Canada's Defense Minister claims Iran is supplying Afghan "insurgents"

[Bozita]

Source: lead on CBC-TV's 'The National'

Tonight's 'The National' is airing at this moment. It will be available for online viewing at approximately 11pm EST.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay was speaking from Afghanistan. He was visiting Canadian troops for the holidays.

He claims Iran is supplying both weapons and explosives.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/national/index.html

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I'm betting this guy's a Harper appointee.

I remember when the Taliban snatched a dozen or so Iranian diplomats. Iran helping the crazies in Afghanistan? I'm not buying it.

[ixion]

1. Iran gains nothing by fueling fires in their own backyard

and there are deep cultural differences between the various races and sects there. It always strikes me as odd the way the western governments toss out things like this even though it makes no sense.

[Johnyawl]

3. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

the Iranians wouldn't be the first government to shoot themselves in the foot following that bullshit line of reasoning. And it would not be unreasonable for the Iranians to think that the more tied down the US is in Afghanistan and Iraq, the less likely they are to go looking for misadventure in Iran.

[BushOut06]

9. That is such a load of Western bullshit

The neocons used that line to "link" Saddam and Bin Laden. When confronted with the fact that Bin Laden despised Saddam, they used the line "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" to show why Osama could have been cooperating with Saddam. It's such a load of BULLSHIT, used by Western neocons to deceive a population who knows next to nothing about Arabic culture.

[Bozita]

2. Print link from the CBC ...

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/12/25/mackay-afghanistan.html

MacKay says Iran giving weapons to Taliban
Defence Minister makes comments during Christmas visit to Afghanistan
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 25, 2007 | 2:08 PM ET
CBC News
Canada's defence minister has accused Iran of providing weapons to the Taliban and fuelling the conflict in Afghanistan, where thousands of Canadian troops are involved in military operations.

Peter MacKay made the comments at Kandahar Airfield, where he is spending Christmas Day serving a Yuletide meal to hundreds of soldiers.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay serves up Christmas dinner to Canadian troops at the airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Tuesday.
(Tobi Cohen/Canadian Press)
Speaking to reporters after the festivities, MacKay accused Afghanistan's neighbour, Iran, of propelling the conflict by providing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), or roadside bombs, to insurgents there.

"We're very concerned that weapons are coming in from Iran. We're very concerned that these weapons are going to the insurgents.

more...

[nealmhughes]

4. The Wahhabi extremists would as soon decapitate a Shiite for idolotry as they would hang a gay teen.

Unless there is a very strange thing going on in Iran that the Supreme Council has no control over, I find this hard to believe. They are the ultimate enemies: both sets of zealots, fighting over who is or isn't the rightful Fourteenth Poobah or whatever it is, and whether or not Arab asctiscism should trump Iranian luxury and mysticism.

But then again, it might be Molotov-Ribbentrop revisited, so who knows? Iran has a large arms industry, and needs euros, so maybe there is a market for Taliban arms from Iran, but that doesn't mean the government of Iran is publicly behind them, or doing anything beyond "passive indifference."

[daleo]

5. McKay is an idiot

He will probably lose his own seat in the next election.

Mind you, Harper seems to like wars, so he might want to sign on as a junior partner in whatever Bush might do to Iran.

[TrogL]

6. MacKay is a far right-wing wacko

I've had dealings with him.

[SpikeTss]

7. Canada has a vital interest in escalating conflicts worldwide

The Canadian government, that is, of course not the people living in Canada. Just read some facts about government spending over there:

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=14359

There are probably still a few people among the hardcore supporters of Canada’s war in Afghanistan who believe we’re there to restore peace, create democracy, and help women go to school. Yet among opponents, whose numbers are growing, the most common analysis is that we’re there to please the U.S. and to atone for the fact that Canada did not send troops to Iraq – complaints often rooted in a lament for a romanticized Canada, the "honest broker," the "peacekeeping" nation.

...

Since most sales of military goods do not go to the Canadian army, one might well ask why Canada would bother with the expense of keeping 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. The answer is that Canada has become a lynchpin in a mission that fuels a market for international arms sales. If Canada were to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan without securing replacements, the entire mission would risk collapse, bringing down with it the market for Canada’s military exports.

That’s not something any government of Canada is going to risk. The Canadian human rights group the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) reports that the Canada Pension Plan has invested over $2.55 billion in military and related industries both in Canada and abroad. This makes every Canadian, knowingly or unknowingly, a war profiteer. In 2005, Seven Oaks Magazine reported, "The government controls the BC Investment Management Corporation, which in turn controls $63 billion in pension fund investments for the Municipal Pension Plan, the College Pension Plan, the Public Service Pension Plan and the Teachers Pension Plan. As of March 31, 2004, these investments included $4.6 billion worth of stock in 251 corporations producing war materiel and/or contracting to provide goods or services to the Pentagon."

[cartach]

8. This guy lost

out to Harper for the leadership of the Conservative Party,is an M.P. and was appointed to the Cabinet as Defence Minister by Harper. Harper is Bush's supreme bum boy now that Blair has left the scene and Peter MacKay would like to be.

[fascisthunter]

10. Don't Tell Me. Another Conservative Bush Toadie

Another Harper "the Harpie" worm.

[focusfan]

11. i guess Bush is dying to get a war started

i wish they would put the son of a bitch on the front line.

[Harper_is_Bush]

12. Is it just a coincidence that he was there with the US ambassador to Canada? Afghanistan responded.

...that there's no evidence that Iran is supplying weapons, or even where they're coming from.

What a f'n US-toady goof.

[Harper_is_Bush]

13. MORE MSM LINKS ON THIS STORY:

MacKay challenges Iran:
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=9f0011d7-d17f-4ea5-b533-cb88b98dfb5e&k=86798

Afghan rebels using Iranian arms: Canadian defence minister:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMOk2jvPzpj-Ijj0tY3qb9x9Fvgg