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| Iran |
| IPS: Why Iran Protects Al-Qa’eda |
| 2003-09-03 |
| By Nawaf Obaid EFL and Fair Use BEIRUT (IPS) As the Saudi officials have stated that Iran has failed to hand over any of the al-Qa’eda terrorists it is supposed to hold, a senior Saudi oil and security analyst said, "Since the demise of the Taleban, Iran has become a sanctuary for al-Qa’eda, making it the only place in the world where both Shi’ite and Sunni terrorists have found haven". Echoes of Michael Ledeen’s article. On Monday 24 August, press reports citing Iran’s ambassador in Riyadh, Ali Asqar Haji, suggested that Iran had handed over to Saudi Arabia a number of al-Qa’eda members. However, the individuals, like the 16 Saudis Iran turned over last year, are merely foot soldiers. Hoping they can get by with a little cannon fodder... But on Sunday, Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Amir Nayef Ben Abdel’aziz, in an interview with the pan Arabic daily Al Hayat, denied the report, saying that so far Iran has refused to cooperate with Saudi Arabia over the al-Qa’eda. And the Saudis, now that terrorism has come home to the Magic Kingdom, won’t accept the "we’re all Brother Muslims" crap, anymore... Iran’s refusal to grant access to over a dozen of senior Saudi-born al-Qa’eda suspects is disturbing, says Mr. Nawaf Obaid, a senior Saudi oil and political analyst. Some who’s obviously been given the go ahead to stir this pot on behalf of Abdullah... "What the Saudis want are the ringleaders of one of the last functioning al-Qa’eda cells with regional command and control powers. Intelligence officials also believe that members of this group know the identities of dozens of al-Qa’eda operatives dispersed in Saudi Arabia, Europe and the United States", according to Mr. Obaid. "Hey, Dude! This just won’t cut it, ya’know? We want the biggies! Gotta stop this shit - in the Kingdom, anyway. We might pass along the little fish to the Fibbies." That is why Saudi officials are keen to interrogate the suspects. In the last few months, however, Iran has hindered this effort. Doh! "To be more precise, radical Iranian clerics have hindered these efforts. Iran’s moderate President, Mohammad Khatami, has promised to hand over the Saudi al-Qa’eda suspects. However, Saudi security officials were twice rebuffed when arriving to pick them up", Mr. Nawaf Oaid wrote in the Beirut based The Daily Star. "Are they ready to go?" "Who?" "The bad guys, you dimwit!" "Sure, here ya go..." "Why, these aren’t the right guys - they’re all Noor Tantrays! Y’know, little fish!" "Sorry, that’s all we have for you today. Coming back tomorrow?" "NO! This means the gloves are off, man! We’re going to the press! In the most recent attempt, Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, the assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs (the highest civilian administrator of the Saudi Arabian General Security Service), was told he would not be allowed to see the prisoners. A senior general in the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency who oversees coordination with Iran’s Intelligence Ministry was furious. According to him people close to Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran are holding up the extradition because they fear they’ll be implicated. No shit, Sherlock. "This episode highlights the strength of Khameneh’i and the radical clerics who follow him. Khameneh’i controls several powerful state security organs, including Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the newly created Foreign Intelligence Service. Both report directly to Khameneh’i’s Office of the Supreme Leader, entirely bypassing Khatami’s government", Mr. Obaid added. So much for Khatami, as if this is a surprise. In the past few years, American, Saudi and other regional intelligence services have compiled a detailed dossier on the extremists within these institutions and their connections to international terrorism. More... One question for Rantburgers: What is the difference between the Taliban and the Black Hats, now, other than the fact that the Black Hats are rapidly becoming a nuclear threat to the region and, in particular, Israel? How about, after answering that question, Rantburgers open up the debate on what you think would be required to topple the Black Hats and bring to power something far far less dangerous. I’ve suggested it would not require a bunch of boots on the ground - but some remote-controlled decapitation strikes, instead. Let’s hear it, folks. What do you think the US can and should do? |
| Posted by:.com |
| #13 Some background on the Iraq-Iran War and its religious overtones. |
| Posted by: ZoGg 2003-9-4 1:32:31 AM |
| #12 A good post from a very Anti-American/Anti-Isreal website showing that a sectarian civil war has indeed begun in Iraq. Read between the lines.... This site had earlier tried to blame the Mossad for the Najaf bombing, but as the days pass even the most biased Arabs are understanding something very different is occurring. |
| Posted by: ZoGg 2003-9-4 12:45:22 AM |
| #11 Took me a while to snap out of my trance but I did think about this all day. It's those smil'n faces that will change the Iran equation. The faces of the next generation of Iraqies that gave thumbs up to American forces; may god bless them. They are the ones who saw their parents totally traumatized before their own eyes. We must win their hearts and minds through what we do best, which is leading public opinion. Iranians will ask, what the damn hell is going on, those stooges in Iraq are free. The modern world is much more powerful than the shitheads. Was that "democracy, whiskey and sexy"? Iranian mullas are racing to put the noose around their necks. But let's be clear, that we, the US can not win freedom for the Iranians. That is a bridge to far. No, it will be Iranians, John Barley corn and pretty women. As to the bomb. That's a hair shirt that they may wish they had never come upon, The ring if you will. I have heard reports that some of the opposition groups use the lack of devololping the bomb as a reason to oppose the mullas. We all know that this is a sick society, as sick as anything Hollywood could ever imagine, and Hollywood is pretty sick. But Hollywood can help win this war. Hell, Hollywood could win this war. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-9-3 11:52:48 PM |
| #10 I don't think o0ne attack spoils the thesis as a terrorist attack once arranged might happen through inertia. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-3 10:08:52 PM |
