Iraq and Iran: Together for the First Time

Folks, I see this as a big deal. I have read numerous international articles, within the Arab world and without, and I see this as a concern.

Iraq and Iran spent the better part of the 1980's fighting over the Shatt al-Arab waterway in the southern part of Iraq. Oil, of course, was the contention.

Saddam became the buddy of the United States, as a way for us to conduct a proxy war against Iran. After all, the fundamentalist Shi'ites in Iran had just overrun our embassy and taken hostages, keeping them for almost a year. Donald Rumsfeld even took it upon himself to engage Saddam directly during this time, helping deliver non-military assistance, agriculture products supposedly. Supposedly, these where then converted over to chemical weapons that Saddam used to kill 200,000 Kurds in the northern part of Iraq.

The U.S. has not been friendly with Iran ever since we supported the overthrow of the theocratic government in 1952, replacing the president with Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. The former government had nationalized the oil industry, taking away the investment that a U.S. oil company had made.

The Iranian President enjoyed two days in Iraq. He announced his visit weeks in advance. While security was high, he appeared to travel with impunity and without much regard for his personal safety. He also appeared to enjoy the personal attention of Jalal Talabani and al-Maliki. He visited several places around Baghdad and Iraq, and also received accommodations outside the Green Zone. President Ahmadinejad enjoys the support of the Shia minority in Iraq, the southern portion of Iraq. Iran supported the Kurds during Iran-Iraq War so the Kurds also appreciated Iran's attention. The only ones that seemed upset were the Iraqi Sunni Muslims, who are quietly backed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In contrast, President Bush has stayed little more that 4-8 hours at a stretch in Iraq, has not been outside the Green Zone, and only announces his visit after the fact. Granted, he is a bigger "trophy" for opposition forces so requires more security, but it also says a lot about how the U.S. currently viewed, as well.

When all was said and done, Iraq and Iran signed agreements to improve and promote cooperation, cultural and strategic ties.

Iran is, and will continue to be, an important player in stabilizing Iraq, particularly for the Shia.

Middle East Reality

Not only a good blog on the Middle East but also contains links to other interesting blogs, as well.

Whose the Greater Destabilizer?

In geography, we talk about devolution. Devolution is the breakdown of a state [country/nation] due to internal division. Some other terms that are also associated with devolution are Balkanization, Shatterbelt, and Failing/Failed States. When people within a region, whether that region be a state, nation, or realm, become disenfranchised with their government or method of governance, conditions are ripe for devolution.

The United States is embroiled in a process of nation-building in Iraq. We are encouraging Iraqi people to reduce their cultural ties to their tribes or larger family units and increase their identification with the greater Iraqi state. However, admirable this action might seem, the United States has not proven to be the Great Unifier.

I begin my argument by submitting that the current state of U.S. affairs in Southwest Asia can be traced to 1953. In reality, the creation of the state of Israel might be the birth of the modern era of conflict in Southwest Asia. I choose 1953 as my baseline due to the U.S. support of the Iranian Coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq. The British petroleum company, BP, was the private oil industry in Iran at the time. The Iranians, weary of seeing their oil and oil profits siphoned off to the West, nationalized the oil industry. The West, namely the United States and Great Britain, saw this as a threat. Operation Ajax was born out of the desire to regain control of oil resources in Iran.

Eventually, this would lead to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, in 1979, beginning the theocratic rule still in place today.

Let us not forget that Iran was once Persia, which was once the Persian Empire, and is a nation and a people whose history pre-dates that of any European nation.

In 1982, the United States threw their support behind Saddam Hussein in his war 8-yr war against Iran. At that time, the war was turning against Iraq, and the U.S. did not think that it was in its interests for Iraq to lose.

In the meantime, during the decade of the 1980's, the United States cast its lot with the Muslim Afghan rebels in Afghanistan. The effort to help the Afghans against the Soviet march resulted in the most successful covert action in the history of the CIA. We also helped train those we are at war with now, in Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

In 1990, two years after its war with Iran, Iraq found itself at war with its former weapons supplier, the United States.

In 2002, the United States instituted a policy of regime change in Afghanistan, a nation that we were the benefactor of for almost a decade.

In 2003, the United States implemented regime change within Iraq. The coup in Iran in 1953 might also be termed, "regime change."

Currently, the United States has engaged both Syria and Iran in helping resolve conflict within Iraq. Both Syria and Iran have been marginalized through the "Axis of Evil" label. Both the United States and Iran have engaged in finger-pointing - "You're responsible for making this worse!"

Iran is being accused of providing more sophisticated IEDs and other weapons to Iraqi insurgents. In April 2007, ABC News ran a story about our secret efforts in Iran.

Lebanon had parliamentary elections the other day. A predominantly Muslim nation, but with sizable Christian and Armenian minority populations, by the way. The candidate supported by the United States - lost. The former president, Amin Gemayel was trying to win the seat vacated by his son. Analysts believe that the support by the Bush Administration doomed his election.

In closing, I offer this. Destabilization of this region cannot be attributed to any single nation. Russia, China, France, Great Britain, the United States, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya - who am I leaving out? - are all responsible. Destabilization may have a core cause: Oil.

One thought I do have is this: discounting Oil, the basis for this destabilization is founded on the inherent disrespect that nations have for each other. Nations, and administrators of those nations, lack fundamental respect for differences among themselves, the people they government, and the lives in the far-flung reaches of our global that their policies directly or indirectly affect.