While this may signify nothing, and is certainly something I shouldn’t know about much less be posting on an Internet forum, I shall divulge anyway: Recently a friend of my Wife’s was contacted by a secretive gentleman, inquiring as to her availability and as to whether she now had children (having noticed by way of her name change that she was now married). He claimed that he had a job offer that couldn’t be discussed over the phone that had to do with an (unnamed) language which was not English. This gentleman advised her that if a man called (let’s say) John phoned her, that she should go for a coffee with him. What is interesting about this is that this friend has a masters degree in Persian Philology and some time ago applied for a translation position with the Polish foreign ministry. (Poland is a member of the coalition of the willing and veritable U.S. lapdog).

Explosion kills 18 in Iran – the provocations continue..

The silver lining is that all of these armchair generals that keep waving a flag and chanting ‘remember 9-11’ have another chance to join up and go off to thumbwrestle with the brown peoplez…

Top Cheney Aide: U.S. Attack ‘A Real Possibility:‘ One ambassador in Washington said he was taken aback when John Hannah, Vice President Cheney’s national security adviser, said during a recent meeting that the administration considers 2007 “the year of Iran” and indicated that a U.S. attack was a real possibility.

“the provocations continue”

The area around Zahedan resembles a war zone, dotted with forts, trenches and machinegun posts. More than 3,300 Iranian security personnel have died in the region fighting drug traffickers since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Indeed, its also very close, if not actually in Baluchistan which has a very active independence movement (staffed by a combination of marxists, tribal leaders and clerics). But then, as we know that the U.S. has been considering the merits of stoking Iran’s separatist fires, and with reliable reports of U.S. special ops inside Iran, it would seem logical for the Zahedan region to be targeted for a strategic attack.

Either that or the Baluchis have suddenly ratcheted up their capabilities, although for the past few years Pakistan has been their major battlefield. Or it could simply be drug dealers, coming from Afghanistan which is wait… a U.S. protectorate.

Aye, the bombing could be from a number of sources – possibly even working together.

Iran provokes Israel and she and her allies may provoke in-return.

A dark game.

Yesterday: Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
U.S. general: No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis
Pace contradicts claims by other U.S. military, administration officials

Today: Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Bush insists Iran is arming Iraq
I’m going to do something about it, president says

“A dark game.”

No it’s a fun game!

“What it does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.”

- US Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Things made in America are killing or waiting to kill people throughout the world.

Since 1990, the United States has exported more than $152 billion worth of weapons to states around the world. Many of these sales have been to repressive and/or unstable governments. This section provides general arms sales statistics and highlights policies of concern in some of America’s major client states.

Sometimes no Peace.

Or it could simply be drug dealers – My Wife was in this region when she visited Iran, she says it’s the only part of the country where the cops and army have fast modern cars and good equipment in general, all on account of the drug dealers.

I agree, the black market is most likely responsible for any use of Iranian arms by the insurgents in Iraq.

Hard to believe there would be much of a market after the haphazard way the U.S. Army failed to secure Iraqi armories subsequent to the invasion and disbanding of the Iraqi army.

I mean, were I a soldier who knew he’d drawn his last check and that the armories were left unguarded with huge caches of artillery shells, weapons and ammunition; I’d have taken all I could carry or load in a truck and buried it away for a rainy day.

What were the state of relations between Iran and Iraq during the period of economic sanctions?

Any chance some of these “Iranian” weapons had been purchased by the Iraqi government as the impending U.S. invasion was awaited by those in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Pure speculation, but plausible. The war between these parties had long since passed and though they weren’t allies, the Iranians have a thriving conventional arms capability and produce most of what they field.

Do they legitimately export? Is there a black market for arms in Iran as there is in Pakistan?

Could be that as Saddam was backed into a corner pre-invasion and was preparing the Iraqi defenses, some of those pallets of cash we all heard were being moved around the region went for some ammo from the Iranian underground and was later stolen from the armories we failed to secure.

If this is the case, and again it is speculation on my part, it might explain why Iranian arms may be used by the current Iraqi insurgency, without implicating the current Iranian regime.

Sometimes no Peace.