A Sucker's Game

Michael Ledeen on the Local War on Terror:

Iraq seems to be quite thoroughly infested with Iranian weapons, agents, and money (and, if Dexter Filkens of the New York Times has it right, with phony ballots as well). At the end of October, the London Telegraph's Con Coughlin reported that "Iran's Revolutionary Guards have set up a network of secret smuggling routes to ferry men and equipment into Iraq for attacks on coalition troops." The information was sourced to the MEK, which, while politically unattractive, often has good information, and Coughlin added that Western intelligence agencies (heaven help us!) "Have reported a sharp increase in Iran's involvement in insurgent operations..."

Coughlin also reported, in late November, that "Chechen rebels" (I wonder what's the difference between "rebels' and "insurgents"...) were being trained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Iran itself — the Imam Ali camp in Tehran.

It's always fun to listen to the spooks try to explain what's going on. Why are the Iranians supporting the Chechens against the Russians, when the Russians are so helpful to the Iranian nuclear program? Well, you see, "the Iranians are growing increasingly suspicious of Moscow's intentions...so they are trying to put pressure on Moscow by backing Chechen fighters." And why are the Iranians staging terrorist attacks against British soldiers in Basra? "To pressure Britain to drop its opposition to Iran's nuclear programme."

All very subtle, you see. Except that the Iranians have been supporting the Chechens for years, maybe even decades. It isn't fine-tuned to diplomatic chitchat. And the domination of southern Iraq is part of the Iranian strategic plan, whatever Britain may or may not do about the Iranian nuclear program.

Look at that list of uncovered terrorist operations, and ask yourself how anyone could link the terror war against the West to any specific act by any specific country. Do the spooks think that France has come too close to the satanic Americans? Can anyone take these people seriously?

Look at the list again. Remind yourself that it is undoubtedly only a small fraction of the terror universe contained in Western countries. Look in the mirror and say "they are at war with us, but we are not taking the war to them anywhere but Iraq. That's a sucker's game."

It's like stopping in Italy during WWII.

Hello? Remember Hitler? In Germany?

If only we had a Patton or a MacArthur these days.