From the AP:
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 reporters over breakfast.
He said the weapons, including mortars and C-4 plastic explosives, were intercepted in Kandahar province within the past month. He did not describe the quantity of the materials or say whether it was the first time U.S. forces had found Iranian-made arms in Afghanistan.
Asked about Pace’s remarks, a Pentagon spokesman, Army Col. Gary Keck, said he had not heard of previous instances of Iranian weaponry being found in Afghanistan but he was not certain this was the first time.
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 a statement responding to Pace’s comments, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of Iranian opposition groups, said the Quds Force has been active in Afghanistan for years.
Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the Iranian group’s foreign affairs committee, said, “Export of fundamentalism and terrorism to neighboring and Islamic countries has been one of the pillars of the clerical regime’s foreign policy—something that the Iranian resistance has warned about for the past two decades.”
Feh. Clearly this “Mohammad Mohaddessin” is a CIA stooge—and this latest ploy, just like US and British intelligence conspiring to send British sailors into Iranian waters before it—is merely the most recent attempt at a Gulf of Tonkin moment.
Fortunately, people like Rosie O’Donnell and I are beginning to see through such outrageous gambits for oil and cheaper persian rugs.
For the last time: Mullahs are people too! Does it never occur to the warmongering neocons that maybe these clerics, too, just want to live in peace, and that all their talk about desiring to wipe Israel from the face of the earth—and all their “Death to America” chants—are merely them acting out? For lack of positive reinforcement?
Hugs, not bombs, people. Carrots, not sticks.
Thank goodness Nancy Pelosi will be heading over there soon to put an end to Bush’s deranged desire to bring about the end times. For a while there, it was looking like US elections might prevent that kind of independent diplomacy.
*****
update: More here (h/t Aldo)
“Mullahs are people too!”
You watch that show too, eh?
So, you’re positing the Iranians who almost went to war with the Taliban in 1998 are secretly arming the anti-Shia Taliban. Virulent anti-Shia.
Check out this for the details on the love the Taliban has for Iraq and vice versa.
and this.
A fine book on the history of the Taliban prior to 2001. Rashid does great work.
I guess I can believe the military. Why wouldn’t the Iranians help their former enemies with guns, since the Pakistanis already do and the Taliban is largely in Pakistan? Further, the same Iranians would be helping the Taliban in their quest to topple Ismail Khan, the Iranian puppet of Herat?
By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled
Here the embattled farmers stood
and fired the shots heard ‘round the world
— I had to memorize it.
And remember, Saddam is secular, so the Baathists would never have anything to do with al Qaeda.
And really, how could you possibly believe that Iran might find having the US surrounding them in Iraq and Afghanistan more of a threat than the anti-shia Taliban?
CRAZY TALK. I MEAN, THERE ARE BOOKS!
Bill Maher:
I would also posit that “we” allied with Stalin against Hitler. Btw, Bill, it’s 2007 now.
Is it too much to hope that they may kidnap the silly bitch and hold her until the next Republican president is elected?
Iran, for instance, would NEVER harbor Saad bin Ladin, right Timmah!?
tw: section81
I wonder what that “1” is doing in there.
NO OIL FOR RUGS!!!!
Google it, people!
I checked it out, but it was all about Iran.
Still, Iran, Iraq, what’s the difference, eh, timmy?
Dipstick.
timmyb, that is so true. I mean, why would Sunni Islamofascists and Shi’a Islamofascists support each other in their war on the Great Satan (i.e., eeeeevulll Amerikkka)?
The same Great Satan that threatens their plans to form Islamic states in one form or another.
The same Great Satan that has done his level best to prevent nuclear escalation in the Middle East?
The same Great Satan with significant military forces all around Iran?
The same Great Satan that is stomping on the Taliban’s efforts to regain their control of Afghanistan?
Naw, that would never happen. Never in a million years!
/idiotic mode
TW: action44. Dirty Harry to the rescue!
It would require some deep cynicism to assume, based on your own educated speculations about Iran’s motives, that General Pace is lying.
Short version, Timmah: just because you hate Bush enough to become a dhimmi – at best – doesn’t mean that the Islamofascists of all stripes want to be defeated.
I have a question, do you think that the Taliban taught Iran how to melt steel?
Because that’s like magic or something. Everyone knows this.
Maybe timmyb has a book about it somewhere. “Ancient Magical Steel Melting Of the Afghan Goatherders” is the title I believe.
timmyb:
Do you honestly believe that there isn’t now nor has there ever been some accomodation of Shiite and Sunni in common cause? Has there never been an “enemy of my enemy” understanding structured around an Islamist realpolitik?
