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I'm going to hold my complete opinion on the matter until we see more evidence on display to the public. I will, however, bring a bit of initial skepticism to the plate, including neocon darling Hamid Karzai's wonderful relationship with Iran:
| quote: | President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan gave Iran his full embrace yesterday, saying it has been his country's "very close friend," even as US officials meeting with him here repeated their accusation that Iranian-made weapons were flowing to Taliban fighters.
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Karzai made the remarks at a joint news conference following a meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who was in Afghanistan for nearly 24 hours to meet with US commanders and Afghan officials. Gates said he raised the issue of the Iranian munitions in his meeting with Karzai, but acknowledged that there was no evidence the Iranian government was behind the alleged shipments.
When asked whether he believed Tehran, which has been mostly a benign presence in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, had decided to change course and support its former foes, Karzai gave an impassioned backing for the Iranian government. He called it a force for good inside Afghanistan.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/ar...ry_close_friend |
It appears on the surface just a bit too ridiculous that these two mortal enemy groups are somehow "teaming up" to attack their common enemy, given the history between the two.
And something else is quite interesting. Our Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns had this to say:
| quote: | The United States has "irrefutable evidence" that Tehran is transferring arms to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, a top U.S. diplomat told CNN Wednesday, noting that NATO forces have intercepted some of the arms shipments.
"There's irrefutable evidence the Iranians are now doing this and it's a pattern of activity," U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiap...iban/index.html |
In case you feel like the guy's striking a familiar chord, well then let me cast your mind back to this point in time last February when Burns had this "evidence" of Iranian gov't involvement:
| quote: | I'll resist the temptation to draw an organizational chart, for obvious reasons. They're part of the Iranian defense and intelligence establishment. They're a major part of the Iranian government. Therefore, the actions of that force are the responsibility of that government. If that force is supplying technology for Shiite militants, that government is responsible.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002576.php |
To which our former Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace had to bitch-slap Burns back into reality:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17129144
So what I'm initially highly skeptical of is, once again, the government of Iran being behind this, rather than certain likely well-funded interest groups, much in the same manner that many interest groups from other Middle East countries love dabbling into this whole mess. In fact, this is what U.S. Army General Dan Mcneill had in mind as well:
| quote: | McNeill, the commander of 36,000 troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said the indications cut both ways. There is "ample evidence" Iran is helping the Karzai government, particularly with road construction and electricity in western Afghanistan, but Iran may also have helped the Taliban and other political opponents of Karzai, he said.
"So what does that add up to?" McNeill said. "It makes me think of a major American corporation that will give political campaign money to three or four different candidates for president of the United States. ... This corporation wants to be aligned with whomever comes out on top."
McNeill, a 60-year-old four-star general from North Carolina who has fought in most American conflicts since Vietnam, said he had no hard evidence that the Iranian government has helped the Taliban. He said munitions, particularly mortar rounds, "clearly ... made in Iran" have been found on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but said that does not prove that the Iranian government is formally involved in aiding Taliban fighters.
"If I had the information, I would have no reservation about saying it," he added.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiap...n.ap/index.html |
I think this is a more considerable worthy assessment versus the bullshit Burns is attempting to churn out once again, at least that's my initial thoughts on the matter. We'll see how this one plays out (and judging by historical standards on predictions and UBER-MEGA-ULTRA-BREAKING pro-war findings in the past, I'll remain leaning towards the check-but-verify stance until irrefutable public evidence is on full display).
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Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...
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. Thanks for the laugh man 
.
