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Concern to be Expressed

By Iraqi government team in Tehran. NYT: 

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi prime minister is sending several senior Shiite leaders to Tehran to discuss their concerns that Iran is arming and financing militias in Iraq, senior Iraqi and American officials said Wednesday.

Iraqi officials including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have previously traveled to Iran, but this appears to be the first time that an elite delegation has been dispatched by Mr. Maliki to take up reports of Iranian intervention in Iraq.

American officials supported the trip, but portrayed it as the brainchild of Mr. Maliki. One American official described the Iraqis’ concern about Iran’s role as “the silver lining” to recent fighting between Shiite militias and Iraqi and American security forces in Basra and in the Sadr City area of Baghdad, a militia stronghold.

That sounds like a positive development. Though it’s beyond me which part of “Iran is arming and financing militias” etc., suggests Iran intends to behave in a genteel fashion and do anything more than offer tea and biscuits and tut reassuringly.  But you have to start somewhere and the first step is recognizing you have a problem.  The second is recognizing there is a higher power that can help you, at least until November. 

It isn’t easy for Iraq.  As the article goes on to note, Iraq shares a very long border with iran, and Iran has been seen as an important ally to Iraqi Shiites for years. Perhaps some of them are beginning to recognize that Iran is not actually a useful ally in gaining control of Iraq, but seeks to control Iraq.

Radio Free Europe: New U.S. report lists Iran as “most active” state sponsor of terrorism.

RFE/RL Washington correspondent Andrew F. Tully spoke about the report with Dell Dailey, the coordinator of the State Department’s Office for Counterterrorism.

RFE/RL: In your presentation at the State Department, you referred to Iran as the world’s “most-active” state sponsor of terrorism during 2007. Why?

Dell Dailey: They support the Taliban in Afghanistan. They support militant militias in Iraq. They support Hizballah, obviously, and they support Syria in its activities in Lebanon. So those four areas show that Iran’s busy. It’s busy meddling. It’s busy in the terrorist business. And since they are a nation state, there’s a certain amount of omnipotence that you can’t do with a nation state that you might be able to do with a nonstate actor. So that’s kind of why we put them at the very top.

Speaking of November, by the way, Hillary made news the other day by talking tough on Iran, but it’s one thing to make a cheap bid for votes by saying we’d “obliterate” Iran if it attacked Israel … hardly necessary, Israel would be ahead of us on that one. It’s something else entirely to be willing to directly confront a campaign of indirect attacks, and use force or its credible threat on people who use talk as cover for their use of force. Attacks on Israel, the obliteration of Iran all sound like pretty dire stuff. Imagine a Middle East, a world, in which that is happening. Things are bad enough over there as it is with Iran fomenting violence and instability From Lebanon to Afghanistan. It would be interesting to see at what point Hillary, or Obama for that matter, might want to act with any kind of determination to prevent such a massive catastrophe from taking place, maybe even stop the incremental march of catastrohpe before it reaches that point.

Belmont Club suggests an element of the “Washington Monument defense” for the Bush administration in getting Iraq out front in the confrontation with Iran. It will make it harder for a Clinton or Obama administration to pull up stakes, or maybe easier for them not to.  There’s no question that the Iraqi government facing facts and acting is a major step forward. But compelling Dems to maintain the status quo is only half the battle, if they aren’t willing to taking further steps to deal with the Iranian problem, and persist in the misconception that talking with Iran will facilitate a U.S. withdrawal.  

* WMD, oddly enough. Irony alert. The Dems who wish they had ignored Saddam Hussein are trying to stay ahead of the curve by ignoring Iran in advance.

Topics: Iran, Iraq

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:20 am on Thursday, May 1, 2008

3 Responses to “Concern to be Expressed”

1. Fatty Bolger Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 11:04 am

   Another positive political development in Iraq. Perhaps PM Maliki has been “misunderestimated?”

2. RebeccaH Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 10:34 pm

   I hope Iraq will take the tack that says: “Knock it off, or I’ll have my bodyguard mess you up.”

   Not that we would do it just for Iraq, of course.

3. MikeH Says:
   May 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 am

   “New U.S. report lists Iran as “most active” state sponsor of terrorism.”

   Maybe, but not very far out in front of Saudi Arabia. The Wahabis are the fount of all evil.

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