ENEMIES OF U.S. ARE FRIENDS OF IRAN
By Lt. Col. Rick Francona, military analyst
MSNBC
Aug 16 2007
Military Analysis
Iran backs a former enemy to combat American and pro-Western troops
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has accused Iran of not
only supplying money, weapons and training to Shia militias in
Iraq, but also accuses Tehran of supplying weapons to the Taliban
in Afghanistan. This would represent a reversal of Iran’s past
relationship with the Taliban; Iran supported the Afghan Northern
Alliance against the Taliban in the late 1990’s until the Taliban
was ousted by the American invasion in 2001.
Why would Iran now support its former enemy? Simple. Iran’s former
enemy is now the enemy of the United States. In other words, as they
say in the Middle East, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." It’s
the same reason the United States supported Iraq against Iran in the
1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. Our support to the regime of Saddam Hussein
was not about helping Iraq or Saddam, it was about containing Iran.
When Tehran sends weapons to the Taliban, it is not about supporting
the Taliban. It is about combating American troop presence and the
American-backed government in Kabul.
Tightening the noose Put yourself in Iran’s position. Look at a map
of the region and consider the changes that have taken place since
2001. You might begin to feel isolated and surrounded.
To the east, Afghanistan is run by an American-backed government, not
to mention the presence of tens of thousands of American, NATO and
other pro-Western troops. To the southeast is Pakistan, an American
ally in the war on terrorism. To the south across the Persian Gulf are
the six pro-American Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation council
(Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait)
that are concerned about your nuclear weapons and missile programs,
military modernization and the desire to export your brand of the
Islamic Revolution. On your western border is Iraq, currently hosting
150,000 American troops.
The northern tier does not look any more comforting. To the northwest
is Turkey, a NATO member also concerned about your nuclear and missile
programs. North of your border are the former Soviet republics of
Azerbaijan and Armenia – both pro-West. The only potential bright spot
is northern neighbor Turkmenistan, which seemed to be leaning your
way until the death of the former president. Now the new president
is playing the Russia card, prompting Iranian prime minister Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad to travel to the area in hopes of retaining at least one
friend on the border. All three newly independent states are members
of NATO’s Partners for Peace program.
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>From the Iranian perspective, the inescapable conclusion when
looking at the borders — America’s allies are beginning to tighten
the noose. If it’s not American troops, it’s NATO (take a look at
Afghanistan). If not NATO, it’s the NATO Partners for Peace program
members. To make matters worse, America’s European allies have imposed
sanctions, however ineffective, over the uranium enrichment issue.
Supporting America’s enemies Any decision for Iranian support to
groups who are opposing the Americans comes directly from Tehran. Those
orders are given to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force,
the elite special operations and covert action organization that has
seen action in Lebanon, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq and now apparently
Afghanistan. The Iranians are feeling the pressure as economic
sanctions and diplomatic isolation takes its toll. They believe
they must respond to try to counteract what they perceive as growing
American/Western influence in the region.
The obvious way to do this is to increase support the Iraqi Shia
militias they have been supporting for years. These militias
include the Badr Corps of the Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) under Abdul Aziz Hakim and probably-and
of more concern-the militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, the Jaysh al-Mahdi,
commonly known as "the JAM." The American command in Iraq claims that
they have captured Iranian-made explosively formed projectiles, the
deadly Iranian-made, armor-piercing munitions used in roadside bombs
responsible for killing over 100 American troops. Additionally, Iranian
training to these militia groups has resulted in much more accurate
and effective mortar and rocket attacks against coalition targets.
It may be that the Iranians have determined that their best bet to
break what they believe is the stranglehold on their country is to
expand their relationships with other countries in Central and South
Asia. In addition to supplying weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan,
they are stepping up diplomatic contact with Turkmenistan. Both Iranian
president Ahmadinejad and the president of Turkmenistan are attending
the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),
a regional organization consisting of Russia, China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, possibly hoping to join the
group. This would be a good move for Iran, since both SCO members
Russia and China are permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council and have veto authority over potential resolutions that
increase sanctions on Iran.
Iran continues to be a pariah nation and perceives itself to be
surrounded by hostile, or at least pro-American regimes. We should
not be surprised that they are supporting the Taliban. Will we next
see an alliance between the Iranians and the ultimate anti-American
group, al-Qaida? After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.