Who Won the Iraqi-American War? Iran.
This article — by Gary Brecher — makes a lot of sense. Iran’s two worst enemies have been slugging it out for over four years now. What’s not for Iran to love?
Iran probably didn't plan any of this, but things couldn’t be working out any better for them if they had directed every detail. The ideal way to invade a country is by using a proxy instead of your own forces. Remember our own rightwing terrorists (oops, sorry, I mean “Freedom Fighters”) fighting in Nicaragua in the 1980s? We sure showed the Iranians how to do it.
Again, Iran probably didn’t plan or intend for us to invade Iraq. But like Gary Brecher says, “From the enormous advantage gained by Iran via our invasion of Iraq, you would think that Dick Cheney is a mole for the Ayatollah.”
Iran’s main rival has now been obliterated and the Shiites (the majority sect in Iran) have the upper hand in Iraq. And we've “provided Iran with a risk-free laboratory to spy on American forces in action.”
According to Brecher, Iraq is like a nuclear reactor that Iran can control by inserting and removing control rods. He says:
“They need to keep us there, because — makes me sick to say it but it's true — our troops are now the biggest, strongest control rod the Persians are using to set the temperature of this war. They want us there as long as possible, stoking the feuds and making sure nobody wins.”
Another benefit of a long bloody regional war is the money and supplies that come pouring into neighboring countries. Iran (and Syria) must have tons of money and supplies coming into their border provinces. As Brecher says, “Need any U.S.-issue supplies, weapons, toilet paper, or global positioning system units cheap? Just ask at any bazaar in Damascus or Tehran. Uncle Sam's guarantee of quality — fell off the back of a two-and-a-half ton truck.”
The Vietnam war — with all the money pouring into the region — helped transform Thailand from a feudal backwater into a bustling tourist magnet and major economic power. Looks like the Iraqi-American war will be providing the same benefit for Iran and Syria. We sure know how to sock it to our enemies.
Labels: Cheney, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Syria, Thailand, Vietnam
posted by Tom Harper @ 1:01 AM
14 Comments:
Great post. I suppose eventually we'll be supporting the Sunnis in a war against the Shiites and Iran. That whole are is just such a freakin' nightmare.
J. Marquis: Thanks. You're right, that whole area is so different from anything we understand. The culture, the whole dynamic -- we have no idea what we're doing over there.
Sorry Tom but we DO KNOW what we are doing over there, we're liberating them remember? Yeah right! The only thing we are doing over there is sitting like sitting ducks waiting to be target practice! I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, CANNOT STAND SHRUB & CO.
Funkytown Fighter: Ah yes, liberating them, I forgot. Fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here, etc.
How did we get to this point? It's sad, really. Just absolutely frustrating situation.
Political Realm: Yup, sad is right. Nothing like finding out our "leaders" have been a pawn for a country they hate.
I cant see why Bush just cant let this war be over and bring our troops home... it matter not who won.
Iran, Al Qaeda and all the other countries over there have won, when they see this NUT use all our resources to fight this war and neglect the American citizens for the sake of a war that should have been finished when we captured Saddam.
Let's Talk: Or even better (as some people have suggested), we could just declare victory and leave. Hussein and his 2 sickfuck sons are dead; we've achieved the "regime change" that Bush kept yelping about. "Mission Accomplished," etc. We won; let's get the fuck out of there.
No doubt al Qaeda and all the Arab governments are laughing up their sleeves at us for depleting all our resources over there.
Excellent post, Tom... but I have to ask you: Why do you hate America?
Hehehehe, just kidding.
Funkytown is right, Tom! We are winning hearts and minds over there in Iraq, right? And more and more Muslims are siding with us everyday. Problem is, those who are siding with us re. our war strategy ARE most likely holed up in government buildings in Tehran.
The Middle Eastern folks who don't like us are doing what Reagan supposedly did to the Soviet Union... causing it to spend a disproportionate amount of money on its military and related efforts, to the point where the nation starves financially and collapses. The rightwingers' deification of Reagan is another soapbox altogether (J. Marquis addresses it nicely with an article by Joe Conason at J.'s blog, Major Conflict). I don't think Reagan can be credited with a whole lot besides being a midwife for modern neoconservatism, but I digress.
When Republican politicians begin to jump off of Bush's ship in greater numbers during the next year and a half, I will be less likely to refer to them as rats than I will likely refer to them as lost political souls who have found their way back to the real, thinking world.
When any Republican stands up against Dumbya, he or she ought to be praised for bravery in the face of pressure, adversity and heavy-duty arm-twisting and fear of retaliation. I believe more of these politicians will find their bravery during the coming months. Come this fall, I'm guessing the GOP will be just about out of patience with Bush, and there will be a significant increase in the number of GOP House and Senate members who will be considered "traitors" by the regime.
Let's just get the handful of control freaks out of the people's house already, and give America back to the people.
Snave: Yup, I confess, I hate America and I want the terrorists to win.
You're right, we're doing exactly what the Soviet Union was doing in the late '80s before they collapsed. We're spending ourselves into oblivion and stretching all our resources to the breaking point. "Midwife for modern neoconservatism" -- yup, that's Reagan. History will see him that way, even if today's Republicans are so busy swooning and gushing over him that they can't think straight.
I hope you're right that more rats (or lost souls) will keep deserting the sinking ship.
Saw an interesting point on the Daily Show last night. We've essentially made Iraq what Bush made it out to be before we invaded (minus Saddam now, of course)--country in chaos, presence of al qaeda, source of terror, etc.
Political Realm: Yup, talk about your self-fulfilling prophecies. Iraq is in chaos, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are there -- we need to invade them. Regime change now! Don't worry, it'll be a cakewalk.
I had this dream that Bush and Cheney were secret agents working for Iran. Must be either that greasy donut I ate or something I saw on television.
Anonymous: Sounds like a terrible dream. Or maybe it wasn't a dream...
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