Iran, Allegedly Definitely
Published by Pokerwolf
on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 10:39 AM.
U.S.: NATO Has Intercepted Iranian Arms - AP
Okay, fantastic! They have proof! What kind of proof do they have?
On one hand, this sort of thing has me infuriated. If they're going to state they have proof, they need to pony up some numbers or some other information.
On the other hand, they're smart as hell for saying it's "limited" and that it's not "a stubstancial difference" because then it's not a justifiable reason for trigger-happy politicians to start barking for an invasion of Iran. In this situation, there doesn't have to be a large shipment for Iran to be in the wrong. All NATO needs is one box of shipped arms for proof.
Here's the interesting bit, though:
Translation: "I don't know why they're doing it, but they are."
Well done, Mr. Burns. In this situation, NATO doesn't need a motive. All they need is proof.
PARIS (AP) -- NATO has intercepted Iranian weapons shipments to Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, providing evidence Iran is violating international law to aid a group it once considered a bitter enemy, a senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday.
"There's irrefutable evidence the Iranians are now doing this," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said on CNN. "It's certainly coming from the government of Iran. It's coming from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps command, which is a basic unit of the Iranian government."
Okay, fantastic! They have proof! What kind of proof do they have?
Burns did not give details on the scope of the alleged Iranian shipments, although he appeared to indicate that they were limited. "I don't think it's made a substantial difference in the greater theater of the war," he said.
"It is not going to turn the tide against us, but it is very troublesome, it is illegal under international law ... and the Iranians need to stop it," Burns told the AP.
On one hand, this sort of thing has me infuriated. If they're going to state they have proof, they need to pony up some numbers or some other information.
On the other hand, they're smart as hell for saying it's "limited" and that it's not "a stubstancial difference" because then it's not a justifiable reason for trigger-happy politicians to start barking for an invasion of Iran. In this situation, there doesn't have to be a large shipment for Iran to be in the wrong. All NATO needs is one box of shipped arms for proof.
Here's the interesting bit, though:
Iran, which is also in a dispute with the West over its nuclear program, denies the Taliban accusation, calling it part of a broad anti-Iranian campaign. Tehran says it makes no sense that a Shiite-led government like itself would help the fundamentalist Sunni movement of the Taliban.
Burns acknowledged that it was "curious" that Iran would aid the Taliban.
"It's quite surprising," he told CNN. "The Iranians had said that they were the mortal enemies of the Taliban in 2001 and '02."
Translation: "I don't know why they're doing it, but they are."
Well done, Mr. Burns. In this situation, NATO doesn't need a motive. All they need is proof.
