Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Enemy of the Enemy ...
I have been attending a series of meetings and discussions in the last few weeks that have led me to ponder whether or not the old and often-abused adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is really any guide to policy in the Greater Middle East and Western Asia.
We have reports that the U.S. has been interested in using Sunni-Taliban radicals to infiltrate Iran; that North Korea sold weapons to Ethiopia with U.S. connivance so as to allow the Ethiopians to have an advantage against the Somali Islamists; we have consistent reports that Iran allows Al-Qaeda and Sunni Iraqi resistance fighters passage into the safe havens in Waziristan; there are also reports that Iran has been aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan in its fight against the U.S. (and has contacts with the Sunni fighters in Iraq as well for the same purpose).
Reports often blend into rumor, so I am not vouching for the accuracy of any of these allegations--but it does raise some questions.
Let's take Iran and the Taliban. In the 1990s, the Taliban was a major threat to Iran as long as it controlled more than 90 percent of Afghanistan and was violently anti-Shiite. But now would Iran's calculations change because of the deployment of U.S. forces--and the fact that the Taliban is a guerilla movement preoccupied with fighting the Americans rather than a regime?
The question is about ultimate loyalties and alliances. Would a Sunni militant group that kills Shiites "at home" take aid from Shiites abroad to help them kill Americans? Would a violently anti-American/anti-Western group that wants to engage in hihad but also hates Shiites take aid from the United States to kill Iranians? How far can alliances of convenience go, and at what point do we need to worry about "unintended consequences" as well as loss of control--e.g. weapons provided with one purpose in mind (killing your enemies) could just as easily be turned against your friends.
Just some thoughts.
We have reports that the U.S. has been interested in using Sunni-Taliban radicals to infiltrate Iran; that North Korea sold weapons to Ethiopia with U.S. connivance so as to allow the Ethiopians to have an advantage against the Somali Islamists; we have consistent reports that Iran allows Al-Qaeda and Sunni Iraqi resistance fighters passage into the safe havens in Waziristan; there are also reports that Iran has been aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan in its fight against the U.S. (and has contacts with the Sunni fighters in Iraq as well for the same purpose).
Reports often blend into rumor, so I am not vouching for the accuracy of any of these allegations--but it does raise some questions.
Let's take Iran and the Taliban. In the 1990s, the Taliban was a major threat to Iran as long as it controlled more than 90 percent of Afghanistan and was violently anti-Shiite. But now would Iran's calculations change because of the deployment of U.S. forces--and the fact that the Taliban is a guerilla movement preoccupied with fighting the Americans rather than a regime?
The question is about ultimate loyalties and alliances. Would a Sunni militant group that kills Shiites "at home" take aid from Shiites abroad to help them kill Americans? Would a violently anti-American/anti-Western group that wants to engage in hihad but also hates Shiites take aid from the United States to kill Iranians? How far can alliances of convenience go, and at what point do we need to worry about "unintended consequences" as well as loss of control--e.g. weapons provided with one purpose in mind (killing your enemies) could just as easily be turned against your friends.
Just some thoughts.
Comments:
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Let me get this straight:
In the religious war between Islam and Judaism in Palestine, US is supporting the Jews.
In the religious war between Sunni Muslims and US, Sunni Muslim support from IS-Friendly Arab & Muslim states is crucial.
US is attempting to contain Iran - the only Muslim states that actually does support - to a certain extent - US projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US is supporting Sunni Muslim terrorists of Baluchi extraction against Iran at the same time that the Baluchi terrorism poses a threat against the Pakistani State.
US wants cheap reliable OIL while sanctioning the energy sector of a major oil producer.
And when Saudi Arabia and Iran come up with a resolution of teh Lebanon crisis - US sabotages that effort; hurting SA.
I doubt that USG is capable of keeping all these balls in the air.
There are not that many smart people in the world.
In the religious war between Islam and Judaism in Palestine, US is supporting the Jews.
In the religious war between Sunni Muslims and US, Sunni Muslim support from IS-Friendly Arab & Muslim states is crucial.
US is attempting to contain Iran - the only Muslim states that actually does support - to a certain extent - US projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US is supporting Sunni Muslim terrorists of Baluchi extraction against Iran at the same time that the Baluchi terrorism poses a threat against the Pakistani State.
US wants cheap reliable OIL while sanctioning the energy sector of a major oil producer.
