This story just pisses me off more and more. If there's a real link here - and our goverment knew it, but went to war against Iraq instead.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5479438/site/newsweek/ More Evidence of an Iran-Al Qaeda Connection A top terror operative made a Tehran visit while planning the 9/11 attacks, NEWSWEEK has learned Just eight months before the September 11 terror attacks, top conspirator Ramzi bin al-Shibh received a four-week visa to Iran and then flew to Tehran—an apparent stop-off point on his way to meet with Al Qaeda chiefs in Afghanistan, according to law-enforcement documents obtained by NEWSWEEK. ... nvestigators say there is mounting evidence about Al Qaeda-Iranian relationships that appear to have been overlooked by a Bush administration that was far more focused on finding connections between bin Laden’s organization and the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Like your thread title, there must've been a typo in the original report...
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Did top conspirator Ramzi bin al-Shibh stay at the Halliburton Corporate Apartment in downtown Tehran during his stay?
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Juan Cole thinks this whole thing is an effort to pave the way for a Bush war against Iran, if he wins reelection. I sorta understand where he's coming from, but given that we're cannabilizing units from SoKo, and OpFor, and Iran has something like 3 times the population of Iraq, and the Reserves and Guards aren't reupping, I don't see how. It can't be done. You can't get blood from a stone. Unless there's a draft, of course.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Yea, but you are forgetting some key points. The Iranian people are longing for democracy. They will great us by dancing in the streets and shower us with roses. Also, Iran has a lot of oil resources that will virtually pay for the liberation and reconstruction without a dime of US money. Couple of air strikes, and we are done.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Oh, come on. Bush wouldn't do anything creepy like put out a bunch of propaganda designed to get the sheeple behind a war.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ No, he had the Ollie North suite at the Tehran Reagan-Hilton. (And why not the Reagan-Hilton? Republicans want to name everything else after him.)
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Iran is on the verge of democracy. There is a huge youth movement that is rebelling against the government right now, demonstrations every night. The US can easily subvert the existing Iranian government and allow revolution to take hold. It will be much easier than even Iraq. Of course, we'll have to hope for a Bush win because the Democrats don't have the stomach to do the things that are necessary to defend our freedom.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ If they can do it without spending zillions of dollars and American lives, then cool. But an out and out war? No way.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ OK, so far so good. I've said this before, and I agree with it. While I think it will take quite some time, the government is definitely on its way to becoming more liberal as the lower classes, who're mostly disenfranchised demand more freedom and less religion. OK, now I'm not sure why we need to "subvert" the existing Iranian government, since the Iranian populace seems to be doing that on its own, and our meddling will likely make the new government distrust us rather than be friendly to us. Reza Pahlevi anyone? What does this sentence have to do with the above? How is helping democracy in Iran (which can be done without "subversion") have anything to do with OUR freedom? Its Iranian freedom. Your conclusion doesn't follow from your premise.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Iran had ties to Al Qaeda and 9/11, remember? Therefore, our freedom is jeopardized as long as the current Iranian regime stays in power, so they have to be snuffed out. And, by subversion, I mean supporting the underground movements already afoot.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ I'm sure that US support of the subversive movements in Iran ought to make them really, really popular with the rest of the Iranian population. I'm still waiting on all the emerging democracies in the Middle East to start springing forth once Saddam was toppled. This was one of the reasons to go to war in Iraq, was it not?
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Maybe we should have thought of that before we shot our wad on Iran's neighbor.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ Just like Saddam, right? Oh, and I don't recall Iran had any connections to 9/11. Our freedom is not remotely threatened by Al-Qaeda. Oh - so how do you plan to do that, out of curiosity? I have a feeling our subversion techniques would be quite different.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ If they manage an unconvential (WMD) terrorist attack, you'll find out real quick.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ I don't trust the Democrats one bit on foreign policy, but Bush has managed to (a) make matters worse and unforgivably (b) prove the anti-war crowd correct.
Re: More on Iraq link to AQ In other words your argument is that the threat of Al Qaeda results in a threat to our freedom because of what our own government might do? Doesn't it then stand to reason that our own government threatens our freedom? Which incidentally, does not mean we shouldn't go after Al Qaeda.