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What Friends Are Made Of

What you might ask, would righteous Shiite mullahcracy Iran want with Baathis Sunni Syria?  Well, they asked the same about that alcohol-swilling apostate Saddam and Osama. It’s an enemy of my enemy thing:

Close relations between the two countries are evident, inter alia, in numerous reciprocal visits by their leaders and in statements made during these visits. Thus, for example, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameneideclared, during Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s February 2007 visit to Tehran, that Iran and Syriaconstitute a strategic depth for one another. [1] Strategic cooperation between the two countries was also expressed in statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,at a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji Al-Utri during his March 2007 visit to the country, when he said, “Iran and Syria have common enemies, [a circumstance] which requires perfect coordination vis-à-vis enemy plans, attainable through a maximal deepening of relations between them.” [2]

Assad, on his part, declared in Tehran in February 2007 that “enhancing relations between Tehran and Damascus is extremely important for solving the problems of the Islamic world, as well as for the progress of both Iran and Syria.” [3] Furthermore, in February 11, 2007 meeting marking the 28th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, held at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Al-Utri stressed that “strategic Syria-Iran cooperation and coordination are the only way to deal with the pressures and with the evil attack on them [by the West].” [4]

…

On July 21, 2007, correspondent for the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Ali Nourizadeh wrote, citing an Iranian source that had monitored the Damascus talks, that during Ahmadinejad’s visit a secret agreement had been signed on comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries. The agreement included the following articles: [7]

1. Iran will finance Syria’s purchase of weapons from Russia, Belarus, and North Korea, and will allocate $1 billion to the acquisition of 400 state-of-the-art Russian T-72 tanks, 18 Mig-31 jets, eight Sukhoi-24 bombers, and a number of Mig-8 helicopters.
2. In Syria, an industrial concern will be established by the Iranian aircraft and space industry for the production of medium-range missiles.
3. Factories for the production of missile launches for Nur, Arash, and Nazeat missiles will be established.
4. The Syrian army will receive Al-Barqa armored vehicles and Zolfaqar tanks produced in Iran.
5. The Syrian navy will receive C801 and C802 missiles manufactured in Iran, which are identical to Chinese surface-to-surface missiles.
6. Syrian navy and air force officers will be trained in Iran.
7. Syria will receive technological aid relating to nuclear research and chemical weapons.

What could they possibly want with that?

According to the paper, Ahmadinejad “undertook a commitment to support the Syrian position [vis-à-vis the political crisis] in Lebanon, to try to prevent the assembly of the Lebanese parliament [slated for September 25, 2007] designed to elect a new president, and to continue attempts to overthrow the [present] Lebanese government. In return, Damascus is expected to pledge not to enter into a peace process with Israel. [8] Ahmadinejad further stressed that his government would not conduct negotiations on the future of Lebanon without Syria’s consent and blessing. As for Iraq, Syria expressed greater willingness to maintain relations with the Al-Maliki government. At the same time, the two countries resolved to broaden their resistance to the U.S. and its partners in Iraq, in order to force it to withdraw.” [9]

Rebuttals to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report appeared in the Iranian press. For example, a July 22, 2007 editorial by the daily Kayhan, which is affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stated that “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat is one of the principal defenders of U.S. policy in the Middle East.” [10] Senior advisor to Ahmadinejad, Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, likewise dismissed the report, saying that “the lives of Zionists will not be lengthened by the false information that they are disseminating.” [11]

Well, nothing our standoff forces in Kuwait won’t be able to handle.  But if that’s all Zionist propaganda, does that make this guy a Zionist propagandist?

On March 2, 2007, following Assad’s visit to Iran, Mikhail ‘Awadh, a Lebanese columnist for the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, wrote: “The Syrian-Iranian alliance should be given credit for sustained opposition and confrontation vis-à-vis Western plans, in the face of the acquiescence by all lands and nations to America’s uncontested rule and to Washington’s hegemony over the entire world and the developments therein. For 15 years, since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has not been a single force in the world capable of saying ‘no’ to the Americans… except for the Syrian-Iranian alliance, along with its forces and allies…”

“In the context of [Assad’s] visit [to Iran] and its outcome, [there have appeared] statements, understandings, and indications showing that Syria and Iran recognize the accomplishments of their long-term strategic alliance, and that the leaderships of both countries… have consciously resolved to become a decisive force that directs events and forges the future [of the two countries]. Syria and Iran have firsthand knowledge of the scope of the crisis that the U.S. is facing in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, as well as in the [rest of] the region, in light of the changes in the balance [of power] in the international arena. They know [the crisis that besets the U.S.], just as a craftsman knows his craft and a farmer knows the fruits of his labor - since it was the [Syria-Iran] alliance that was the source of changes and modifications, as acknowledged by everyone including [the American] government establishment, judging by the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton report…

