Iranian influence in Basra
I found this Guardian piece a gripping read as it gives an inside look at the militia movement and Iranian influence in Basra. This exerpt is the significant takeaway, but the color and detail throughout the article are important.
"They [the Iranians] don't give us weapons, they sell us weapons: an Iranian bomb costs us $100, nothing comes for free. We know Iran is not interested in the good of Iraq, and we know they are here to fight the Americans and the British on our land, but we need them and they are using us.".
posted by mikevotes at
6:58 AM
4 Comments:
And I think that, if not for the occupation by Western forces (American) the Iranians would have very little influence. Another example of Americans digging a hole and wondering why the walls are caving in.
By
-epm, at 12:07 PM
I would tend to disagree.
I still think Iran would be the top foreign influence because of their long, historic ties to the SCIRI leadership, but the ties would be political, not military, and the relationship would be far more balanced as the Iraqi Shia would not be as dependent.
Just an opinion.
By
mikevotes, at 1:27 PM
Hezbollah's performance last summer may have influenced Mahdi in accepting command and control from Iran, if this report is accurate.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 7:14 PM
Interesting point. Tactics and training are a a pretty strong bargaining chip.
It's not clear the degree to which Iran is "giving orders" at the various levels, whether Iran can "order" within the Mahdi structure, or is giving parallel leadership to some of the lower commanders.
Sadr has really made his name as an Iraqi nationalist, so you would think that at the very least, the top level would be leery or very discreet over any contacts.
By
mikevotes, at 9:04 PM
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