October 28, 2003
ANOTHER DAY . . .
Another reason to encourage the reform of the Iranian political establishment:
Iran will refuse requests to extradite captured al Qaeda members to the United States, instead trying them under Iranian law, a top official has said.Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, Iran's ambassador to France, also said Tuesday there were "links between al Qaeda and the military elements of the Baath party," the party once run by deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
He described al Qaeda and the Taliban as "essentially the illegitimate children" of the United States.
U.S. officials blame recent attacks in Iraq on Baath party remnants, members of terrorist groups, and other insurgents.
The United States has called on Iran to send al Qaeda members within its borders to the United States, because of the terrorist attacks the group has launched against the U.S. and its interests overseas.
I don't think I really need to comment any further. You know my position on what to do with regards to Iran's intransigence, support for terrorism, and general brutality. The only question is when we are going to get genuinely serious about doing it.
(Also posted here.)
Posted by Pejman Yousefzadeh at October 28, 2003 03:58 PM | TrackBackHe described al Qaeda and the Taliban as "essentially the illegitimate children" of the United States.
Actually, if anything, they are the LEGITIMATE children of the Nazis and the old Soviet Union. The US contribution to Saddam has been way over blown -- most of the arms that Saddam used in his war with Iran came from the USSR, the US provided mainly intelligence and just enough to keep him from being defeated.
He means that Osama was part of the anti-Soviet forces that the US supported in Afghanistan in the 1980s. I'm not sure what he means about the Taliban, except perhaps that the members of it were members previously of the Afghan resistance to the Soviets. The Taliban was not established until several years after the US had dropped out of supporting the Afghans. We did so as part of the price of getting the Soviets out of Afghanistan and leaving the Afghan Commies to their fate. Neither case is relevant to Osama organizing Al Qaida as a secret society for war against the West in general and America in particular. (I sometimnes wonder if Osama modeled Al Qaida after the imaginary Jewish International Conspiracy in the fraudulent "Protocols of the Elders of Zion.")
As for the US lending modest support to Saddam in his idiotic war against Iran, Iran had committed an act of war against the US by seizing our embassy, an act for which recompense has never been made and a settlement never reached. Had Iran not done this, it is quite likely the US would have supported Iran when Iraq attacked. Indeed, Saddam might never have dared attack Iran if the latter had not alienated the US. Iranians upset about that should blame that senile and vicious old fanatic Khomenei and his irresponsible "student" thugs.
Posted by: Michael Lonie at October 29, 2003 10:42 PM
