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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Iraqi government releases the two Iranians.

These were not the two diplomats. These were the two military operatives who were allegedly supplying weapons and training to the Shia militias.
Two senior Iranian operatives who were detained by U.S. forces in Iraq and were strongly suspected of planning attacks against American military forces and Iraqi targets were expelled to Iran on Friday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

The decision to free the men was made by the Iraqi government and has angered U.S. military officials who say the operatives were seeking to foment instability here.....

"One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds Brigade."

(Remember that these two were captured in SCIRI leader al Hakim's compound. The same al Hakim who met with Bush two weeks ago to form a new "moderate" coalition. Their presence was inconvenient for the Iraqis.)

4 Comments:

  • It undercuts Lieberman's obfuscation in the Washington Post yesterday about how the conflict in Iraq is between Iran-backed terrorists and moderate Iraqis backed by the United States when the "moderate Iraqis" in the Maliki government demanded the U.S. release the Iranian agitators, doesn't it?

    By Blogger Reality-Based Educator, at 9:39 AM  

  • Exactly. This whole "moderate" thing is bull.

    SCIRI is "moderate" because 1) they are winning politically right now, and 2)they control the Interior ministry and are able to exact their violence semiofficially.

    Also, I've never understood how Iranians supplying thw two Shia factions are responsible for the roadside bombs being set off by the Sunnis. I'm not sure if Lieberman made that point yesterday, but he and many others have made it before.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:27 AM  

  • I'm not sure what point Lieberman made yesterday other than the one where he says you lack "courage, will, and vision" if you aren't going along w/ Preznut Bush's troops surge plan(what John Edwards is calling the McCain Plan but what I like to think of as the Bush/Cheney/Lieberman/McCain Plan.)

    Notice how Lieberman lacks the "courage, will and vision" to send his own kids and grandkids to the war?

    At least McCain puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to bearing SOME personal responsibility for the war. His son is there. But Lieberman and Bush and Cheney and Rummy and Rice have no personal stake in this war other than their own rather large, out-sized egos.

    It really does bother me that the loudest supporters of the war are by and large the people with no personal ties to it at all.

    By Blogger Reality-Based Educator, at 1:02 PM  

  • But that's the way it's been since WWII. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq. The elite have all gotten out of service.

    I've always been fascinated by the ethic that required the wealthy to serve in the civil war. Admittedly, they were officers, but there was an expectation that they would do their part for their country.

    And, that's true about McCain, but it's also true that his marine sone would like likely serve in Anbar under almost any plan except immediate pull out.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:50 PM  

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