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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Hezbollah heading into Iraq to fight US |
| 2004-06-20 |
| The radical Lebanese Shi’ite organization Hezbollah has been moving fighters to Iraq in recent months to battle American troops. According to American intelligence, the transfer has been carried out through Syria, following an Iranian initiative. The transit through Syrian territory is permitted by Damascus along its porous border with Iraq. The Hezbollah fighters moving to Iraq are part of a broader force of pro-Iranian militants that operates in Iraq to destabilize the country and undermine the Americans there. Analysts believe that the movement of the Hezbollah fighters to Iraq serves both Tehran and Damascus, which favor instability in Iraq for their own reasons. Iran is eager to see the Hezbollah fighters establish operations in Iraq before a new regime is installed in Baghdad. Still, there is no sign that Iran and its Lebanese surrogate are abandoning the friction along Lebanon’s border with Israel, which is still considered to be Hezbollah’s primary focus. In its interim report, the Congressional bipartisan commission of inquiry into the events of 9/11 states that the cooperation between the Hezbollah and Al-Qaida is extensive. American officials said recently that Syria has not seriously responded to American demands to seal its border with Iraq against the transit of "foreign fighters." According to U.S. sources, neither a letter to President Bashar Assad from Secretary of State Colin Powell nor the subsequent American decision to impose sanctions on Syria had the desired effect on Damascus. On the other hand, Syria over the weekend did extradite a terrorist suspect to France. The man had come into Syrian territory from Iraq and is suspected of being a deputy of Al-Qaida operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Intelligence sources note that the involvement of the Hezbollah in Iraq is restricted to operations in that country alone and does not include the movement of other radical Islamic elements for operations in southern Lebanon. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Bah. Iraq is the honeypot to which the ants go. Time to kill the nests. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2004-06-20 9:05:32 PM |
| #1 Iraq - the terrorist flypaper. Works for me. |
| Posted by: B 2004-06-20 12:57:48 PM |