Focus Shifts from al Qaeda in Iraq to Iran in Iraq

by: Brandon Friedman

Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:19:56 AM EDT


Al Qaeda
Iraq
Iran

In a rare display of transparency, the Bush administration has now fully demonstrated that it has no idea who we're fighting in Iraq.  From the Washington Post:  

Last week's violence in Basra and Baghdad has convinced the Bush administration that actions by Iran, and not al-Qaeda, are the primary threat inside Iraq, and has sparked a broad reassessment of policy in the region, according to senior U.S. officials.

Evidence of an increase in Iranian weapons, training and direction for the Shiite militias that battled U.S. and Iraqi security forces in those two cities has fixed new U.S. attention on what Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday called Tehran's "malign" influence, the officials said.

The intensified focus on Iran coincides with diminished emphasis on al-Qaeda in Iraq as the leading justification for an ongoing U.S. military presence in Iraq.

Word has it that once this confrontation flops, the Bush administration will make either the Kurds or the Yezidis our primary enemy in Iraq.  The Chaldean Catholics are also a possibility.

Brandon Friedman :: Focus Shifts from al Qaeda in Iraq to Iran in Iraq
Tags: , , , , , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email
Well the interesting thing (0.00 / 0)
about all of this is that the Sadrists have no intentions of attacking US soil and probably never will.  So, if we have truly shifted from AQI to JAM/Special Groups then that pathetic warmongering anthem "fight them there, so we don't fight them here" becomes completely and totally defunct.  Which means we are in fact involved in a civil war, trying to keep people from toppling the government. The administration probably misses the good ol' days of pushing AQI as a threat, it certainly helped garner support from the illogical and ill-informed.  Ultimately Iraq will become what the people of Iraq make it, no matter how long we stay . . .  

Didn't President Bush and VP Cheney say oil justifies the occupation? (0.00 / 0)
Both President Bush and VP Cheney recently claimed that the occupation of Iraq must continue to keep al Qaeda from getting control of the oil fields.

Never mind, "we've always been at war with Eastasia."  


Iranian proxies suck... (0.00 / 0)
...but it's still a lot more complex than just a military solution.

Especially considering (0.00 / 0)
the tight relationship between Maliki, the United Iraqi Alliance, the Al-Dawa Party, SCIRI, the Badr Corps, and Iran.  The only "military solution" would pretty much have to go the way of "kill them all, let Allah sort them out."  

Anyone wondering why the most recent cease fire was brokered in Iran by a group that our government has designated as a "terrorist organization"?

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama


[ Parent ]
I think (0.00 / 0)
AQI is being written off too soon. How do we know that they are not simply laying low, using our recent conflict with JAM to regroup. The Administration is jumping to Iran, when AQI is not even finished yet!

Yeah (0.00 / 0)
It certainly has a familiar ring to it.  

[ Parent ]
VetVoice on Facebook
VetVoice Recommends

"The War I Always Wanted,"
By Brandon Friedman

"The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic." --Military Times

"Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature." --Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire

Buy The War I Always Wanted here.

"A Time To Lead,"
By General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark

"A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration." --General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State

"This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life." --Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)

Buy A Time to Lead here.

"Love My Rifle More Than You,"
By Kayla Williams

"Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq." --Booklist

". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle." --Publishers Weekly

". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq." --Bookmarks Magazine

Buy Love My Rifle More Than You here.

"How to Break a Terrorist,"
By Matthew Alexander

"...a riveting, fast-paced account that reads like a first-rate thriller." --Publisher's Weekly

" ...an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the secret intelligence war within a war." --Military.com

Buy How to Break a Terrorist here.

RSS Feed Links

Subscribe to VetVoice in a feed reader!

Subscribe to VetVoice by Email!

Diaries and comments at VetVoice do not necessarily represent the views of VoteVets.org. VetVoice will strive to remove any illegal material as soon as it is flagged. Similarly, VetVoice will use its discretion in determining whether to remove exceedingly offensive material. However, between posting and removal, any offensive or illegal material does not reflect the condoning or endorsing of said material by VoteVets.org or VetVoice.
Similarly, the views expressed on this website are those of the authors alone. Opinions on this website do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or any of its components.
Menu

Front Page Writers
PTSD Resources
TBI Resources
IRR Information
Casualty Reports
VA Information
Support the Troops
Veteran Candidates We Support
Congressional Committees
Contact Your Elected Leaders
Sites We Like
Search

Advanced Search

Paid for VoteVets Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. VoteVets Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families. VoteVets Political Action Committee is a federal political committee which primarily helps elect Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran candidates and educates about veterans and military issues aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.

Site Design: Articulated Man

VoteVets Political Action and Vote Vets Action Fund are separate organizations.

Powered by: SoapBlox