’t plan on doing anything about it. And I don’t think Bush is planning on attacking Iran.”

Is mystifying... who on this planet doesn't know that Bush wants to attack Iran? The level of self-delusion in that statement is beyond measurement...