generalspeaking

Iran's Proxy Terror

Raising the ire of powerful bullies capable of sending out minions whose business it is to terrorize, to wreak havoc, to ravage communities' sense of well being by exacting the revenge of bloody carnage is a risky undertaking. On the other hand, the alternative is a lack of response when outrageous human rights abuses occur as though without notice by communities of nations for whom human rights are seen as universal rights.

They are not, needless to say, given that most nations of the world are controlled by tyrannical rulers. Iran being an outstanding example.

The Iranian Revolution that brought the rigid theocracy of the Ayatollahs to power in their exercise of Twelve-Imam Shi'ite devotion, brought a ruthless tyranny down on the people of Iran. The Ayatollahs were not and are not satisfied to rule only the ancient country of Persia, to bring it back to its original Safavid glory. Their ambition is to instill a greater Shia constancy within the Muslim world, starting with the immediate geography of Arab Islam.

The Middle East is majority Sunni, not at all impressed with Iran's motivations and aspirations for ascendancy. The Arab nations are sitting back, watching with a mixture of hope and trepidation as the drama of the green revolution unfolds. Whether it can maintain its heretical momentum against the anger of the reigning Ayatollahs and the Guardian Council, threatening the reformers' ring-leaders with execution, is of great interest beyond the Middle East.

But in the Middle East there is uneasiness that a revolt against the repressions and human rights-abusive theocratic administration may inspire their own downtrodden populations to agitate against the various monarchies, sheikdoms, republics, dictatorships, military-dominated quasi-democracies that dominate. While on the other hand, their concerns about Iran's obvious determination to achieve nuclear militarization could be ameliorated.

As for the Islamic Republic of Iran itself, it has other deadly arrows in its quiver of potential assaults against its detractors. It has nourished its terrorist operatives representing Hezbollah, creating an international expansion of its deadly network, into Europe and North America. Long rumoured to be fact, intelligence experts now state that Hezbollah has an estimated 900 operatives in Germany.

"Hezbollah is capable of striking in Germany or, more likely, planning an incident like the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg that planned the attack on New York", according to a fellow at the European Centre for Democracy. "Hezbollah operatives can be activated from Beirut or Tehran. Iran is using Hezbollah figures for its foreign policy purposes and killing the regime's opponents."

Moreover, the Basij, Hezbollah militants, working their way through dissenters in Tehran by beating and maiming demonstrators are said to be comprised of Iran's proxy militias, brought from Lebanon into Iran, less likely to sympathize with the protesters than Iranian militias. They're not the least bit averse to killing Iranian protesters, why would they be?

Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at Sweden's National Defence University posits that "Hezbollah has stretched, facilitated by Iran, across the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and Latin America. It grants Iran global power and Hezbollah has become more susceptible to Iran's efforts to project its influence."

Egypt, Azerbaijan, Belgium and the U.S. have been the beneficiaries of weapons smuggling, assassination attempts and other illicit smuggling schemes through the energetic auspices of Hezbollah, despite its insistence that its arsenal of weapons represent 'resistance' against its proclaimed mortal enemy, Israel.

According to the new head of U.S. Southern Command, "The real concern is not a nation-to-nation interaction; it is the connection that Iran has with extremist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah and the potential risk that that could bring to this region."

An angry Iran, infuriated over the international condemnation of their corrupted presidential election has the capacity and certainly the will, to exact revenge on its international critics. Whom, in any event, it accuses of fomenting rebellion among its population.

Labels: Middle East, Traditions, Troublespots

posted by Pieface @ Monday, June 29, 2009