Iran, Pakistan helping "the Taleban"

Another bit as Gen. McChrystal's reports filters through the media. Pakistan and Iran are providing some aide to the militants. (Ihoose the word "militants," because "Taleban" has become overused to refer to all fighting forces rather than the discrete religiously driven groups coming out of Pakistan's tribal lands.)

As we know, elements in Pakistan's ISI, military, and government are providing direct support for Taleban proper, and also for some "nearby" groups, sharing not just their anti-US crusade of the moment, but their broader goals and motivations.

The Iranians can really be better said to support "militants" as they directly don't share Taleban intentions, but do see assistance as temporarily utilitarian in their tensions with the US. (Ironically, a much lower involvement version of the same game the US played in the Iran-Iraq war.)

Way too long an excerpt, and I'm not so sure of the description of "assistance," but this describes the relationship perfectly.

Iran has traditionally had an adversarial relationship with the Taliban, and McChrystal's report says that Tehran has played "an ambiguous role in Afghanistan," providing developmental assistance to the government even as it flirts with insurgent groups that target U.S. troops.

"The Iranian Quds Force is reportedly training fighters for certain Taliban groups and providing other forms of military assistance to insurgents," McChrystal said in the report. The Quds Force is an elite wing of the Revolutionary Guard that carries out operations in other countries.

McChrystal did not elaborate on the nature of the assistance, but Iran has been a transit point for foreign fighters entering Pakistan. Experts also cited evidence that Iran has provided training and technology in the use of roadside bombs.

U.S. intelligence officials said Iran appears to calibrate its involvement to tie down U.S. and coalition troops without provoking direct retaliation.

Iran's aim "is to make sure the U.S. is tied down and preoccupied in yet another theater," said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University. "From Iran's point of view, it's an historical area of interest and too good an opportunity to pass up."

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