Reply #36: There has been consistent unrest in southern Iran -- both east and west -- for some time now

[Emit]

A lot of Arab and ethnic unrest against the Iranian gov't.

It's complicated. But, this article is pretty comprehensive:

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:0xQz1-3yE_QJ:www.kurdmedia.com/articles.asp%3Fid%3D12522+Ahwaz+protests&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

The US has ties to the MEK and to Baluchi and Kurds.

Last year, the Baluchi group ambushed several Iranian government officials in SE Iran, and

On Dec. 16, gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he toured the southeastern province of Sistan, along Iran's border with Pakistan.

According to news reports, Ahmadinejad's personal bodyguard and driver were killed in the ambush, although the president was unhurt. The government-controlled media in Tehran attributed the attack to "bandits," a term used to denote a wide range of armed groups, from drug dealers to opposition guerrillas.

(Hate to use this source, but it was the quickest hit I could find on the subject -- there are other sources: http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:-kHLwC0ZLcIJ:www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/23/173442.shtml%3Fs%3Dlh+President+Mahmoud+Ahmadinejad+attack+of&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us )


The question I keep going over is, "Is it possible that US forces are 'helping' with the unrest -- helping to spur a revolution?" It's a reoccurring theme of Michael Ledeen's.