And when Saudi Arabia and Iran come up with a resolution of teh Lebanon crisis - US sabotages that effort; hurting SA.
I doubt that USG is capable of keeping all these balls in the air.
There are not that many smart people in the world.
# posted by 
: 12:42 PM
: 12:42 PM
I don't think we ever learned the lessons of Afghanistan from the 1980s, that sometimes the enemy of your enemy is also your enemy too and will come after you.
If we are going to take on Iran we need to do it ourselves and take the burden on us and not hope that proxies will do what we want, or that these pinprick attacks will have much effect.
If we are going to take on Iran we need to do it ourselves and take the burden on us and not hope that proxies will do what we want, or that these pinprick attacks will have much effect.
# posted by : 2:52 PM
: 2:52 PM
The cheap, and in my opinion hollow excuse and retort I am always issued by supposedly learned insiders, is that these evils, this lawlessness has always existed in every time, in every nation, and in every culture.
The point from my perspective and my dread concern is that there is that fascist warmongers and profiteers in Bush government have permanently undermined the underlying structures of the rule of law.
America has shapeshifted under the tyranny of the fascist totalitarian dictatorship that is the Bush government into the single greatest threat to freedom, democracy, human decency, and the rule of law on the planet.
The fascist warmongers and profiteers in the Bush government perpetuates the way of the gun. I have made this comment before, and I sure here again it will be met with dim silence, but the factbasedreality is that all these unholy alliances and unknown unknown intertwinings of friends and foes alike are a direct result of the rampaging lawlessness, rank igorance, woefull incompetence, and tyrannical fascist perversions and machinations of the Bush government.
America under the Bush hunta has forced the world to realign to defend against or thwart American hegemony - the insane delusions and fascist designs of the Pax Americana neverendingwar and empire agenda and unholy pipedreams.
There are no laws.
There are no good governments.
There are no good religions.
There are no more rights.
There are no more freedoms.
There are no more protections.
There is no free press.
All that exists now are tyrants and fanaticus religous shaitans working in myriad unknown unknown ways to slaughter each other, and commandeer lands and resources.
All humanity must suffer, hazard, and burden the way of the gun. It is killed or be killed, and the fascist warmongers and profiteers in the Bush government are obviously willing to pervert, betray, mangle, distort, dismember, shapeshift, and re-engineer America's core principles, our Constitution, and the rule of law to conform to and advance their fascist tyrannical imperialist designs and intent to dominate the world through the terrible swift sword of America's hypersupior $6bn a year defense industry and marauding control of the earths oil and energy resources.
"Deliver us from evil!"
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The point from my perspective and my dread concern is that there is that fascist warmongers and profiteers in Bush government have permanently undermined the underlying structures of the rule of law.
America has shapeshifted under the tyranny of the fascist totalitarian dictatorship that is the Bush government into the single greatest threat to freedom, democracy, human decency, and the rule of law on the planet.
The fascist warmongers and profiteers in the Bush government perpetuates the way of the gun. I have made this comment before, and I sure here again it will be met with dim silence, but the factbasedreality is that all these unholy alliances and unknown unknown intertwinings of friends and foes alike are a direct result of the rampaging lawlessness, rank igorance, woefull incompetence, and tyrannical fascist perversions and machinations of the Bush government.
America under the Bush hunta has forced the world to realign to defend against or thwart American hegemony - the insane delusions and fascist designs of the Pax Americana neverendingwar and empire agenda and unholy pipedreams.
There are no laws.
There are no good governments.
There are no good religions.
There are no more rights.
There are no more freedoms.
There are no more protections.
There is no free press.
All that exists now are tyrants and fanaticus religous shaitans working in myriad unknown unknown ways to slaughter each other, and commandeer lands and resources.
All humanity must suffer, hazard, and burden the way of the gun. It is killed or be killed, and the fascist warmongers and profiteers in the Bush government are obviously willing to pervert, betray, mangle, distort, dismember, shapeshift, and re-engineer America's core principles, our Constitution, and the rule of law to conform to and advance their fascist tyrannical imperialist designs and intent to dominate the world through the terrible swift sword of America's hypersupior $6bn a year defense industry and marauding control of the earths oil and energy resources.
"Deliver us from evil!"
# posted by : 6:54 PM
: 6:54 PM 
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