Next target: Iran

The USA accuses Iran of training terrorists inside Afghanistan and accuses Teheran of having links with Al-Qaeda.

Iran, a member of George Bush’s “axis of evil”, is being accused by the USA of preparing terrorists inside Afghanistan and of harbouring Al-Qaeda members. This, according to previous belligerent declarations by Bush, is reason enough for an attack.

Washington accuses Teheran of launching a destabilising campaign against the government of Hamid Karzai inside Afghanistan, the US information services stating that Iranian operatives are working in this country. They denounce the activities of Iranian special forces, namely the elite of the Revolutionary Guard and Iranian secret service agents.

They are accused of training hundreds of guerrillas in Afghanistan, where they are concentrated around Mazar-i-Sharif. The US special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has complained officially to the government in Teheran. He declared: “We gave the Iranians the information we have on what we think is happening, particularly in relation to the presence of Al-Qaeda in Iran and the movements of its members along the frontier”.

The American authorities accuse Teheran of training between 200 and 300 guerrillas from the Shi’ite Sipha-e-Mohammed guerrilla group, also known as the Afghan Hezbollah. The elite Revolutionary guards unit Al-Qods is stated to be providing the training.

Washington meanwhile implants itself further in Afghanistan. In March, military advisors will arrive and their task will be to train 600 officers for the new Afghan army, armed by Washington, loyal to the government in Kabul, a puppet of Washington while the plans are laid for Washington to begin exploitation of the vast mineral resources of the area, namely the gas and oil reserves of former-Soviet Central Asia.

The Afghanistan debacle begins to make sense.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru