Afghan president counters US rhetoric on Iranian role in country (Iran a "helper and a solution")

[TexasLawyer]

Source: Agence France Presse

Afghan president counters US rhetoric on Iranian role in country
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, August 06, 2007

WASHINGTON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a key US ally, contradicted US assessments of the threat posed by Iran and insisted in an interview aired Sunday that Tehran played a beneficial role in his region. "So far, Iran has been a helper and a solution," Karzai told CNN on the eve of a visit here Sunday to meet with President George W. Bush for talks on the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

"Iran has been a supporter of Afghanistan, in the peace process that we have and the fight against terror, and the fight against narcotics in Afghanistan," said Karzai, who became president with US backing in 2002.

His remarks differed markedly from the US stance, which sees Iran as a major menace that bankrolls terrorists, supplies arms to insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq, and seeks to develop nuclear weapons.

The position was reiterated on Sunday by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she defended the decision to sell tens of billions of dollars in arms to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to thwart Iran. "I don't think anybody doubts that Iran constitutes a major challenge, security challenge, to our friends, our allies, and therefore to our interests in the Gulf region," Rice said.

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Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=84351

[fujiyama]

1. He's making US officials look like fools

Gates came off as an idiot claiming that Iran was "helping the Taliban".

Funny, because just over five years ago they were bitter enemies because the Taliban was persecuting Shiites in Afghanistan.

[tchunter]

2. why would Iran go from supporting the Northern Alliance to...

supporting a group that doesn't view shiites as muslims. Hell, i think that Tajiks speak persian and the Hazara's are shiite, two groups that made up a significant proportion of the anti-Taliban forces. Iran and Afghanistan came very close to war during that time after an incident that killed some iranians.

[cliss]

3. Unbelievable. Hamid Karzai must be

extremely disgruntled with his Overlords to be saying things like this. Karzai must surely know the U.S. propaganda and talking points by now???

Since he was "elected" to be president of Afghanistan. His days might be numbered.

[sailor65]

4. Riiiight!

Iran has never been a helper to, or a solution for, anyone.

[fujiyama]

5. Well if it furthers their interests

I don't see why they wouldn't help another party out.

Unless you buy US government propaganda that all of a sudden the Iranians back the Taliban even though they hated each other just years ago....

[clixtox]

7. Never? Really, Not even one little bitty time? Not anyone?

Well swabby, you paint with a wide mop!

Welcome, there is a lot of that hyperbole going around. You might have caught that virus right here on DU, it is notoriously contagious and can float on the wind. Don't worry though, nobody takes you seriously until you have a thousand inane one liners posted here. Gotta get busy...

The situation in that region, the "Middle East" is very complicated; the oil, for religious reasons, irrationally imposed borders. historical animosities and alliances, all compounded by our mercurial and malicious meddling.

Iran is not now a threat in any way to the USA. Believe it or not, North Korea has never been any threat to us either. For the ruling junta, demonizing "enemies" is another way to create the fear required for Americans to willingly allow the constitution to be trashed.

The "axis of evil" is headquartered in Washington DC. Our greed for the wealth of the world, at advantageous terms, backed up by our military's "shock & awe" delight in the illegal destruction of life sustaining civilian infrastructure is meant to be intimidating. So were the atomic bombs dropped over Japan 62 years ago this week. Ironically, intimidation of the USSR then, not even of Japan.

Our military budget is about the same size as the whole rest of the worlds countries combined, and a lot of the other countries with bloated military budgets are putatively our allies through thick and thin. It is all about intimidation. We need everyones resources desperately to fuel our ridiculously wasteful consumer culture.

The only country on Earth threatening to invade or attack other countries, as far as I know, is the good ole USA. Iran? Iraq? North Korea? Syria? Panama? Grenada? Not bloody likely.

Our country!

Yours and mine...

I wouldn't say that we have never done anyone any good. Never helped anyone else or provided solutions, but we have a piss-poor record of meddling and horribly worse. We could be doing so much more, making lasting friends around the world instead of lasting enemies and supporting our reluctant allies in crime, the "coalition of the billing".

Or is it?

[Tempest]

10. They were once a helper to the U.S.

Reagan supplied Iran with weapons during their war with Iraq to keep Saddam from winning the war.

[kineneb]

6. parts of Afghanistan were in Persian empire

they still speak Dari, a variant of Farsi. I can completely understand why Iran would be helping them. Many of the Dari speakers consider themselves to be Persian, as well as Afghanis. Folks here (US & DU) need to understand that the modern boarder are only that, modern. When your country is 2500 + years old, part of one century is "modern". They do not view time like Americans.

(I know, I just spent the weekend with my Persian step-father and grandmother...)

[TexasLawyer]

8. thanks for that information

interesting background.

[TexasLawyer]

9. Press coverage

Karzai's statements on Iran has received wide coverage abroad. But in our own domestic press-- not so much.

For example, Karzai's statement about Iran is buried at Paragraph 24 of this Cicago Sun Times article.


http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/498465,CST-NWS-afghanside06.article