Former American diplomat Ryan Crocker warns that Iran is “elevating their proxy wars” in the Middle East with the goal of expanding its influence “in the post-Islamic State Middle East.”
Also, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, repeated in a tweet that Israel “won’t be around in 25 years!”
The Iranian expansion is worrying. Researchers state that “the majority of the Iranian-backed militias and proxies “have one thing in common, which is to promote the Islamic Republic’s power and promote its revolutionary ideology.”
As Crocker points out: “it’s important to know your adversary’s strategies and why.” Yet rather than learn from the most oppressive fascists of history, Western leaders have been willfully blind. They should recall that history has proven “vengeful toward the ignorant,” while the Iranians are working hard to fulfill their dream of a reborn Persian Empire. Its proxies are operational globally, and Barack Obama, of course, provided a big boost to Iranian ambitions when he signed the Iranian nuclear deal and sent pallets of cash to Tehran.
The Iranian embassy in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, was shut down under the previous Harper government after fifth-column operations and espionage activity were discovered; the Trudeau government, however, aims to reopen the embassy.
Crocker rightly asks of post-Obama America:
“Are we going to lead in the world or are we going to step back and let the world look out for itself? If it’s going to be the latter, we should have some very serious public discussions about that.”
“Iran reaches new stage in proxy wars in Iraq, Syria”, by Carlo Munoz, Washington Times, February 28, 2018:
Iranian military leaders are elevating their proxy wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to a new and dangerous stage, funneling more money, weapons and advisers to Shia militias in those nations in an attempt to further cement Tehran’s growing influence in the post-Islamic State Middle East, a former high level American diplomat in the region said Wednesday.
Iran has successfully pressed the initiative in Iraq via the Shia-majority Popular Mobilization Units, whose role in the counter-IS fight swayed Iraqi public opinion in their favor, said Ryan Crocker, who served as Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon and Pakistan during and after his 37-year tenure with the State Department.
Similarly, Mr. Crocker said that Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters battling anti-Assad regime forces in Syria have effectively opened the door for Tehran to forge a long-sought land bridge that could militarily connect the Iranian homeland all the way to Lebanon.
Without question the Iranians are now poised to expand on their gains through the establishment of a de facto proxy army in across the Middle East, he said, adding that “it’s important to know your adversary’s strategies and why.”…
“What we’re seeing right now is phase two or phase three of Iran’s strategy in Iraq and Syria,” the former diplomat said. “Why settle for one Hezbollah when you can have many?”………