Iraq Iran Proxy Tinderbox

Since Iran is the primary beneficiary of our invasion and occupation of Iraq, on the surface it does not make any sense that they are funding and supporting organizations which are fighting America and the Maliki government, which is already in Iran's pocket.

But last week General Petraeus warned that these Iranian proxies are now the primary enemy in the ever changing, always shifting, goal line in Iraq.

Of course, Iran is gaming the situation. They support every political side that matters in Iraq, so no matter what happens it is a win win situation for them, and they keep winning so long as we are there. But, ultimately they would like an exodus, in which they can fill the vacuum and let Iraq become a full fledged Iranian vassal state.

So why postpone that inevitable day, by arming these militias? Iran does not want an outright war with the US which, after massive destruction to everyone, would result in the demise of the current Iranian regime.

Unlike Saddam Hussein, it would not seem likely they would misread the intentions of George Bush and the neocons. Although Ahmadinejad is off his rocker in a multitude of ways, Iran has always been extraordinarily crafty in pursing their foreign policy objectives.

An article yesterday, in the LA Times, by Borzou Daragahi may provide the answer.

Apparently Iran believes that the US is supporting some terrorist groups which are killing Iranians inside Iran.

One of these groups is the Mujahedin Khalq , which is considered a terrorist group by both the United States and Iran. Dargagahi reports that the group has killed dozens of Iranian security forces, including eleven members of the elite Revolutionary Guard, who were blown up in a car bomb.

They also think the United States is behind the attacks on the oil rich Arab Khuzestan region of southwest Iran.

Iran has come to the conclusion that the US is covertly providing support to PEJAK , a Kurdish Independence terrorist organization, with close ties to the PKK. They are engaged in a guerrilla war against both Turkey and Iran. Last year a Kurdish suicide bomber killed several Iranian officers and soldiers.

All of this has led Iran to start, amongst other things, giving support to Ansar al Islam, a Sunni terrorist group, with close ties to al-Qaida.

The danger is that all these proxy wars could give George Bush the justification he wants to mount air attacks against the Revolutionary Guard inside Iran, followed by strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, followed by an invasion of Iraq by the Iranian Army, unparalleled terrorist attacks on US forces in Iraq, whole scale attacks on Israel by Hezbollah from the North, and Hamas from Gaza, and the unleashing of Iran's terrorist cells in Europe.

And who knows what will happen to the economy when oil prices hit four hundred dollars a barrel.

When General Petraeus spoke to congress, his central message was that the enemy in Iraq is now Iran.

Last week our cowboy president warned Tehran that they have “a choice to make," and if "Iran makes the wrong choice, America will act to protect our interests, and our troops and our Iraqi partners."

Congress needs to get off their butts and find out if the United States is providing support to any of these groups, under the guise they are freedom fighters destabilizing the theocracy in Iran.

I would be surprised if we are not. It is the kind of nostalgic James Bond Cold War intrigue, romantically beloved in neocon circles.

But Bush needs to be told unequivocally that he does not have the authority to arm any anti-Iranian proxies,and he does not have Congressional authorization to unilaterally strike any facility or groups inside Iran.

Otherwise, the disastrous Bush presidency could end with a tragedy, that dwarfs his already impressive record of incompetence and destruction.