Iran, You Ran, We All Ran ...
This is a rather interesting bit from the Washington Post. I've cut it back a tad, and the snarky comments are italicized.
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism
Really????
U.S. Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff WriterSunday, April 2, 2006; Page A01
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
Well, Duh! Looks like somebody's actually starting to think up in Washington. It had to happen eventually.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
Ya think?
*** snip ***
But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
*** snip ***
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Shall we march on a road of bones, O Great Javad Cliche and Platitude Spouter?
*** big snip ***
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."
Saying things like this are probably the reason why he's a 'former' CIA analyst.
*** super snip ***
Iran's intelligence services "are well trained, fairly sophisticated and have been doing this for decades," said Crumpton, a former deputy of operations at the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. "They are still very capable. I don't see their capabilities as having diminished."
Probably better than the CIA, at any rate.
*** snippety-snip ***
Others in the law enforcement and intelligence circles have been more dubious about cooperation between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, largely because of the rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Al-Qaeda adherents are Sunni Muslims; Hezbollah's are Shiites.
Finally! Someone started paying attention!
Iran "certainly wants to remind governments that they can create a lot of difficulty if strikes were to occur," said a senior European counterterrorism official interviewed recently. "That they might react with all means, Hezbollah inside Lebanon and outside Lebanon, this is certain. Al-Qaeda could become a tactical alliance."
Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
Thanks, Julie.
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism
Really????
U.S. Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff WriterSunday, April 2, 2006; Page A01
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
Well, Duh! Looks like somebody's actually starting to think up in Washington. It had to happen eventually.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
Ya think?
*** snip ***
But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
*** snip ***
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Shall we march on a road of bones, O Great Javad Cliche and Platitude Spouter?
*** big snip ***
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."
Saying things like this are probably the reason why he's a 'former' CIA analyst.
*** super snip ***
Iran's intelligence services "are well trained, fairly sophisticated and have been doing this for decades," said Crumpton, a former deputy of operations at the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. "They are still very capable. I don't see their capabilities as having diminished."
Probably better than the CIA, at any rate.
*** snippety-snip ***
Others in the law enforcement and intelligence circles have been more dubious about cooperation between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, largely because of the rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Al-Qaeda adherents are Sunni Muslims; Hezbollah's are Shiites.
Finally! Someone started paying attention!
Iran "certainly wants to remind governments that they can create a lot of difficulty if strikes were to occur," said a senior European counterterrorism official interviewed recently. "That they might react with all means, Hezbollah inside Lebanon and outside Lebanon, this is certain. Al-Qaeda could become a tactical alliance."
Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
Thanks, Julie.
posted by Walt at 7:17 AM
2 Comments:
That's why I had - simply *had* - to excerpt it. It was so glaringly obvious as to be funny. But it's the kind of story that would be greeted as a revelation in the Bush White House, with so many palms being smacked against so many foreheads that it would seem to be a Three Stooges marathon.
Best way to make friends with a neighbor is to blow the hell out of his house. Bush logic, 101.
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