Iranian Snipers in Afghanistan?
BY Herschel Smith
13 years, 4 months ago
Iran is increasing support for the Shi’ite militias in Iraq.
“Iran is very directly supporting extremist Shiite groups which are killing our troops,” said Adm. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “There is no question they are shipping high-tech weapons in there…that are killing our people. And the forensics prove that.”
Of course, we have known since the inception of Operation Iraqi Freedom that the Iranians were killing Americans in Iraq. Now, we learn of strong supicions of Iranian snipers in Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. John Toolan, the top Marine general in Afghanistan, told National Journal that the sniper threat was particularly acute in contested regions of Helmand like Sangin and Garesh, where NATO forces are battling Taliban fighters trying to reclaim some of their former strongholds. Despite a counter-offensive from insurgents, the military said coalition troops control most of Helmand and the level of violence there is declining.
Toolan, who runs NATO’s Regional Command Southwest, said many of the snipers attacking his troops speak Farsi or Arabic, meaning that the fighters likely come from Iran and other neighboring countries. Other U.S. officials in Afghanistan say Iran has significantly escalated its support for militants there, providing long-range rockets, money, and technical assistance. Tehran denies the charges, but Toolan said some of the snipers appear to have been trained outside of Afghanistan.
The military leaders have no problem saying that Iran is at war with America. Why can’t our civilian leadership just simply admit and publicly state that they know that Iran has been at war with the United Stated for at least a quarter century? Wouldn’t it do our civilian leaders some good to engage in a little truth telling – good for international relations, good for the American public, and good for their souls?
The answer, of course, is what I have advocated for several years. No open war (just yet), no happy talk with the Iranians. Engage in a campaign of targeted assassinations against military leaders, foment an insurgency within Iran, and support the Green movement. An Iran that is worried about its own government being toppled hasn’t the time to waste causing trouble in the rest of the world.
On July 18, 2011 at 7:41 am, michael ledeen said:
no need to foment inside Iran; the Iranian people have fomented it themselves, with no help from us.
On July 18, 2011 at 10:02 am, Herschel Smith said:
But I sure would like to help the process along. The Mullahs will kill people as long as they are in charge.
BTW (not intended for Michael), for those who would argue that a program of targeted assassinations is illegal, that is false. There is no U.S. law against it. There is an executive order (signed by President Ford) with which to contend, and executive orders can be undone by other executive orders.
On July 18, 2011 at 3:20 pm, Warbucks said:
I tend to agree with Herschel. Destiny has called upon us to finish this job, right or wrong. We are here to provide a light to the world against the forces of darkness, tyranny and suppression.
It’s apparent we’re not finished in the Middle East.
The “Arab Spring” may actually hold an answer. To the extent that we “enable” the youth to freely communicate around, through and over the heads of these Theocratic dictators, even with all the attendant chaos, we begin to shape a free world.
I sense Herschel is probably correct. We should accommodate the Arab Spring with the electronics we can position to eventually enable the Iranian youth to try to topple their own dictators.
The concurring wolf pack needs to send a message to the vanquished wolf pack that they will understand.
On July 19, 2011 at 4:09 pm, Jean said:
Snipers…..its a lot more than just snipers, they have full size support bases on the other side of the border. The problem is that our allies don’t have the same issue with the Iran that we do, thrown in the usaul doulble dealing Afghans and you have the perfect mix.
On January 20, 2012 at 10:02 pm, Brian said:
Now that we are leaving Iraq, I’m wondering who is going to provide counter snipers or stirring up the Shiites? And as far as that goes, who is going to provide protection for oil wells?