Considering the allegation being made, I expected to see a thread on this. Maybe I missed it. [Hezbollah Trains Iraqis in Iran, Officials Say - New York Times]

Anyway, an official summed up interrogation records for the Times, apparently, and Iran has been seeking to train Iraqi militants "unobtrusively." The article is pretty indirect about its sources, and this snippet is tucked into the middle:

So, assuming these interrogation reports are legitimate and that this anonymous official isn't just spreading rumors:

What to do? A tactical strike against these camps? That seems to be a clear option, but Iran's retaliation could unleash a wave of violence around the region. Make the Iraqi government take a hard stance against this sort of clandestine Iranian "support"? A nice idea, but it doesn't look like many of the Iraqi Shiite factions would be willing to follow through with it. Try to further alienate Iran by strong condemnations about its nuclear program? Possible, but it seems that NIE report a little while back may have weakened international support in that arena, and meanwhile the negotiators are futilely offering Iran essentially the same incentives package that was denied before. It seems to me the most pragmatic plan would be some clandestine countermeasures, such as those that the US has allegedly be engaging in anyway. But what about non-covert countermeasures? Are good options even available, you think?

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

So we have an informant.

From here, I think we need to do surveilance if we can. We need to pursue all covert options, get all the information we can, and corroborate the interrogation.

No longer should we pre-emptively strike a nation based on heresay or interrogation results.

It may take some time to track the network down and find out who's a part of it and where all the operations are....but I think we have to start there...

The covert element of the cold war was vastly important and so will it be in the "War" against terrorism. We need to start building a real intelligence gathering capacity in the middle east and we should start getting serious about it.

__________________


Screw Change!! Let's have a Seamless Transition of Power and Policy.. John McSame in 2008!

Yes and I was born yesterday. Let me see if I get this straight; the Lebanese Hezbollah are training Iraqi "militants" in Iran? All that is missing in this article is a connection to Syria.

If I were an American; I would recommend that colleges nationwide offer a course titled: "Critical thinking after reading American media sources - 101."

John Bolton says yes: John Bolton: US should bomb Iranian camps - Telegraph

Personally, I don't know what to think of these reports ... I'd like to see any military response decided upon by the Iraqi government and carried out by Iraqi forces.

Interesting how Hezbollah has become an issue; please watch the following video featuring Scott Ritter who brings up Hezbollah:

YouTube - Israel's influence of US policy & the Israeli lobby

Hezbollah is brought up after the 02:00 mark of the video.

I dont see a problem with Hizbullah training Iraqi Militants, Iran training Iraqi Resistance fighters, support between Syrian, Iran, Hizbullah and Iraqi Resistance.... I think it all makes sense, there is one common enemy and it makes sense that they all work togather and share intelligence, technology, tactics, etc. They should however do it underground and intelligently.

They may have different interests in the region, but they all agree that the presence of American Troops in Iraq is unjustified, and it should be dealt with. None of those countries want an unstable Middle East. It affects everything, their economy, security, future, etc.

So someone please explain to me WHY those forces should not unite and exchange expertise, technology and intelligence. The vast majority of the world believes that the US has invaded Iraq illegally, has destroyed afghanistan beyond repair and has supported and financed Israel to destroy Lebanon and to continue oppressing the Palestinians. So, WHY shouldnt Hizbullah, Syria, Iraqis, Palestinians, Iranians etc work togather on all fronts to send the US where it belongs and to solve the Israeli Palestinian issue. Its for the best interest of the region as a whole, it will stabalise the region, make space for peace. .. cos its very clear whats blocking peace in the Middle East.

WS.

__________________
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom"- Malcom X

I don't think it would extraordinary for Hezbollah to be training Iraqis in Iran, but I do agree that we can't just go assuming that this article is true. It's interesting to see how it develops, though, and how the Iraqi government deals with it.

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

That's probably the best avenue for the US, from a national security perspective. With all the resources spent on conventional force, it seems that America could have built one hell of a post-Cold War intelligence apparatus. But it seems that for a military hegemon, conventional strength is given preference over clandestine strength. The creation of the Director of National Intelligence and the integration of the Intelligence Community may be a step in the other direction though.

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

Yeah, but I think Iraq's capability, nevermind its will, won't permit it to do so. I believe that the government of Iraq is going to be investigating the extent of Iran's interference in internal affairs; hopefully it will be a credible public report, but that certainly isn't a given, considering the factions that run the government.

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

I can't imagine someone coming up with a good argument about why these countries should not unite against American influence, unless that person argues against state sovereignty in general perhaps. However, to say its in the best interest of the region, of peace, of stability, and of all that nice stuff: I don't buy that. Don't pretend that the people running those states are any more "noble" than those that run the American state. All these states may want 'peace', but only if that peace is in the best interests of their ruling parties and state security.

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

I see so this is too impossible to be practicable? Well Hezbollah expertise was lent to those that bombed the embassies back in the 90's, why is this such a stretch?

Iran and Hezbollah don't have enough in common or the arms money etc. doesn't give Iran a right to ask for training help or other assets etc?

__________________
I am the same man and do not alter, it is you who change, since in fact you took my advice while unhurt, and waited for misfortune to repent of it....
But you must not be seduced by citizens like these nor be angry with me- who, if I voted for war, only did as you did yourselves.

Pericles's Funeral oration

Because the U.S.A. will put a boot up their ass?

You may be right, but if the Iraqi government doesn't have the will to defend the country from foreign aggression even with U.S. military help, that's just one more alarm bell signifying that the U.S. should not be spending its resources on the country.

Yes I agree and I am not saying they all hold the "noble" flag. However, they are on their lands, they hold a large section of that region, and peace and stability is in their interest even if they are baddies.

America should not be in the M/E, it has no business there, it shud have no interest in there, just like Iran has no interest in America, just like Hizbullah has no interest in America. Say Iran decides that America is not sharing its Texas oil and that its supplies will end in 30 years time, should it invade Texas and ship its oil to Iran? It can justify the invasion by saying that the Bush Administration is barbaric, and Bush is a dictator and has developed WMDs, America has used nuclear weapons before and can use them again so we must disarm them etc.... you get the point. The Americans should stay inside their borders, and should stop messing about with Middle Eastern affairs.

So the conclusion I personally reached and I am sure the vast majority of this world has reached, .... America is unwanted in the Middle East, it shouldnt be there, and like I said, all parties in the region should unite to terminate this unwanted illegal presence in the region for the good of all countries of the region.

You know what pisses me off most? America has the power to do good, but its using the vast majority of this power to do evil. Lets see!. In the Myanmar disaster, whats the number of dead till now? 25,000??? How much money did the US give? I read this morning that it donated through USAid $ 3 Million. WTF is this? this is the value of a villa in LA! But how much did it put aside for wars that kill 100,000s of people? Trillions of dollars. Enough said!

WS.

__________________
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom"- Malcom X

If a missile hit one of your warships would I be justified in blaming Israel because they had the means to carry out the attack and a history of attacking U.S. warships in international waters?

I tend to agree with Scott Ritter's assessment of the issue. I find it more likely that Hezbollah is being demonised by America in an attempt to make an Israeli security matter into an American security matter.

__________________
I am the same man and do not alter, it is you who change, since in fact you took my advice while unhurt, and waited for misfortune to repent of it....
But you must not be seduced by citizens like these nor be angry with me- who, if I voted for war, only did as you did yourselves.

Pericles's Funeral oration