BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 — Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad outlined an ambitious plan on Sunday to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq — including an Iranian national bank branch in the heart of the capital — just as the Bush administration has been warning the Iranians to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Iran’s plan, as outlined by the ambassador, carries the potential to bring Iran into further conflict here with the United States, which has detained a number of Iranian operatives in recent weeks and says it has proof of Iranian complicity in attacks on American and Iraqi forces.
The ambassador, Hassan Kazemi Qumi, said Iran was prepared to offer Iraq government forces training, equipment and advisers for what he called “the security fight.” In the economic area, Mr. Qumi said, Iran was ready to assume major responsibility for Iraq reconstruction, an area of failure on the part of the United States since American-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein nearly four years ago.
“We have experience of reconstruction after war,” Mr. Qumi said, referring to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. “We are ready to transfer this experience in terms of reconstruction to the Iraqis.”
Mr. Qumi also acknowledged, for the first time, that two Iranians seized and later released by American forces last month were security officials, as the United States had claimed. But he said that they were engaged in legitimate discussions with the Iraqi government and should not have been detained.
Mr. Qumi’s remarks, in a 90-minute interview over tea and large pistachio nuts at the Iranian Embassy here, amounted to the most authoritative and substantive response the Iranians have made yet to increasingly belligerent accusations by the Bush administration that Iran is acting against American interests in Iraq.
President Bush has said the American military is authorized to take whatever action necessary against Iranians in Iraq found to be engaged in actions deemed hostile.
Deeply distrustful of Iran, the White House has expressed scepticism about Tehran's plans to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq.
The US has accused Iran of supporting terrorism and supplying weapons to kill American forces.
"If Iran wants to quit playing a destructive role in the affairs of Iraq and wants to play a constructive role, we would certainly welcome that," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
But, he added: "We have seen little evidence to date (of constructive activities) and, frankly, all we have seen is evidence to the contrary."
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BigDog, the closest link that you might find probably will be the Khost tunnel complex. The Pakistani journalist, Ahmed Rashid has written extensively about it, of course, sources in this part of the world do not have youtube credits. This is not part of the "official" record, but the training camp he ran a stones throw away is ...with it's 9,000 members. Essentially, this mountain cavernous complex was used to store arms for Hikmetyar's insurgency into Tajikistan in 1987. It is highly doubtful that these contracts would be on the public record, and if they were; they'd be scrubbed by now. John Loftus has stated that most of the files regarding the Muslim Brotherhood have been removed from the national archives - if those were then you can count your doughnuts anything in that time period would be so too. Nonetheless, Richard Clarke, stated that he believed he was hand picked by Prince Turki al-Faisal. It is highly unbelievable that the son of bin-Laden, was just wondering around Peshawar in the early 80's un-noticed. http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=osama_bin_laden
On another note, Robert Baer's new book "Blow the House Down". tells a very eerie "fictional" tale regarding the fractionation
between the kingdom of the Saudi empire and the death cult of Shia'ism in Iran. Not to give the plot away, but if you remember OBL last tape before the 03 Iraq war, you might loose some sleep.
Robert Fisk's latest book "The Great War for Civilization: War and Journalism in the Middle East, has an account of his interview with OBL ( I think the year was 1997) in Afghanistan, were he states that he was never "employeed" by the CIA during his time there. There is also a passing mention that his appartment in Sudan was assualted by two assailents, who were killed in the battle by his body guards. Who knows what really happened??? Probably, the French, or Ali Mohamed would, but, I doubt they have any inclination too discuss such things.
The most plausible conspiracy theory concerning 9/11 climate is that these terrorist were interwoven into a sanctioned heroin pipeline, and then used to spearhead the next great war: the war to re-map the Middle East, and ferment the need for "stable" continental economic unions. From Madcowprod: During the same month that Atta and his bodyguard Marwan Al-Shehhi began flying lessons at Huffman Aviation, (July, 2000) flight school owner Wally Hilliard’s Lear jet was seized on the runway of Orlando Executive Airport by DEA agents who found 43-pounds of heroin onboard.
http://www.madcowprod.com/02212006.html
Alvis
http://www.pricelessfunnyvideos.com/play.php?video=916
Water-powered automobiles!!!
No, you did not make a coherent point concerning for mention "tribal" conflicts. So feel free to deduce those that have an engineering degree with a state seal on their resume, while playing Indians and Heretics in Cowboy-land. Here is your magic carpet ride: "And now I will go back to the secret that I promised to tell you. In 1976, after the Watergate matters took place here, your intelligence community was literally tied up by Congress. It could not do anything. It could not send spies, it could not write reports, and it could not pay money. In order to compensate for that, a group of countries got together in the hope of fighting Communism and established what was called the Safari Club. The Safari Club included France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Iran. The principal aim of this club was that we would share information with each other and help each other in countering Soviet influence worldwide, and especially in Africa. In the 1970s, there were still some countries in Africa that were coming out of colonialism, among them Mozambique, Angola, and I think Djibouti. The main concern of everybody was that the spread of Communism was taking place while the main country that would oppose Communism was tied up. Congress had literally paralyzed the work not only of the U.S. intelligence community but of its foreign service as well. And so the Kingdom, with these countries, helped in some way, I believe, to keep the world safe at the time when the United States was not able to do that. That, I think, is a secret that many of you don't know. I am not saying it because I look to tell secrets, but because the time has gone and many of the actors are gone as well."
-Georgetown speech alumni in February 2002, Prince Turki al-Faisal
There is a direct tie in one of them links ...a noose. Hint: Sudan.
