Iran's Revolutionary Guard: American allies since 1978? …

Sotal Iraq, Iraq

Iran and America: Partners in Crime

"Iran has been a strategic ally of American imperial power from the time of the Shah right up to today."

Translated By James Jacobson and Nicolas Dagher

By Talal Ma'aruf Najam*

November 12, 2007

Iraq - Sotal Iraq - Original Article (Arabic)

The world was surprised ... but we weren't ... and it seems that with our previous analysis we have earned the confidence of many. Iran has been a strategic ally of American imperial power from the time of the Shah right up to today. When the Shah's visage became unloved by his people, the White House - because of its treachery and unlimited ambition - became uneasy and lost patience with him. 

To all the world, with the crisis at American Embassy in Tehran and the detention of its staff by Iranian students in the first days of the Islamic Revolution, Iran entered a period of conflict against American imperial power .

The occupation of the American Embassy dragged on for several months and the assumption of most of the world was that U.S. forces were impotent and that the Iranian revolution had begun to teach Washington a lesson in bravery. But what revealed this bravery was the theatrical crash of two American helicopters in the Iranian desert, which was arranged, far from the capital Teheran, where Iranian Revolutionary Guard held the U.S. hostages [Operation Eagle Claw ].

Washington claimed that the two helicopters were on their way liberate the American hostages. Iran hailed the capture of the two helicopters as a victory over American airpower and the estrangement between Teheran and Washington appeared to continue, even blatantly at times.

Then came the most recent scandal that revealed the false nature of the hostility between the two countries, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared the American intelligence report  on Iran's nuclear program “a great victory for Iran.”

In his speech broadcast by Iranian television, Ahmadinejad added that the American report “announces the victory to all the international forces of the Iranian nation regarding its nuclear program.”

The American intelligence report unveiled on December 3rd concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear arms program in 2003, although they still haven't stopped carrying out uranium enrichment. The authors of the report said that they have a, “high degree of confidence” in their information.

Teheran didn't hesitate to exploit the shift in the attitude of American intelligence, demanding compensation for the “fictional accusations” made against it over the years by the Bush Administration, emphasizing that the report provides good reason to take the issue of the Iranian nuclear file out of the hands of American officials and return it to its natural place: the International Atomic Energy Agency.

What concerns us is Iran's request for negotiations and demand for compensation, which is nonetheless sensible after all the services Iran has rendered to the American Administration. Tehran supported American forces during their Afghanistan invasion and the findings and information used to launch the American invasion of Iraq were provided by the Iranian regime, mostly through its contacts in the south and middle of Iraq.

This is what explains the long silence of the American occupier in regard to Teheran's active injection into Iraq of elements of the Revolutionary Guard in Basra and Karbala under the name “Al-Quds Brigade,” who them spread out and melted into the population in the south and Middle of he country - made easier by their mastery of the Iraqi dialect and their familiarity with the form of dress amongst the indigenous Iraqi clans.

America was also silent and went on staying silent about the smuggling of Iraqi petroleum, distinguished by its high quality, so that it could be mixed with Iran's far lower-grade of oil, and to market it as if it is Iranian oil. If Iran suspended its nuclear program in 2003, why wait until now to seek compensation and rehabilitation? 

But who will demand compensation for Iraq's wounded and dispossessed? I invite all honorable Iraqis to raise their voices, especially to the United Nations, which lent legitimacy to America's occupation of Iraq, to compensate Iraqis for the loss of lives, infrastructure, and cultural and artistic symbols of Iraq's heritage. And in particular, for the destruction of Iraq's military, an old and powerful institution that has now been removed from Arab-Israeli struggle, providing a service to those preying on Iraq and the Arab nation.

Answers to the following questions would reveal what we need to know: Why did Washington conclude the North Korean nuclear crisis so amicably? ... Why has Washington chosen this moment to release an intelligence report that says Iran halted its nuclear arms program in 2003?

These actions appear contrary to what the U.S. resorted to when it crushed Iraq. Is it conceivable that the six Arab Gulf States would have decided host a summit attended by the Iranian President without the sovereign decision of the above [Washington]? ... Doesn't all this only go to prove that Iraq was indeed a direct threat to the Zionist entity [Israel] ... and that Iraq, which at one time rained missiles on the cities of the Zionist entity, was at the forefront of overcoming the barrier of fear of this entity?

Behold, who will be your champion now, Iraq ... after the despicable song of America's repeated threats against Iran have proven just a show?

*Talal Ma'aruf Najam is a researcher at the Arabic Institute for Research and Strategic Studies, Amman

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