So, have we simply handed Iraq to Iran?

[BeyondThePale]

First, it appears that Iran funneled information to Chalabi that was used as (false) justification for the war. Now, it appears that our catastrophic mistakes may hand the elections to an Iranian supported coalition. Great planning on our part...

[Vincardog]

1. OUR?

[Prodemsouth]

2. As I said on another post if people were to look real hard we would find

an unholy alliance between the GOP, Christan and Islamic Fundamentalist.

[Ms. Clio]

3. Your premises are completely false

Chalabi did not funnel information from Iran--the White House Office of Special Plans was responsible for ignoring CIA intelligence and cooking up its own to justify the war. If the warmongers listened to Chalabi, it's because he told them what they wanted to hear.

It is also extremely unlikely that anyone but the U.S.'s choice will actually be "elected"--see Karzai in Afghanistan for an example of a "free and fair" election in a U.S.-occupied country.

[lcordero]

4. I see that you have adopted the administration's tactics of

smearing Iraq's neighboring countries.

No thank you.

[Clark2008]

9. How is what the original poster said "smearing" Iran?

I, personally, believe we should just let countries conduct their own business and keep our world-dominating, imperialistic nose (Bush Administration) out of it, but Iran is in the throws of a cultural civil war and the fundies are winning because they have more power (sound familiar?)

I don't think the poster meant to "smear" Iran. I think he/she was just pointing out that Iraq isn't going to be any more democratic than we are: simply a puppet of some more powerful group without an identity of its own.

If Bush hadn't marched into Iraq, Iran probably wouldn't be much of a factor to Iraq OR to the United States.

[lcordero]

10. this is how

"First, it appears that Iran funneled information to Chalabi that was used as (false) justification for the war."

[sandnsea]

11. Everyone is good and peace loving

Except the US. Yes. Absolutely. That's reality-based.

[Clark2008]

5. If I had belonged to this board back when Bush and the media

were first cheerleading this war, you would have heard me say that this was bound to happen - that Iran would come into Iraq and be accepted with open arms. I knew it - just a surely as I know the sun rises in the East.

My ex-husband is Arabic. When we were married, I more than dipped my toe into their culture: I read the Qur'an (didn't convert, but it's as beautiful a book as the Bible and the Torah in pure literary terms), I learned what drives the Arab nations, I learned the truth about how the mainstream Arab feels about Israel (they don't want to drive it into the sea, no matter how much you read that they do - they just want land for the Palestinians, as well) and what they think needs to be done to ensure their prosperity and peace.

What I also learned was that Arabs will side with other Arabs and like-minded people before they would ever acquiese to Western culture, even though they enjoy jeans, pop music and television. I knew that upon Iraq's fall - and I knew we would "beat" them (duh!) - that Iran would swoop in from on high and create one big Shi'ite nation, possibly more fundamental in its beliefs than the Taliban. Iraq would have a democracy, all right, a democracatically elected fundamentalist Shi'ite leader who would turn on the United States more than Saddam Hussein ever could or would have.

How come, a former reporter turned stay-at-home Mom turned marketing professional, who makes chump change, knew this and all those highly-paid, so-called experts at the Pentagon and in the State Department and in the Bush Administration's cabinet didn't know this?

Well, they did - but they didn't believe it. Chalabi (who I also knew was a wanted criminal in Jordan) painted such a pretty picture to Cheney and Rummy and Wolfie - learned from the extremist-Muslim tales of Allah supplying virgins to martyrs, no doubt - of liberated Iraqis throwing flowers and candy to the troops that they ignored 1500 years of historical reference.

Oh, and then there was that oil thing...

[nostamj]

7. great post, great perspective.

thanks!

[jazzjunkysue]

6. Un, yeah. We did.

[Skink]

8. 400 Billion a year habit....

We've got to take our toys out every once in awhile and test them so we can design new ones.