US troops in Iraq are Tehran's 'hostages'

[bemildred]

Sound analysis.

WASHINGTON - For many months, the administration of US George W Bush has been complaining that Iranian meddling in Iraq is a threat to the country's stability and to US troops. The irony of this publicity campaign over Tehran's alleged bid to undermine the occupation is that Iran may well be the main factor holding up a showdown between militant Shi'ites and US forces.

The underlying reality in Iraq, which the Bush administration does not appear to grasp fully, is that the United States is now dependent on the sufferance of Iran and its Iraqi Shi'ite political-military allies to continue the occupation.

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Since then, US officials have avoided giving any estimate of the Mehdi Army's strength. But according to a report published last month by London's Chatham House, which undoubtedly reflected the views of British intelligence in Iraq, the Mehdi Army may now be "several hundred thousand strong". Even if that estimate vastly overstates his troop strength, it reflects the sense that Muqtada has the strongest political-military force in the country - because of the loyalty that so many Shi'ites have to him.

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If Muqtada and his followers are already preparing for a showdown with the US occupation forces, the only factor that appears to be restraining the Mehdi Army now is Iran. After all, Tehran's interest lies not in forcing an immediate withdrawal of US forces, but in keeping them in Iraq as virtual hostages. The potential threat to US forces in Iraq in retaliation for an attack on Iran is probably Tehran's most effective deterrent to such an attack.

Asia Times

[cliss]

1. The key phrase in this article -

"The underlying reality in Iraq, which the Bush administration does not appear to grasp fully..."

Let's take a close look at that. Could it be, just possibly, that the war planners got themselves ensnared into a mess that they couldn't comprehend fully?

"The US is dependent on Iran"..... Now there's IRONY if I ever saw it.

How humilitating it must be right now, in Washington. And just imagine, how puzzling it must be for the Iraqis & Iranians, to watch the short-sighted planning, the endless litany of mistakes made, the wrong allegiances, botched operations, the list goes on and on.

They must be completely amazed, watching this.

[bemildred]

2. "couldn't comprehend fully?"

I'd say that is a safe bet, or even "couldn't comprehend reasonable well".

[elehhhhna]

4. Check out the tans on GW & Rummy and TRY to tell yourself

they're working. Working men don't sport tans like that.

[elehhhhna]

3. Lame Duck positions Sitting Ducks in Iraq, attacks Iran

I can see the headlines now.

FVcker wants to go out in a blaze of Glory...he'd better be riding the first bomb.

[rman]

5. What happened to Iran and Turkey bombing the Kurds

An enemy and an ally cooperating to slaughter some of the people we supposedly liberated.

Small wonder we haven't heard much about that after initial reports, though one would think there's some significance to it.

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The Guardian
Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraq's northern frontier
August 18, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1852843,00.html

Iran and Turkey have deployed 200,000 troops to the Kurdish border of Iraq. Reports, online for the US, have been circulating since July 22. The Iranians and Turks have been in skirmishes with Kurdish rebels, notably after the Kurds have become an independent entity in the region, or at least well on their way.

[mom cat]

6. The devil doesn't care if our troops are sitting ducks! The will use

any attacks on our troops as an excuse to go ballistic! :nuke:

He is holding them hostage on purpose! :grr:

[file83]

8. This is like the game of Chess, our troops are the pawns...

...and Bush is ready to sacrifice them. *cue annoying bush laugh*

[seafan]

7. More key passages from this Asia Times piece:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HI22Ak01.html"> US troops in Iraq are Tehran's 'hostages'

September 22, 2006

The Shi'ites have never forgiven the US for its "betrayal" in calling for an uprising against Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War and then standing by as Saddam slaughtered thousands of Shi'ite militants who took up arms. Most of them never supported the current occupation in the first place.

Wayne White, principal Iraq analyst for the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, recalls that polling done by the department soon after the US occupation began but never made public showed that a clear majority of Shi'ites were already opposed to it.

Growing anger at US military atrocities, combined with a rising sense of power in the Shi'ite community, have made Muqtada's readiness for a showdown with the US occupation forces enormously popular.

By last spring, the political atmosphere in the Shi'ite community was seething with hatred of the US and support for war against the occupation forces. In a May 6 story, Borzou Daraghi of the Los Angeles Times quoted a spokesman for the Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi Moderessi in Karbala, known in the past as a moderate, as saying the slogan at Friday prayers is "Death to America." The ayatollah reported that people were preparing for a military showdown with the US, saying, "The Americans won't leave except by the funerals of their sons."

snip

It would be surprising if Iran were not urging Muqtada to hold off on attacking the occupation forces until after the Bush administration had either reached a broad political agreement with Tehran or had been replaced in two years by an administration that would do so.
Only Iran's ability to persuade Muqtada to hold off on his effort to end the occupation can prevent a violent confrontation between Shi'ite militants and the occupation forces. But Bush's advisers may still not understand how fundamentally the power equation in Iraq has shifted.

"They don't think like that," Patrick Lang said. "They think they are still in charge."

*, the strutting, imperialist puppet has been beaten like a drum and he doesn't even know it.

Our troops are now pawns in a catastrophic game entirely of the neoconservatives' making.

I am at a loss to express how devastating this is for all of us.