March 5, 2015

After we came in and destroyed Iraq, how could they turn to the Iranians who have a very obvious geographical stake in the stability of their neighbor to the west? Since we created a vacuum by taking out their functioning government, they'd certainly prefer other Islamic people to help them rather than the U.S.A. But don't tell the Rhodes Scholars at Fox News. They are just floored that Iran would get involved in a fight they have every right to engage in, even if you only consider one factor: they are right next door to ISIS controlled territory. How is this a surprise to anyone?

General Jack Keane appeared on America's Newsroom to discuss the involvement of Iran in the fight against the I.S. Keane, however, isn't just an outside observer, he has a reason for giving us his two cents. In September, Lee Fang of The Nation wrote:

Talking heads like former General Jack Keane are all over the news media fanning fears of IS. Shouldn’t the public know about their links to Pentagon contractors?... But what you won’t learn from media coverage of IS is that many of these former Pentagon officials have skin in the game as paid directors and advisers to some of the largest military contractors in the world. Ramping up America’s military presence in Iraq and directly entering the war in Syria, along with greater military spending more broadly, is a debatable solution to a complex political and sectarian conflict. But those goals do unquestionably benefit one player in this saga: America’s defense industry.

There's the reason Keane is so flabbergasted. His companies aren't profiting. Never mind that American soldiers don't have to get involved in a fight that was never theirs, he wants to see more dollar signs. Fox News reports:

Major General Qasem Suleimani, the legendary Iranian spymaster and leader of the Quds Force – the elite special operations wing of the hardline Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – is now stirring alarm in Washington for doing something the Obama administration would ordinarily cheer: taking the fight to ISIS in Iraq.

Funny that many current National Security experts see the involvement of Iran as a positive. The New York Times reports:

Iran's involvement is helping the Iraqis hold the line against Islamic State advances until American security advisers are finished training Iraq's underperforming armed forces.

Many of Americans military see Suleimani as a more refined Bin Laden, so his involvement makes many uneasy, especially Senators McCain and Graham, who has not left the fainting couch since his run in with Pelosi.

goober_g
Graham fear-mongers over Suleimani's presence in Iraq

Landon Shroder, an intelligence analyst who worked for corporations in Iraq, was in Baghdad last summer when Mosul fell. He says Iran, no matter what we think or want, has the most influence on its neighbors in Iraq. The U.S. (and Fox News especially) are not too happy about Iran's role. Shroder said,

"That's an unpopular perception in the United States, after spending so much in money and lives lost in the (Iraq) conflict, but it's reality."

Keane and his defense contractor buddies are just alarmed that after all the blood and treasure spent in Iraq, we are still not their besties. Admitting the entire debacle in Iraq was a mistake is the only way to explain away this unpleasant reality. They can never admit they were wrong. If that were the case, the next step would be to prosecute the entire Bush Administration for war crimes, and you can sure bet that'll never happen. Until then, we will hear the drumbeat for war against the Iranians, led by none other than the GOP's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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