Today's Post Scoop

The Post often drops their big national security scoops on Sunday: today it's a story that argues that if we were to use military force against Iran, they would counterattack not using conventional forces (beyond their means) but via terrorist attacks. It's been known for years that Hezbollah is supported by Iran (is it a wholly owned subsidiary, responding directly to Iranian orders? hmmm. In a scenario such as that described in the article, I bet they wouldn't be unhappy to take orders.) More frightening is the prospect of Iranian operatives placed in embassies throughout the US and Europe being mobilized. (Some would say that wasn't technically terrorism, since those would be state agents, but the outcome would sure be the same.)

As a side note, the article notes:

A report by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks cited al-Qaeda's long-standing cooperation with the Iranian-back Hezbollah on certain operations and said Osama bin Laden may have had a previously undisclosed role in the Khobar attack. Several al-Qaeda figures are reportedly under house arrest in Iran.

Others in the law enforcement and intelligence circles have been more dubious about cooperation between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, largely because of the rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Al-Qaeda adherents are Sunni Muslims; Hezbollah's are Shiites.

I don't think there's been "long-standing cooperation," but it is known that one of OBL's unique contributions to terrorism was to make the argument that the Sunni and Shia should put aside their differences in the short term in order to work together against the larger, common enemy (that would be us.)

That worked at least long enough for al Queda operatives to spend some time in Hezbollah training camps, and it's believed that OBL met at least once with Hezbollah's "super terrorist" of the '80s, the man behind the Beirut barracks bombing, Imad Mugniyah. That was big because, of course, it was Hezbollah who modernized the ancient practice of suicide terrorism, and specifically invented the tactic of the truck bomb (the Beirut bombing, remember?) and they taught it to al Queda (the embassy bombings, remember?). But I don't know of any evidence that much came of it after that.

Comments

[davod]

The Iranian reliance on paramilitary (terrorist) activities is nothing new. I would hope that any effort to rein in the Iranians, political, economic or military. would take this into account.

It is my belief that the way to attack the Iranian government is to attack the paramilitaries (yes, even anyone known to be operating out of embassies) outside Iran. The short term would be bloody but in the long term the result would be more stability.

[davod]

PS:

My rationale for attacking the paramilitarys is quite simple. The Iranians would loose face with those outside the country. This loss of face would translate into an increase in dissent in Iran.