Let’s forget about history for a moment and apply good, old fashioned common sense. Iran knows that the Taliban has little to no chance of defeating Western Forces in Afganistan. By arming the Taliban (probably through a third party) they keep western forces busy and less likely to threaten their nation while they posture and bloviate to keep inspectors out of their nuclear facilities.
Of course, they have been doing the same in Iraq and I’m just cynical enough to see them arming al qaeda as well as the shia militias (if not the sunni militias.)
Thank God there is so much historical anmity between Sunni and Shia from a national security perspective. This GWOT (sorry, Brits) would be infinitely more complicated if they completely worked together for a global islamic common cause.
Realjeff, they don’t seem to be doing that in Iraq now, do they? Seems the “made up word” Shia and “made up word” Sunni could join together to fight us in Iraq, rather than their world conspiracy to fight us in Afghanistan. But, their minds are so devious.
Mr. Goldstein, you people are fond of links (Slartibartfast, despite designing Norway, can’t seem to operate Google, so check out these:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/no-saddam-qaeda.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47812-2004Jun16.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5328592.stm
That would THREE separate occasions where your favorite Commander in Chief declared there was no connection between Saddam and Al Qeuda. Is he wrong? Could he ever be?
I guess you know more about insane paranoia than he does, seeing how you have discerned the focal point of evil in the world is Tehran. Good luck in this second war.
For the hawks, though, as you get your shock ‘n’ chips and soda ready here are some excerpts from articles dealing with Pace’s allegations:
–The Guardian
Some western officials in Kabul treated the allegations of Taliban support with scepticism yesterday. One said Iranian weapons had been freely available on the black market since the 1990s, when Tehran shipped arms to groups fighting the Taliban. “Out of every 10 Kalashnikovs, one is Iranian,” he said. “This is all a war of words. It has very little basis in reality.”
From CBS
U.S. officials caution, however, that any Iranian link to fighting in Afghanistan, notably in providing weapons to Taliban fighters, remains cloudy.
Must be just me. Jeff, you’re the foreign relations expert, (except when it comes to reporting the 180 dead in Baghdad yesterday and the suicide bombing today). But, given our wonderful earlier intelligence, maybe we should be a little less gullible….then again I want to get a WWPPS (what would Peter Pace say) bracelet, so I know what to believe.
Hey stupid-guess what? There are other Islamic terrorist organizations besides Al-qaeda.
http://www.husseinandterror.com
You almost (ALMOST!) make me miss alpo.
Timmah!, you dumb shit. Let’s review. First link:
The “men who attacked on September 11” is not equal to al-Qaeda. They were part of al-Qaeda, but not all of al-Qaeda. Ansar al-Islam. Google it.
Next, “I can’t make that claim” does not equal a flat denial of a connection. It means “I don’t know that to be the case” But, but, BUSH LIED!!!, right Timmah!? Before you even go there, there is no evidence of a Saddam-9/11 connection. But Bush wasn’t saying what you’re telling us he said. Your evidence does not support your claim.
Second link:
That’s some declaration of no connection there, ain’t it?
Third link:
Again, either Bush is making a declaration of fact by saying exactly the opposite, or Timmah! can’t read.
Are you that stupid, Timmah!, or do you think we’re that stupid? And don’t forget to Google Ansar al-Islam.
Heh! “Made up word”! That’s cute…kinda like “wingbut”, eh?
But, hey, nice goal post moving. I mean, we are discussing Iran and Afghanistan (two different nations), and you shift over to Iraq, with a rather different situation.
Except, of course, that Iran is meddling in Iraq, as well. You know, arms, money, etc. Or is Pace lying about that as well?
Oh, excuse me! There are Shi’a in Iraq. Of course, that explains everything. Well, except that Iran is largely Persian, and Iraq is Arabic (less the Kurds), a tribal difference, which is a major factor in politics throughout the Middle East.
Hmmmmmm! Could it be that sometimes old hatreds are ignored when joining against a common enemy? That old saw, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” comes to my mind.
Nope, not in timmyb’s world. Never in a million years.
I’m amazed at how lefties can be so adamant that Shi’a and Sunni ”made up word” aren’t cooperating, when they are, y’know, cooperating.
He is that stupid, Pablo.
He thinks that it is clever to be contrary, but he is too sloppy even to achieve that modest ambition.
Interesting note: (all links are SFW)
When you use Google to find a definition of “Islamofascist”, no definitions are found.
But when you do a regular Google search, that Wikipedia article is the #1 hit.
Yet, I’ve seen Wikipedia come up in a Google definition search many times before.
Hmmmmmm……that seemed39 odd.
No, timmah, instead your mind is merely filled with little boxes which float around in there much as Plato’s forms might – in mutual exclusion, except for perhaps bumping into each other while traveling in Ideal Brownian Motion – and similarly having no relation to reality with its ongoing changes and conditions, thus creating, in effect, an immutable, Ideal Quagmire.
Brush up on your reading comprehesion timmah. There’s a big difference between what the President said and unambiguously stating there’s no direct link.
BECAUSE OF THE BOOKS!!11ONE1!!
Timmah might be extending Zen thought on cause and effect out to correlation. Things that piece together to make a picture aren’t actually related, unless they wind up having the Pentagon launch a missile at itself.
timmyb; I’m very disappointed in you!
This has already been thoroughly smashed above but the real disapointment is that this is the second time that you have tried to run this weak crap past the crew here.
Time to find a new talking point.
Unless, of course, the shipment consisted entirely of Iranian weapons. That would result in an Emily Litella moment.
Nuance, it’s what’s for dinner.
Actually, I would think ol’ Rosie is quite fond of Persian rug.
Nuance, Persian rug and red snapper. It’s what’s for dinner at Rosie’s house.
Thematic Moment: Do you mean to say nuance is the other white meat?
This ends the Thematic Moment.
NO OIL FOR DIPSTICKS!!!!
Oh.
Wait…..
“Do you mean to say nuance is the other white meat?”
Racist! No one said anything about race.
I see you have issues with the other white meat.
PORKIST!
N O’Brain, fellow Philly sports sufferer!
Fixed that for you…
I still think “Quds Force” sounds like something the Justice League of America should have battled in the 1970’s.
Whew!
For a minute there I thought you’d cited some Left-wing rag with a history of virulent hatred of America. Instead, you found a balanced source we can always rely on not to have an agenda of any sort. A paper that is so far above the partisan fray they’d never do something like try and swing an election in another country by appealing directly to the citizens of a Swing-State within that country.
Oh…wait. Nevermind.
SGT:
Ha, Ha! I had completely forgotten about that!
Way to go with the links, timmy! Not exactly your best effort!
A source so devoted to getting it right that it’s almost universally referred to as The Grauniad.
Hmmmm…I wonder why Timmah! didn’t come back.
And speaking of Google and Bush quotes…
Timmah! ought to have a look at this. But then, that’s so five years ago.
Timmy, never let something like reality interfere with your hallucinations, man!
Uh, hasn’t it recently been disclosed that the Iranians are funding and training both Shia and Sunni groups inside Iraq? Because their interests are served by keeping Iraq in chaos rather than as a stable, thriving country allied with the US?
I wonder if they see their interests in Afghanistan in the same way…
Good luck in your war, folks. Oh, and the alternate reality in which you live.
The parsing of statements (I’ve lost count on how many times the US government has admitted no connection between Al Queda and Saddam), the found “WMD’s, the Dr. Evil nature of Iran and the media (I bet they are in cahoots)….you guys live in a different world than the rest of us. A world where half-educated mullahs mastermind the Fall of Western Civilization and you and the rest of the American Right are the bulwark of freedom?
The strange part is after reading one post after another, all one is left with is the palpable fear of Islam. Posts regarding Jeff’s libertarian views receive about half as much interest as posts on the “war.”
Muslims everywhere are too be feared! In the Middle East!!! In Europe!! In Detroit!!!! In airplanes!!!! In school cafeterias!!!
Oh, Jesus, I think there’s one underneath my bed!
All I can add is that you folks better hurry. Going to be tough to convince the next President that she needs to go war with Iran. You have about a year, so Petey Pace better start checking more shipments in Kandahar.
You gotta be pretty fucking stupid to not be able to count to zero.
Ahem (and not the PW regular, Ahem), let me translate:
“Warmongers! I am NOT going to let FACTS effect my delusions!”
BTW, I have NEVER seen anyone in here declare war on Islam. I have seen plenty of people who have declared war on Islamofascists, Jihadis, Islamists, or whatever name timmah prefers for his non-existent foe, though. The problem with timmah is his multi-culti religion won’t allow him to see there is indeed a real threat from islamofascism. Being incredibly daft and immune from logic doesn’t effect him as it would a regular human being.
Timmah!!!
Interesting how many posts are added to a thread intercepting and correcting the dribble left by you and yours, isn’t it?
Timmah! is damned good at seeing things that aren’t contained in the words he’s reading. Timmah! doesn’t read between the lines, he reads around the lines.
Pablo;
Poor timmah is skewed by his neocon itch that he cannot scratch. This torments him, alters his mood and causes him to lash out like an Uzi on full spray. He can debate in good form but, inevitably, succumbs to that maddening, festering sore that cannot be relieved as long as we call George Bush president (markg8 has an even bigger BDS rash.)
Cort – Aide cream will not help. Critical thinking devoid of emotional detachment is the only solution. I appreciate cynn more and more everyday.