Iran sends in troops to crush border unrest

[ECH1969]

The Iranian government has deployed large numbers of troops in cities in the northwestern region which borders Iraq in an effort to quell three weeks of civil unrest that has left up to 20 people dead and more than 300 wounded, according to reports from dissident groups.

They said as many as 100,000 state security forces, backed up by helicopter gunships, had moved into the region to crack down on pro-Kurdish demonstrations.

Protesters then gathered in the main square, chanting "Down with Khamenei", the country's supreme leader.

Witnesses said that security forces responded with live bullets, and some protesters were fired at by helicopters.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1543031,00.html

[Teaser]

1. Who could be behind this now?

Anyone we know?

[shraby]

2. Could certain letters of the alphabet have anything to do

with it?

[Igel]

3. Iran has as much tolerance for autonomy for its minorities as

Turkey does. It would be good to get the story, and the main facts, confirmed, though.

[hang a left]

4. Isn't 100,000 troops....

alot of troops?

[Massacure]

5. Yes. The U.S. has 150,000 in Iraq. Iran is just securing a small region.

[jazzjunkysue]

6. And so it begins. Looks like Bin Ladlen got his jihad. WWIII, aloha.

I miss peace and prosperity.

[cosmicdot]

7. curious that the northwestern region of unrest

borders not only Iraq, but the Caspian Sea -- just armchair-curious of the geopolitical overlay ...



Iran is mentioned a lot in this "working paper", part of the Council on Foreign Relations' Caspian Sea Discourse (c. late '90s)

Key Constraints to Caspian Pipeline Development: Status, Significance and Outlook

By Sheila N. Heslin
James A. Baker for Public Policy Paper, Working Paper

~snip~

Significance for Main Export Pipelines:

The picture is more complex concerning Iran's position as a main export transit state.

~snip~

http://www.treemedia.com/cfrlibrary/library/pipelines/heslin.html
http://www.treemedia.com/cfrlibrary/

[bemildred]

9. And the Caucasus. And Turkey.

And 100K troops is not to be sneezed at.
And Syria, Turkey, and Iran all have a common interest is keeping the Kurds disunited. And of course the oil.

[nosmokes]

8. this gets a whole lot dicier if it signals the start

of a full on revolution by the kurds. of course the likelier scenario is shrubco using this as his excuse for rolling into iran except, unless they've managed to put a whole helluva lot of personnel nd material on the ground that we don't know about it attacking iran would be completely asinine. they have a real army and an actual air force. it wouldn't be like sashaying into baghdad, into a country that we had starved for 11 years with sanctions. but if we commit any troops or assistance to the kurd against iran, that might be enough of a spark to incite the kurds on the western edge of their territory, and that puts ole bushole right squarely in the middle of turkey and the kurds, and with the finely honed diplomatic skills he has the man wouldn't know whether to shit or wind his watch. it should be interesting to watch this play out. oil at $75 a barrel anyone?

[okieinpain]

13. hey don't forget the possiblity for a small crude nuke or two, and

isn't your $75 a barrel a little low. how are the chinese going to like having one of their suppliers taken off line.

hey what about the draft, how will that sit with the young repugs.

[annabanana]

10. Our attack made this inevitable.. the Kurds

Want their own country..
Now,.. what was that I read yesterday about Turkey?

(on edit: oh yeah.. Hastert)

[Theres-a]

11. Are these items related?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=102&topic_id=1675763&mesg_id=1675763

[lumpy]

12. Political manuevering is always

related.