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Post by jdredd on Jul 15, 2017 15:32:58 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-iraq-iranian-power.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news"BAGHDAD — Walk into almost any market in Iraq and the shelves are filled with goods from Iran — milk, yogurt, chicken. Turn on the television and channel after channel broadcasts programs sympathetic to Iran. A new building goes up? It is likely that the cement and bricks came from Iran. And when bored young Iraqi men take pills to get high, the illicit drugs are likely to have been smuggled across the porous Iranian border. And that’s not even the half of it. Across the country, Iranian-sponsored militias are hard at work establishing a corridor to move men and guns to proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon. And in the halls of power in Baghdad, even the most senior Iraqi cabinet officials have been blessed, or bounced out, by Iran’s leadership. When the United States invaded Iraq 14 years ago to topple Saddam Hussein, it saw Iraq as a potential cornerstone of a democratic and Western-facing Middle East, and vast amounts of blood and treasure — about 4,500 American lives lost, more than $1 trillion spent — were poured into the cause." And what is the American press crowing about now? We kicked ISIS out of Mosul. ISIS, another enemy of Iran. And I get criticized for rejecting our phony War on Terrorism.
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Post by jdredd on Aug 27, 2017 13:20:55 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2017/08/27/world/middleeast/hezbollah-iran-syria-israel-lebanon.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news"The roots of that network go back to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, when Iran called on Hezbollah to help organize Iraqi Shiite militias that in the coming years killed hundreds of American troops and many more Iraqis. Recent wars have allowed Iran to revive and expand the web, and some of the groups Hezbollah trained in Iraq are now returning the favor by sending fighters to Syria. More than just a political alliance, Hezbollah, whose name is Arabic for Party of God, and its allies have deep ideological ties to Iran. Most endorse vilayat-e-faqih, the concept that Iran’s supreme leader is both the highest political power in the country and the paramount religious authority. They also trumpet their goal of combating American and Israeli interests, while arguing that they fill gaps left by weak governments and fight Sunni jihadists like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State." How many billions have we tossed down the Iraqi rathole since Boy George invaded? And gosh, look at what we've gotten from it: Iran and Hezbollah riding high. But hey, they helped us whip ISIS, didn't they? Not that I think our so-called ally Saudi Arabia was really thrilled about that. But they have their hands full fighting Hezbollah backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Another 14 years of US blundering and who knows what the Middle East will look like. One of the problems (for our hegemony) is the re-emergence of old empires formerly suppressed by European military superiority: Iran and China. Perhaps the worm has turned against us.
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