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Iraq
US Forces Release One Iranian Following Raid On Consulate
2007-01-13
US forces on Friday released one Iranian out of the six they detained in a raid on the Iranian consulate in the Kurdish city of Arbil the previous day. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called on the US-led coalition forces to release the other five Iranians, Arab media reported Friday.

The Kurdish regional government condemned the US raid. "The attack on a consulate having immunity under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is against the efforts exerted to establish stability all over Iraq," a spokesman said.

US forces accompanied by military helicopters stormed the Iranian consulate in Arbil, arresting six Iranian employees and confiscating documents and computers. The US military said in a statement Thursday that the detainees were "suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and coalition forces."

"The detainees will be questioned and the seized documents and equipment will be examined to determine the extent of the alleged illegal or terrorist activity," the statement added.

Sunni Arabs in Iraq accuse Iran of supporting Shiite militias in the country and of participating with its own fighters in murder campaigns against Sunnis.
Posted by:Fred

#12  Same for nearly the entire Shiite leadership a decade later.

Ignore that. I decided to write further on the Shiite exiles.
Posted by: ed   2007-01-13 21:08  

#11  Most of the Kurd leadership lived in exile in when they sided with Iran (back to the days of the Shah) against Saddam Hussein's regime. Only with the US imposed No Fly Zone where they able to return. For example Talabani, received the bulk of his money, arms and political support from Iran. And I'd trust the Barzanis even less. Also notice the western exiled and backed Shiite leaders have been murdered, exiled or marginalized.

Same for nearly the entire Shiite leadership a decade later.
Posted by: ed   2007-01-13 21:06  

#10  steve

possible reasons
1. Theyre preparing an attack on the Sunnis in Kirkuk, and the Persians, trying to stir something up, were providing THEM with weapons (enemy of my enemy and all that) and theyre pissed, esp as the Shiites down south are still getting THEIR weapons
2. Prestive. "we finally got some diplo activity in Irbil, even if it IS the mad mullahs, and weve got to act like a sovereign govt, since thats what we want to be"
3. Deference to allies - for now Maliki and the Shiites run things, and are the Kurds allies against the Baathists and Sunnis, and to let it go would have breached that alliance.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2007-01-13 17:33  

#9  The Kurdish regional government condemned the US raid.

And why exactly are the Kurds bent out of shape over this?
Posted by: SteveS   2007-01-13 16:22  

#8  Ya' mean they didn't release him from 10 thousand feet over the Iraq/Iran border?

Drat!

Posted by: FOTSGreg   2007-01-13 15:34  

#7   clueless Jimmy "Howdy Doody" Carter
Let's not give Howdy Doody a bad name, here. That puppet had at least THREE TIMES as much common sense as Jimmah "peanut-brain" Kahtah.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-01-13 14:59  

#6  Iran's apparently not been sitting still either.

"One has to wonder why it is they (Iran) have increased their supply of these kinds of lethal weapons to extremists Shi'a groups in Iraq, provoking violence, attacks on coalition forces and others. And one wonders if their policy towards Iraq may not have shifted to a more aggressive posture than it has been in the past."
Posted by: doc   2007-01-13 12:33  

#5  First - the building raided apparently was NOT a consulate.
http://www.nysun.com/article/46598

Second - someone's not done his homework re: Vienna Convention of 1963.

Relevant text:


Article 55
RESPECT FOR THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE RECEIVING STATE

1. Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.

2. The consular premises shall not be used in any manner incompatible with the exercise of consular functions.

3. The provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not exclude the possibility of offices of other institutions or agencies being installed in part of the building in which the consular premises are situated, provided that the premises assigned to them are separate from those used by the consular post. In that event, the said offices shall not, for the purposes of the present Convention, be considered to form part of the consular premises.

http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/texts/BH444.txt


Posted by: doc   2007-01-13 12:26  

#4  Fallon might want to get a message to the kurds that says something like, "Don't make me kill you motherf'ers."
Posted by: Mike N.   2007-01-13 09:53  

#3  "The attack on a consulate having immunity under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963"

Take that up with Tehran. Something about American consulate personnel being held for over a year back during the time of clueless Jimmy "Howdy Doody" Carter.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2007-01-13 09:28  

#2  I vote we collect an even 100; then we'll talk.
Posted by: Bobby   2007-01-13 06:52  

#1  Which one? If he has diplomatic immunity, then sign me up for bombing the hell out of all of them
Posted by: Dunno   2007-01-13 01:00  

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