Let’s see, there’s a Middle Eastern country known to be a state-sponsor of terror, which has developed and used weapons of mass destruction, is trying to develop nuclear weapons, hates the U.S., threatens Israel, and thwarts any and all democratic reform. Saddam Hussein’s Iraq? Of course not. The country is Iran.
And now we can add another problem: Iran was connected to al Queda and the 9/11 terrorists.
Next week’s much anticipated final report by a bipartisan commission on the origins of the 9/11 attacks will contain new evidence of contacts between al-Qaeda and Iran — just weeks after the Administration has come under fire for overstating its claims of contacts between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
A senior U.S. official told Time that the Commission has uncovered evidence suggesting that between eight and ten of the 14 “muscle” hijackers — that is, those involved in gaining control of the four 9/11 aircraft and subduing the crew and passengers — passed through Iran in the period from October 2000 to February 2001. Sources also tell Time that Commission investigators found that Iran had a history of allowing al-Qaeda members to enter and exit Iran across the Afghan border. This practice dated back to October 2000, with Iranian officials issuing specific instructions to their border guards — in some cases not to put stamps in the passports of al-Qaeda personnel — and otherwise not harass them and to facilitate their travel across the frontier. The report does not, however, offer evidence that Iran was aware of the plans for the 9/11 attacks.
The senior official also told Time that the report will note that Iranian officials approached the al-Qaeda leadership after the bombing of the USS Cole and proposed a collaborative relationship in future attacks on the U.S., but the offer was turned down by bin Laden because he did not want to alienate his supporters in Saudi Arabia.
So, if the principle Bush applied to launch an unnecessary invasion of Iraq are still valid, we should have attacked Iran years ago. Of course, we can’t now, even if we wanted to, because we hardly have the personnel needed to occupy Iraq.
But there are more tangible, immediate concerns for the White House, namely the necessity to create an administration policy towards Iran.
The Bush administration is under mounting pressure to take action to deal with Iran — and end the drift that has characterized U.S. policy for more than three years.
[…]
The disparate range of proposals underscores the near void in U.S. policy toward Iran — in stark contrast to the two other countries in what President Bush calls the “axis of evil.” The administration launched a war to oust Saddam Hussein in Iraq and is now engaged in delicate talks over nuclear issues with North Korea. But six months before its first term ends, the administration has still not formally signed off on a strategy for Iran since a review of U.S. policy was begun in 2001, U.S. officials say.
Pressed to define U.S. policy on Iran, one frustrated senior U.S. official cracked, “Oh, do we have one?”
Remember, these are the guys whose strength is supposed to be foreign policy.
I can’t wait to hear the White House explain how the Iran-al Queda revelation fits in with the vaunted Bush Doctrine. We waged a costly war with Iraq because of non-existent WMD and a fictional connection to al Queda. Iran, meanwhile, appears to have both.
The “we were only off by one letter” defense probably won’t cut it.