Article

2007-07-17 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

NIE final draft: Iran Is a Lair of Al Qaeda

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Posted by lotp 2007-07-17 06:48|| || Front Page|| [11137 views ] Top

#1 Dan Darling said this same thing several years ago....he even named the bases they were located at..

Posted by Chenter Unimp7361 2007-07-17 07:18|| 2007-07-17 07:18|| Front Page Top

#2 Funny you should mention that name. Wonder if he had input to this?

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2007-07-17 07:21|| 2007-07-17 07:21|| Front Page Top

#3 Anyone else think this warrants a "Master of the Obvious" graphic? Or maybe a new one featuring Sherlock Holmes and a decided lack of excrement?

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2007-07-17 07:38|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2007-07-17 07:38|| Front Page Top

#4 The judgment that Iran has hosted Al Qaeda's senior leadership council is likely to draw some criticism from those outside the government who doubt Iran plays a significant role in bolstering Sunni jihadist terrorism. Iran's Shiite Muslims are considered infidels by the Salafi sect of Sunnis that comprise Al Qaeda.

Ignoring, of course, that we're considered even more abhorrent.

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2007-07-17 07:43|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2007-07-17 07:43|| Front Page Top

#5 An intelligence official sympathetic to the view that it is a matter of Iranian policy to cooperate with Al Qaeda disputed the CIA and State Department view that the Quds Force is operating as a rogue force. "It is just impossible to believe that what the Quds Force does with Al Qaeda does not represent a decision of the government," the official, who asked not to be identified, said. "It's a bit like saying the directorate of operations for the CIA is not really carrying out U.S. policy."

This guy needs to rethink his analogies. He's made me reconsider the idea of al-Quds being a rogue force...

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2007-07-17 07:47|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2007-07-17 07:47|| Front Page Top

#6 Remember when Bush was derided for including Iran in the "axis of evil"? Looks now like they're the "axle of evil": all spokes lead to the mullahs. It's long past time we dealt with them.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2007-07-17 07:52|| 2007-07-17 07:52|| Front Page Top

#7 Dan, Mansoor Ijaz and Michael Ledeen ...

Casus belli anyone?

Posted by doc 2007-07-17 08:33|| 2007-07-17 08:33|| Front Page Top

#8 Sabotage ...

Posted by doc 2007-07-17 08:35|| 2007-07-17 08:35|| Front Page Top

#9 In the aftermath of the failed deal, Al Qaeda's Iran branch has worked closely in helping to establish the group in Iraq. The late founder of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had multiple meetings with Mr. Adel after 2001. In the past year, the multinational Iraq command force has intercepted at least 10 couriers with instructions from the Iran-based Shura Majlis. In addition, two senior leaders of Al Qaeda captured in 2006 have shared details of the Shura Majlis in Iran.

OK, can we ALL now agree that Al Qaeda does have ties to Iraq (not to mention Iran), or is this one of those sneaky Chainey/Bushitler propaganda thingies? I get so confused sometimes.

Posted by BA 2007-07-17 10:06|| 2007-07-17 10:06|| Front Page Top

#10 It's a slam dunk, BA.

Posted by danking_70 2007-07-17 10:45|| 2007-07-17 10:45|| Front Page Top

#11 It's interesting, that just yesterday, we had the report of the huge buildup of the Air Force in Iraq. I mean, the Big Guys have been brought in.

Could be, when Congress removes all the "combat" troops, but leave some to fight Al Qaeda, our bombers are just gonna fly around dropping bombs.

More likely, Iran is seeing this buildup, just like having those carrier groups parade right under their noses.

Posted by Sherry">Sherry 2007-07-17 10:50|| 2007-07-17 10:50|| Front Page Top

#12 One can only hope, Sherry.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-07-17 12:03|| 2007-07-17 12:03|| Front Page Top

#13 Robert Crawford: re:rethinking analogies
You took the words from my mouth!

Posted by Angaiger Tojo1904">Angaiger Tojo1904 2007-07-17 12:53|| 2007-07-17 12:53|| Front Page Top

#14 Iran is perfect environment for B-2, B-52, Grim Reaper and AC-10's. In fact, USAF and USN have become more and more "surgical" in precision high-altitude bombing in last 5 years. Of I forgot the C-130's in case we have a few BLU-82Bs we want to kick out the door.

Posted by Jack is Back!">Jack is Back! 2007-07-17 15:32|| 2007-07-17 15:32|| Front Page Top

#15 I never believed the theory that Ayatollah Shiites would never support Sunni Wahabis. The final stage of the Sunni Shiite rivalry, is set for the "end of days," and we aren't there yet. Shiites join Sunnis in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Posted by McZoid 2007-07-17 21:04|| 2007-07-17 21:04|| Front Page Top

#16 Besides Amer Hiroshima(s), espec agz Dubya + USG-NPE, the catalyst for US-Iran conflict in the ME proper will likely be some kind of devastating, specific, casualty-intensive attack(s) inside Iraq on US milfors e.g. convoys, base camps/cities, etc.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2007-07-17 21:14|| 2007-07-17 21:14|| Front Page Top

#17 "Don't have to like each other ....but for the short term can unleash AL Qaeda against the United States". As per Communist-Maoist support of Radical Islamist groups and vice versa, as per Russia-China + SCO. D *** ng it, NO WEDDING CAKE, NO BACHELOR PARTY, NO BEER OR STRIPPIN' STRIPPERS, NOT EVEN A PRE- OR POST-HONEYMOON SEX VIDEO WE CAN STEAL AND SELL TO HOLLYWOOD!

Posted by JosephMendiola 2007-07-17 21:23|| 2007-07-17 21:23|| Front Page Top

#18 Of course, whether Quds is rogue or not is utterly immaterial to the key issue here - a typically flawed framework in which to consider the judgements of the NIE. If they're rogue, they can be made to be an intolerable issue if pain is inflicted on the regime; if they're not rogue, they can be made an intolerable issue if pain is inflicted on the regime. If they're directly attacked, they can be weakened and deterred (jesus christos on a pogo stick, folks, is there any enemy more fragile than our Iranian one, which has NEVER been confronted or made to pay a price - regular military, the navy, excepted, exactly 20 years ago this month, of course - I mean, come on?).

This is the inescapable and irrefutable logic of the situation. Every rigorous thought leads to essentially the same conclusion.

As I've whined before, most common sense folk in the palace were livid more than a year ago when the first clear confirmation of Iranian EFP/PIR meddling was reported at a very low classification level. It was obvious that good strategy, honor, and common sense demanded action. Instead, we got more of the same: nano-offensives to secure elections, preposterously over-ambitious schedules for handover to Iraqi forces, and the Belgium imitation in Ramadi and elsewhere (pretending we were some piddling power and couldn't decisively vanquish a few hundred inept gangsters).

Posted by Verlaine 2007-07-17 23:58|| 2007-07-17 23:58|| Front Page Top

23:58 Verlaine
23:47 Eric Jablow
23:45 Zenster
23:41 ed
23:41 Zenster
23:39 Phinater Thraviger
23:18 Verlaine
23:13 Super Hose
22:57 Zenster
22:45 Anonymoose
22:38 BA
22:37 Super Hose
22:36 W.O.P.R.
22:30 Super Hose
22:23 Super Hose
22:23 Sherry
22:17 Raider Ray
22:08 Odysseus
21:59 Super Hose
21:54 Super Hose
21:40 JosephMendiola
21:31 JosephMendiola
21:28 Mike N.
21:25 WTF