Middle East Focus: American Chinese Drip Torture: Terror Bedfellows, al-Masri, al-Libi, al-Amriki, al-Israeli, and al-Capone........

Arabia Deserta

American Chinese Drip Torture: Terror Bedfellows, al-Masri, al-Libi, al-Amriki, al-Israeli, and al-Capone........

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

“The United States Thursday announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a Syrian national said to be operating as an al-Qaida paymaster from a base in Iran....... The State Department says the Syrian, better known by his alias Yasin al-Suri, is a senior al-Qaida "facilitator and financier" working in Iran with the consent and knowledge of Iranian authorities. At a press event, Robert Hartung, deputy director of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, said al-Suri has raised funds for al-Qaida throughout the Gulf region and coordinated the movement of members of the group through Iran. "From his sanctuary inside Iran, he has moved terrorist recruits through Iran to al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has also arranged for the release of al-Qaida operatives from Iranian prisons and their transfer to Pakistan. And he has funneled significant amounts of money through Iran to al-Qaida's leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a dedicated terrorist working in support of al-Qaida with the support of the government of Iran," he said. Treasury Department Assistant Director for Terrorism and Intelligence Eytan Fisch said the United States has "reliable" information of an operating agreement between the Tehran government and al-Qaida…………”

Yasin alSuri is a nom de guerre. All al-Qaeda officials, possibly all operatives, have one, Yasin al-Suri menas Yasin the Syrian in Arabic. al-Qaeda names often end with an indicative of the country of origin of the person: al-Masri (the Egyptian), al-Libi (the Libyan), al-Amriki (the American), al-Zarqawi, al-Israeli (the Israeli), al-Capone, etc.

Normally I would be shocked by such news: in the past I have written here about my skepticism. But not anymore: even a solid rock of granite can be eroded with such drip method of Chinese torture of weekly revelations. Everyone is in on the act in the United States: from the Attorney General to District Court judges in Washington and New York to New York prosecutors to U.S. senators and congressmen and women. I bet even the AIPAC Washington Institute for Near East Policy was getting skeptic about all these charges in private, no mean feat. Now I suspect that even the Iranians are on the verge of throwing the proverbial towel: I can imagine Khamenei and Ahmadinejad yelling in unison “Mea Culpa, uncle. No más”.
If these charges are true, this is indeed a strange ‘accommodation’ between al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime, especially in Iraq. Almost as improbable as a deal between the Nazis and the Jews. Weakening Western power in Afghanistan is probably worth an accommodation to both sides. The Iranians probably believe that the Americans have weakened al-Qaeda and the Taliban enough that they cannot be a hostile power if they get a foothold in Kabul again. Besides, the Iranians can support a formidable opposition alliance in Afghanistan now: they have had ten years of NATO operations smoothing their way.
What is intriguing is that the U.S. government refers to all the money that flow from sources within American strategic territory, the Gulf GCC states, to al-Qaeda. Yet not much, or not enough, is being done about that serious “friendly” fire.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com