If Iranians are killing our troops and hurting US efforts in Iraq, how should I interpret this article?

Question

'Foreign Fighters in Iraq Are Tied to Allies of U.S.

BAGHDAD — Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide bombers or to facilitate other attacks, according to senior American military officials. (New York Times)'

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/world/middleeast/22fighters.html?_r=4&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

From same article:
'Yet the senior American military officials said they also believed that Saudi citizens provided the majority of financing for Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.'

1 2

Answer 1

For those that don't like the NYT link, perhaps a Washington Post link from 2005 would be more esthetically acceptable?
-- 'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051401270_pf.html

Anyway, here's how I interpret it:
(1) the current administration exemplifies years of ambiguous US policies with arbitrary and convenient designations of 'friend' and 'foe'
(2) the 'war on terror' has increased, rather than diminished, terrorism.

There was an interesting, and I think somewhat related, article from a few weeks ago that got very little, if any, 'mainstream media' attention...
-- Explosive charge blows up in US's face
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IJ27Ak05.html

The Bush administration has claimed that RPG-29s were Iranian-made. However, back in 2005 and 2006, British and US officials identified the RPG-29s as Russian-made, imported by Syria, then passed on to Hezbollah and smuggled across the Syrian-Iraq border. Now, they tell us that the armor-piercing Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs), that were killing US troops, were coming from IRAN... despite the forensic evidence indicating that they were inferior in quality, consistent with the manufacturing capabilities found in EFP factories that US forces discovered in IRAQ.

Yes, those 'friend' and 'foe' labels are indeed arbitrary!

Answer 2

Basically there's no news on the 'news' about what's going on in Iraq. Occasionally you see that famous film clip showing the same marines breaking down the same door and then there's that old buzz about how we killed the number two man. Sometimes some general will get onTV and say how well everything is going, but you can be certian he has his fingers crossed behind his back when he's saying it. In real life the 'Vichy Iraq' government has no real authority, very little power and for the most part it's staffed by hacks hiding out in Fort Green Zone hoping that they can avoid the next incoming mortar round. The physical infrastructure of Iraq is total #$%$, almost all of the educated people are either out of the country or hiding out hundreds of miles from where they used to live under assumed names. There's fewer killings because almost everyon slated to be killed is already dead. The sunnis are being bribed with borrowed US currency not to shoot at our troops. The shiites are waiting for the US to leave so they can wipe out the sunnis and the so called Iraqi armed forces are useless. Meanwhile the US taxpayer is watching the Bush Junta borrow more and more money to keep this crackpot idea going and the GOP wants old man McCain to pick up where George Bush leaves off. People are killed and maimed everyday for nothing. When this started our forces became mercenaries for the Oil Mafia and none of that has changed. Iraqi oil was supposed to pay for all of this mess and the US was supposed to be 'safer'. That didn't happen. The big question is...why in the hell hasn't Bush and the rest of his posse of degenerate reactionaries been arrested, charge, convicted and sent up? Oh, well...that probably wouldn't have made the 'news' either.

Answer 3

Saudi's can do no wrong since bush 41's administration.
Top General and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, after an extensive investigation, concludes that Iran is NOT involved with the resistance fighters in Iraq and they are NOT providing the road side bombs used in the attacks. Here, take your pick of any source you like (including even Fox News which mentioned it only in passing and more reluctantly than any other source) About this fact:
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0ge...
This fact is now suddenly pushed aside. They're actually brain washing the masses by calling the Iraqi resistance attacks as Iran's attacks on our soldires and recently they've even started to say that if we strike Iran that it will not be pre emptive because we're already in a "proxy war" with them, so it would only be a counter attack!
Israel has AIPAC to influence our government and has dictated the course of our foreign policies for a long time, but in the last decade they've been in turbo gear and they've taken our democracy which dictates that OUR people, the American people be represented by our elected officials and turned us into a lobby driven (by the way, somehow this most powerful lobby remains unregistered) country where our resources and our lives are put on the line on a daily basis for another nation.
This smear campagn is a prel;ude to a war that has been ordered for us to fight. Either we educate ourselves and get back our democracy or we let foreign run lobby groups decide our fate, security and our global standing. We need to get our democracy back and the first step is lobby reform.

Answer 4

This is not a surprise. The fact that Saudi Arabia is a major source of fighters has been reported for quite some time. I have not heard of the Libyan connection before. Considering the close ties the Saudi's have to the Bush regime and the recent contracts given Halliburton for development in Libya and the Carlyle groups role in providing capital for development of the oil industry in Libya is it any wonder that they are not amonst the 'evil ones' ?

Answer 5

1)Iran has been trying to have NORMAL RELATIONS with US for a long time.
2) Pres MAN of Iran has sent 2 letter to Pres. Bush, offering open and direct talk to solve all the issues between 2 countries. No response from WH.
3) Iran is not violating any International protocol
in regards to it's nuclear program.
4) Outrageous and dirty propaganda against Iran is the tool Pres Bush and VP Cheney are using to justify attacking Iran.

My Regards.

Answer 6

Interesting.

9/11 was done by Saudi Arabians too.

But Bush blamed Iraq.

Answer 7

The 911 hijackers had Saudi passports,the Iranians had the the bag on the ied,s going into Iraq,,like good Muslims they all do their parts..but after the dance,house of bush eats and drinks with house of Saudi,,,as for the fighters PIECE OF CAKE,,,,chow freepress

Answer 8

Saudi Royal family and the House of Bush are closely related.

Answer 9

Iran does not lobby in DC while the others do which has labeled them in the Axis of Evil.

Answer 10

Now, now-we can't be blaming our "friends" for killing us. Better to point to some neutral country, villify them and then bomb them into oblivion.