| #9 There was one infrastructure attack that I recall: Baghdad water main ruptured with RPG - remember geysering / flooding footage? About 10 days ago, IIRC. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-9-3 9:27:25 PM |
| #8 *Blinks* You may be right, ZoGg, but a big factor to proving your thesis is the absence of attacks against infrastructure. Have you checked this against Centcom briefs/press releases? At first blush, you appear to be right: I don't recall any infrastructure attacks after the H. Bros got ventilated, but am wondering if this isn't a function of press selectivity, emphasizing dead bodies over busted equipment. And there are still attacks against US soldiers (however, if the relative frequency is down, then I'll grant your point.) An avenue worth pursuing, tho. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-9-3 7:36:52 PM |
| #7 Nice take ZoGg! |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-9-3 5:37:36 PM |
| #6 ZoGg, fascinating take on events. It goes against the way I've been reading things but it all fits so logically I'll have to consider this angle from now on. Well done. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-9-3 3:35:01 PM |
| #5 The US doesn't have to do anything except wait for implosion, from both Iran and Saudi Arabia. We have already set this in motion by our actions in Iraq. One of the reason’s we had to go it alone was the fact that the removal of the Bath party in Iraq would cause massive instability in the whole region. It’s interesting to see how the fall of the Bath Party (a secular party) is causing rifts between Iran and the Saudi’s. Iran used to be the center of the Shiite religion, but that has now shifted to Iraq now that Shiite’s have regained there freedom, thanks to the USA. Because Iraq is Arab and not Persian, a rift has developed between the extremist in the Shiite and Sunni camps. The 'Baths' used to counter this because they where secular and Arab. But now that they are gone the rift is about Islam, where it used to be about race. The attack on the Jordanian Embassy and the recent car bomb attack that killed the Iranian’s proxy Ayatollah are proof that a civil war has started in Iraq, at least between the religious whacko's. We all heard how at Friday prayers in Saudi Arabia, the Iman's professed Jihad and holy war and about how hundreds of Saudi's went missing. It was the very next Friday that a car bomb exploded in Najaf. The fact that the 'Ali' shrine was damaged shows what is happening. You can see signs of it with the recent closing of the Libyan Embassy in Lebanonand the visit of the Jordanian King to Iran, the first time this has happened since the fall of the Shah of Iran. Its very strange how the Jordanian Embassy gets bombed and shortly there after, the King of Jordan decides to go pay a visit to regime that his father dispised. I am not convinced that all the recent terrorism in Iraq is directed at the USA. Its funny how attacks where being carried out daily by Bath loyalist, blowing up pipelines, targeted assassinations of US troops; then this all stopped right after the Hussein Brothers where killed. Since then a noticeable shift has occurred in the targets of terrorism in Iraq, and those targets are no longer American. This could be because they are soft targets but I think its about the power and control that is still emerging. These attacks are being controlled by the religious leaders in Iran and Saudi Arabia, each trying to gain power and influence in the new Iraq. These leaders are our real enemy because in their rightous view of the world, everyone who does not share their beliefs are infedels and need to be converted or killed. |
| Posted by: ZoGg 2003-9-3 2:25:06 PM |
| #4 Blink blink.... .... blink blink... I must think...can't think! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-9-3 12:51:15 PM |
| #3 Rafael, the US does have our hands full with Iraq/Al-Queda but there is reason to believe it is Iranian assistance to the bad guys that have made our problems worse. I would like to see VOA and other alternates blaring out for the Iranians to hear. I would like to hear Pres Bush supporting true democracy in Iran and meeting with those that have been abused, and making it difficult for the Europeans to deal with the Iranian Mullahs by showing the European people what their business is supporting. I would like to see the US promote another day of strikes. And in the weeks before the strikes happen we announce that we are negotiating exile deals with some of the Mullahs (but don't say which ones) and that we will let the rest be torn apart by the crowds (this will create lots of fun distrust amung the Mullahs) and then perhaps a knife, poisons or a carbomb to take out a few Mullahs and make the rest twitchy. I think the Mullahs can be brought down before the knifes, poisons and carbombs part of the plan but a plan has to be semi-complete. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-9-3 11:34:05 AM |
| #2 The Taliban seems like it is now based in Pahkistan with its primary aim being flipping the coin again and rolling up the Northern Alliance. Iran is certainly providing convenient basing for some of the Taliban units. I see much greater correllation between Iran Intelligence Community and the Middle East operation for AQ. The damage we have caused to AQ in that area of the world has left them on OBL organization on a simular footing with other terrorist groups that are dependent on Iraq and Syria. They are now playing minor league ball. I am not an army type but the terrain doesn't look promising for military activity. The best chance for an overthrow of the reginem would be through massive simultaneaous civilian revolution. It hard to guess whether this can happen, but the internet coordinated "flash" demonstrations we have seen lately make me believe that anything can happen. It would be helpful if the organizers provided appropriate GPS coordnates to Donald Rumsfeld in a timely fashion. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-3 9:10:25 AM |
| #1 The US has its hands full with Iraq/Al-Qaeda for the time being. Iran will continue to be the same old story up until it is within arms length of the bomb. Then it will become priority numero uno, and it won't involve just the US. Any military action taken will be a joint Israeli/American effort, with my guess being that we won't know that the Israelis were involved 'til after the fact. As for Iran's support of terrorists, they have to take a number: SaudiLand, Syria & friends, Pakistan, are all in the same queue. The only difference is, if you want to get ahead in the queue, you have to go for something ambitious like making your very own A-bomb. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-9-3 5:13:51 AM |