Friday, May 1, 2009

Mr. President, Stop Cavorting with the Enemy!

Barack Obama has said that he plans to enlist Iran's help in stabilizing Afghanistan.

The left contends that Iran is eager to assist the US in Afghanistan because the Taliban is responsible for the vast amounts of opium that have been smuggled across the Afghan border into Iran.

But of course, this contention is patently absurd, because Iran has been working in cahoots with the Taliban, as attested to by the State Department's annual report on terrorism, released on Thursday:
Iran’s IRGC Qods Force provided assistance to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Qods Force provided training to the Taliban on small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire ammunition, rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107mm rockets, and plastic explosives....

Iran continues to rely primarily on its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to clandestinely cultivate and support terrorist and Islamic militant groups abroad... The Qods Force continued to provide lethal support to select Iraqi militant groups that target U.S., Iraqi and Coalition forces. Iranian weapons transfers to select Taliban members in Afghanistan in 2008 continued to threaten Afghan and NATO troops operating under UN mandate and undermine stabilization efforts in that country.
So much for Iran's contempt of the Taliban and it's drug smuggling operations...

And for those on the left who claim that Iran only aligned itself with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the US invasion of Afghanistan, I would point to the 9/11 commission's findings once again. Yes, I know, this is probably the third or fourth time that I've cited these findings, but, repetition, at times, is necessary:
Between eight and ten of the 14 "muscle" hijackers—that is, those involved in gaining control of the four 9/11 aircraft and subduing the crew and passengers—passed through Iran in the period from October 2000 to February 2001....

Iran had a history of allowing al-Qaeda members to enter and exit Iran across the Afghan border. This practice dated back to October 2000, with Iranian officials issuing specific instructions to their border guards—in some cases not to put stamps in the passports of al-Qaeda personnel—and otherwise not harass them and to facilitate their travel across the frontier...

Iranian officials approached the al-Qaeda leadership after the bombing of the USS Cole and proposed a collaborative relationship in future attacks on the U.S., but the offer was turned down by bin Laden because he did not want to alienate his supporters in Saudi Arabia...
The Iranians can not possibly help us in Afghanistan, because they are aligned with Al Qaeda and they are supplying weapons to the Taliban for the sole purpose of murdering our troops.

Why isn't anyone querying the president about this? Why is he being given a free ride to engage in a foreign policy which makes absolutely no sense?

Mr. President, stop this nonsense already! Iran is our sworn enemy! No more overtures! Tell them they must release Roxana Saberi forthwith and dismantle their nuclear program immediately! And that they must cease all assistance to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and end all terrorist activities promptly!

Make them an offer they can't refuse! And pleeease, stop being so self destructive, and Jimmy Carter-like!