Real World

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Document: Iran Caught Red-Handed Shipping Arms to Taliban
June 06, 2007 6:00 PM

Brian Ross and Christopher Isham Report:

NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain.

"It is inconceivable that it is anyone other than the Iranian government that's doing it," said former White House counterterrorism official Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stopped short earlier this week of blaming Iran, saying the U.S. did not have evidence "of the involvement of the Iranian government in support of the Taliban."

But an analysis by a senior coalition official, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, concludes there is clear evidence of Iran's involvement.

"This is part of a considered policy," says the analysis, "rather than the result of low-level corruption and weapons smuggling."

Iran and the Taliban had been fierce enemies when the Taliban was in power in Afghanistan, and their apparent collaboration came as a surprise to some in the intelligence community.

"I think their goal is to make it very clear that Iran has the capability to make life worse for the United States on a variety of fronts," said Seth Jones of the Rand Institute, "even if they have to do some business with a group that has historically been their enemy."

The coalition analysis says munitions recovered in two Iranian convoys, on April 11 and May 3, had "clear indications that they originated in Iran. Some were identical to Iranian supplied goods previously discovered in Iraq."

The April convoy was tracked from Iran into Helmand province and led a fierce firefight that destroyed one vehicle, according to the official analysis. A second vehicle was reportedly found to contain small arms ammunition, mortar rounds and more than 650 pounds of C4 demolition charges.

A second convoy of two vehicles was spotted on May 3 and led to the capture of five occupants and the seizure of RPG-7mm rockets and more than 1,000 pounds of C4, the analysis says.

Also among the munitions are components for the lethal EFPs, or explosive formed projectiles, the roadside bombs that U.S. officials say Iran has provided to Iraqi insurgents with deadly results.

"These clearly have the hallmarks of the Iranian Revolution Guards' Quds force," said Jones.

The coalition diplomatic message says the demolition charges "contained the same fake U.S. markings found on explosives recovered from insurgents operating in the Baghdad area."

"We believe these intercepted munitions are part of a much bigger flow of support from Iran to the Taliban," the message says.

The Taliban receives larger supplies of weapons through profits from opium dealing, officials say, but the Iranian presence could be significant.

"It means the insurgency in Afghanistan is likely to be prolonged," said Jones. "It would be a much more potent force."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/...nt_iran_c.html

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

DarrylS

Read this, but here is what I do not understand, why would we not expect this?? If we were invaded by another country, wouldn't we expect Canada to send us some weapons?? I do not understand why this is such a big deal, in reality they all share the same religion, however there are different aspects of it. I would be surprised if they did not help out Iraq.

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Real World

I don't think people are necessarily surprised by it, as much as they want to put forth what Iran is doing. If Iran is helping it's own historical enemies, to fight the USA, then what does that say about how Iran views us.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Harry Boy

Where's all the WMD's Kerry and Uncle Teddy said Saddam had?

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

wistahpatsfan

Very little other than the fact that we're the only occupying army in the Muslim world and we are as foreign to them as White people were to the American Indians. They want us out as they wanted the Russians, would want the Chinese or any other infidel culture. They have a right to live as they please, and that means freely, worshiping their fu-ked-up religion (I know, that's redundant) and permitting no foreign armies on their soil. We just happen to be their latest pain in the arse. We pull out of Muslim lands, stop buying their oil and we never hear from them again.

PressCoverage

in the famous words of the thread author, i'll wait for multiple sources...

the second commentor there put it best:

Please don't become part of the new neo con push for a new war in Iran. Check and double check your sources. We had far too much of the media serving as the mouthpiece for this administration leading up to the Iraq war. We don't need another media encouraged disaster.

Here's a fact to consider: the Iranian government is Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni - hard core Sunnis. These people do not have a common cause. They have been at odds with each other since the 7th century.

Please check your sources!!

patsfan13

According to the Islamist the Christians are still occupying Spain, since it was once the dominion of the Moors nad the Russians are still occupying Muslim territory in Russia and the Fillipino's are still ocupying Muslim territory and the Indians.... and so on.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

wistahpatsfan

...And the Irish are pissed because Spain was once Celtic lands as well as most of Europe. The Norwwegians have held on to their claim that all Viking cities from Labrador to Palestine should be returned. And lets not forget the plight of the Australian Aborigines who were pushed out of India and got stuck on Australia when the seas rose and flooded the Malay peninsula...
The beat goes on.....

patsfan13

Most of the others you cite aren't acting on their ancient greivences.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

wistahpatsfan

I was just pointing out the absurdity of the situation on the whole. No one is justified by such actions, but each one has a case. Is there any doubt that the English would still be in Ireland if the Irish had not used force and violence to expel them in the 1920's? Would the Russians have left Afghanistan without the pressure from the Mujahadeen? Sometimes it has to come to that, unfortunately. The problem comes when an occupying army overstays its welcome, as we saw in Iraq the day after WMDs were not found...if you know what I mean.