farquar
03-31-2005, 05:29 AM
Western diplomats are raising concerns that Iran is "quietly building a stockpile" of sophisticated military equipment, such as 2,000 armor-piercing sniper rifles and night-vision goggles, acquired through legal purchases as well as under a UN anti-drug program, the Associated Press reported last Friday.
Beyond this, civilian hard-liners have been recruiting suicide bombers to kill US troops in Iraq, or Israelis. Though derided by some officials as not serious, by last June 15,000 had signed up, according to Knight-Ridder.
"It is code to America: 'If you hit us, we will play dirty, using Hizbullah and volunteers to hit the US across the region," says the European diplomat, echoing analysts who note that Iran can swiftly destabilize Iraq, activate militant cells, and close the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. "There is an enormous danger of miscalculation."
That possibility, and the examples of US-engineered regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq, are causing Iran to hedge its bets. http://story.iraqsun.com/p.x/ct/9/cid/c31d0aaa23b24a75/id/c3e6f4b1942eb8bc/
Beyond this, civilian hard-liners have been recruiting suicide bombers to kill US troops in Iraq, or Israelis. Though derided by some officials as not serious, by last June 15,000 had signed up, according to Knight-Ridder.
"It is code to America: 'If you hit us, we will play dirty, using Hizbullah and volunteers to hit the US across the region," says the European diplomat, echoing analysts who note that Iran can swiftly destabilize Iraq, activate militant cells, and close the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. "There is an enormous danger of miscalculation."
That possibility, and the examples of US-engineered regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq, are causing Iran to hedge its bets. http://story.iraqsun.com/p.x/ct/9/cid/c31d0aaa23b24a75/id/c3e6f4b1942eb8bc/