“Syria and Iran are well aware that the region is rapidly advancing towards a stage of vacuum, as it has been called, following a setback in the Western plan. Still, they are prepared to manage this stage and are quite capable of doing so, [their intention] being to fill this void in accordance with the Arab and Muslim interests and to end the decades of imperialist rule in the region…

“Syria and Iran know very well that the people and the nations in the region are more entitled and qualified to manage affairs [than any other force], for at present they are capable of bearing the burden and fulfilling their historical role [independently]. There is no need whatsoever for other countries to step into the shoes of the [West], whose rule in the area is diminishing and in crisis…

“Having won the battle against the failing U.S. and Western plans, the Syria-Iran alliance is prepared to coordinate the next stage - which will be, in practice, determined by this alliance and its role, and will be characteristically Arab and Muslim [i.e. not influenced by foreign elements].” [28]

Funny thing about megalomaniacal mass murderers, psychopathic tyrants, etc.  Usually, by the time they’re done, it’s really not such a surprise what they did. 

Topics: Iran, Syria

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:51 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2007

7 Responses to “What Friends Are Made Of”

1. RebeccaH Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 10:51 am

   Oh, let Nancy P. put on her hijab and go back over to play tickle-toes with Baby Assad and Ahmedanutjob. She’ll smooth it over.

2. tanstaafl Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 12:28 pm

   Yes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

   (at least for the moment or as long as it serves a purpose)

   Thus, religious fanatic Maynard Arachnidjihad can kiss atheist Oogoe’s cheeks.

   And Shi’ite Iran can cooperate with Syria as well as enable Sunni Hamas in Gaza.

   Thus Hezbollah’s Nasrallah can (likely) kiss the rings of the Al Qaeda guys stirring up the pot from the refuge of the Palestinian camps further north in Lebanon.

   When it comes to waging the broader fight or jihad, these people seem to have absolutely NO standards as to with whom they might partner.

   After the infidel is defeated, after Iran has absorbed Iraq, after Israel has been disappeared, after “the west” has been strangled by its dependence on ME oil, after Syria is back (to stay) in Lebanon,,,then the ancient hostilities can re-emerge and they can go back to duking it out amongst themselves.

3. saltydog Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

   Those reports can’t possibly be true because they don’t gibe with my preconceived theories about the Shi’a and Sunni (and I know because I read a book). And if they are true, it is only because they recognize the importance of pulling together to get Imperialist America out of the area, which is a just and noble cause.

4. 4iraqisfuture Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 2:04 pm

   Didn’t the last round of “UN security council” Sanctions make it clear Iran could not provide weapons for anyone? Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria…

   I know this article would qualifiy as an unconfirmed report but, come on, let’s do some digging. CIA? anybody?

   And giving Syria a billion dollars to buy weapons? What kind of a loop hole is that to get around the UN sanctions. I say force the transport planes between Iran and Syria down with F-16s and search them. Crater Damascus’ runway. And shave off Assad’s Hitler mustache while were at it.

5. saltydog Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pm

   How could I forget about the sanctions! If they aren’t careful, we might scowl at them and issue a sternly worded note of displeasure!

   Of course, that wouldn’t pass the vote. I don’t see anything more than a tsk tsk being issued. They might take a sternly worded note of displeasure out of context and be offended. Wouldn’t want that.

6. 4iraqisfuture Says:
   August 14th, 2007 at 7:36 pm

   UN sanction violations have led to justification for war elsewhere.

   A deadline to pass more Security Council economic sanctions against Iran came and went with nothing happening.

   Yes, sanctions are mostly useless but than can help focus the mind of war weary public. Iran’s economy is a house of cards.

   How does publicizing missed deadlines and international obligations not help make the case for war or strikes behind enemy lines?

7. 4iraqisfuture Says:
   August 15th, 2007 at 8:14 am

   China and Russia are alternately using each other to block our attempts to place UN sanctions.

   So we stepped outside that system.

   “The United States has decided to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a “specially designated global terrorist,” according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group’s business operations and finances.”

   What can US sanctions do?

   The administration’s move could hurt diplomatic efforts, some analysts said. “It would greatly complicate our efforts to solve the nuclear issue,” said Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Center for American Progress. “It would tie an end to Iran’s nuclear program to an end to its support of allies in Hezbollah and Hamas. The only way you could get a nuclear deal is as part of a grand bargain, which at this point is completely out of reach.”

   Such sanctions can work only alongside diplomatic efforts, Cirincione added.

   “Sanctions can serve as a prod, but they have very rarely forced a country to capitulate or collapse,” he said. “All of us want to back Iran into a corner, but we want to give them a way out, too. [The designation] will convince many in Iran’s elite that there’s no point in talking with us and that the only thing that will satisfy us is regime change.”

   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/14/AR2007081401662_pf.html

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