Elvis
1994: Ali Mohamed Trains Bin Laden’s Bodyguards and Sets Up Hezbollah Meeting
Imad Mugniyah. [Source: FBI]Ali Mohamed goes to Sudan and trains bin Laden’s bodyguards. While there, Mohamed arranges security for a meeting between bin Laden and Imad Mugniyah, the security chief for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah who is said to have directed the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Bin Laden and Mugniyah are said to discuss upcoming operations. Mugniyah is believed to be involved in the hijacking of an Air India jet in 1999 where passengers will be exchanged for three militants in Indian prisons, including Saeed Sheikh, who will be the paymaster for 9/11 (see December 24-31, 1999). Mohamed will later claim in court that Hezbollah subsequently provided explosives training for al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. [Los Angeles Times, 10/21/2000; Raleigh News and Observer, 10/21/2001; Chicago Tribune, 12/11/2001; LA Weekly, 5/24/2002] US prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will later agree with this assessment, stating, “in the middle of the 1990’s, al-Qaeda members received sophisticated explosives training from Hezbollah, despite the deep religious differences between the Sunni members of al-Qaeda and the Shiite members of Hezbollah.” [9/11 Commission, 6/16/2004] Dan Benjamin and Steve Simon, director and senior director of the National Security Council’s counterterrorism team, will later write that “The meeting between the two preeminent terrorists of the era reportedly did take place, and there was an agreement to cooperate. But there the record ends; there is little evidence that a long-term bond between the Sunni and Shiite groups was ever formed.” [Benjamin and Simon, 2002, pp. 128] Mohamed returns to the US after an FBI agent phones him and asks to speak to him about an upcoming trial (see December 9, 1994).
You have to read his bio to understand what this really means.
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=ali_mohamed
On another auspicious event in that time frame, the Sudanese offering of OBL to the U.S. Government: The official line is that there wasn't enough evidence to convict him because he was never implicated in any act of terror which killed a U.S. citizen. So, the Clinton administration was hoping the Saudi's would of took him back to execute him for being a heritec and denouncing the Saudi regime -- like 4 others who were involved in the Kenya bombing. Then there comes a schitzophernic assumption in this line of reasoning that since the Saudi's would not take him ( for obvious reasons) that the Sudanese offer was invalid and it would be best to keep him on the run. A Sudanese UN ambassador Maj. Gen Elfatih Erwa was the source that Sudan gave this offer. Maybe, it is true, or just somewhat true. Afterall, not many at the UN in 2001 apposed the Afghan theater. And it's not like others in Sudan tried also: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a020598sudanletter#a020598sudanletter In any case, Ali Mohamed organized the move to Afghanistan.
Are we in from the ether, yet?
Hank Snow
Obviously, you did not take the time to read Ali Mohamed's timeline page. It would of answered your first question. While OBL was operating as a psuedo-Saudi-prince-warrior-guru in Peshawar, he was also shipping in heavy equipment for projects. The Makhtab al-Khidimat (MAK) had 30 U.S. offices in 1984. A couple few years later, he has a "summer camp" a stones throw from where Hekmatyar is digging holes into some obscure mountain ridge. Of course, in 1987 bulldozers in that part of the world were a dime a lime. No, you are not going to spot his booger crusted beard shaking hands with President Reagan and other mujahadeen. There is a real picture of stinky mujahadeen shaking hands with President Reagan at the White House. No, you're not going to see a picture of Robert Gates helping OBL sight a stinger. This isn't baseball we are talking about. Neither is it a house of cards. I suppose it's a drinking game, until one falls off the fence, or, the fences falls on one.
Miyagi-san
1988: Ali Mohamed Fights in Afghanistan But Is Not Punished For It
Ali Mohamed, now an instructor at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (see 1986), travels to Afghanistan to train mujahedeen. He tells friends that he plans to join the mujahedeen in Afghanistan and “kill Russians.” He informs supervisor Lt. Col. Steve Neely of his plans, who passes the information up the chain of command. Lt. Col. Robert Anderson, Mohamed’s commanding officer, also reports Mohamed’s suspicious activities to Fort Bragg officials and army intelligence, but gets no response. Mohamed takes one month of leave and goes to Afghanistan. No action is taken to prevent him from doing this. [New York Times, 12/1/1998; Raleigh News and Observer, 10/21/2001; Miller, Stone, and Mitchell, 2002, pp. 143] When he returns, he boasts of his combat exploits to his colleagues. Lt. Col. Anderson writes up a second report and again gets no response. Freelance fighting would be a serious breach of military rules, and the New York Times will later note that, “The capture or death of an American serviceman in Afghanistan would have been a major international embarrassment to the United States.” However, no disciplinary action is taken against him. This leads Anderson to conclude that Mohamed’s activities are sponsored by a US intelligence agency. Anderson will state, “I think you or I would have a better chance of winning [the lottery], than an Egyptian major in the unit that assassinated [Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat would have getting a visa, getting to California ... getting into the Army and getting assigned to a Special Forces unit. That just doesn’t happen.” He will add that it is equally unthinkable that an ordinary US soldier would go unpunished after fighting in a foreign war. [New York Times, 12/1/1998; San Francisco Chronicle, 11/4/2001] Mohamed is also stealing classified documents from the base; some of them will be discovered by US investigators in 1990 (see November 5, 1990). According to a US army spokesperson, an officer working with Mohammed “did have some suspicions about what he did, but nothing came as a result of it. It really depended on who you believed.” [Associated Press, 12/31/2001]
Enter the wagon:
U.S. military: Iraqi lawmaker is U.S. Embassy bomber
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq's parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition, according to U.S. military intelligence.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/05/iraq.lawmaker/index.html
Sloppy Joe
Game is good for the hunt. But where do we go???
Lager
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