Question re: Alleged Iran-Taliban Connection?

[Bragi]

I note the folling report from yesterday:

U.S. eyes Iran's role in Afghanistan
Amid reports Taliban using Iranian arms Constant Brand, Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Article tools

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The United States will keep a close eye on Iran's involvement in Afghanistan following reports that Taliban insurgents used Iranian-made weapons against NATO forces, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

Richard Boucher, assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told reporters that Washington would like Iran to continue its previous "generally positive role" in reconstruction in neighbouring Afghanistan.

However, over the past year, "there have been increasing concerns raised over Iran's behaviour in Afghanistan - involvement that goes beyond the sort of cultural, commercial and educational, and starts going into reports of involvement in political areas or reports of contacts and arms supply to the Taliban," he said. "These are things we are watching very carefully."

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=02f904bc-fbff-4132-b755-15d43edb90cc&k=40614

Similar reports of this planted story showed up all over the media yesterday.

For me, while it seems likely that some Iranian weapons end up in Taliban hands through normal market forces, I am left trying to figure out if there could be any factual basis to the suggestion that Iran is actively helping the Taliban.

I ask this because since Iran is Shia governed, and the Taliban are Sunni, what plausible reason is there for these two warring Muslim factions to actively collaborate in the manner the US is apparently try to suggest?

Is this just routine misinformation from the US, or is there anything substantial to this alleged cooperation?

- B

[rpannier]

1. Yep...I knew it

The Shiite Theocracy in Iran is really supporting the Sunni Theocrats of Al-Qaeda.

It was so obvious. Just look at Iraq where we have evidence that Iran is supporting the Theocratic Shiites to weaken and eventually drive the Sunni's out of Iraq.

It's exactly the same thing!

Oh...except that the Iranians are trying to kill the Sunni's while emboldening the Sunnis at the same time.

I think my head hurts.

[Eugene]

2. Just like Saddam was allied with Bin Laden.

I posted one of those stories in GD because Gen. Pace
said it, not because it is especially credible.

Iran and Afganistan are neighbors. Al Qaeda is backing
a Sunni insurgency in southern Iran (along with the U.S.)
It is not a big leap for some Iranian-made weapons to
turn up in the wash of arms and drug traffic in the area.

The Taliban killed thousands of Shi'ites during the 1990's
and the two countries nearly went to war. They are
mortal enemies.

[Bragi]

3. Thanks for those responses...

I ask about the plausibility of this particular story because I saw it proliferate yesterday in the media for no other reason than the fact that some US General seemed to think it was a good day to push out this kind of story.

What got me about it is that, while I am just now studying up on this whole area, the story makes no sense based on anything I have read about the situation.

What is truly appalling is that not a single reporter apparently took it upon themselves to ask the PR spinners yesterday how it came to be that these two "mortal enemies" are now collaborating in Afghanistan, which were it true, would be a major change in the situation.

Given this lack of media curiousity, it not surprising that, despite the fact that the story makes no sense, it has been happily and uncritically picked up by media on every continent.

<sigh>

- B