War and Conflict Journal

Korean Border Conflicts page updated to reflect recent North Korean Attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

http://www.historyguy.com/korean_border_conflicts.htm

The page on the 2008 Israel-Hamas Gaza War is now available at:

http://www.historyguy.com/gaza_war.htm–An overview of the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas

Iran and Hezbollah aid the Insurgents; hurt the U.S.

The evidence grows that the U.S. and the Coalition are not fighting JUST a home-grown insurgency and a few rag-tag foreign fighters. As mentioned in an earlier post, Iraqi fighters are getting help with better training and better arms. The U.S. now believes, with what appears to be real evidence, that Iran, through its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, is helping the insurgents against the U.S. and the Baghdad government.

Now why would Iran want to do this? There are several reasons:

1. To further bog-down the U.S. in fighting the insurgents. This makes any possible strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities that much more difficult.

2. To exert more influence among the Shiite parties, militias, and the general Shiite population.

3. To strengthen the bonds between the Shiites of Lebanon and Iraq and Iran; in other words, to show the Arab Shiites that the Iranian Shiites are their big brother and protector. This reason is quite worrisome to the Sunni Arab powers, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States.

4. A general dislike of the United States going back to the U.S.-Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-1981. In other words, Iran plainly sees the U.S. as the enemy, and if they can train Iraqis to fight and die while killing American troops and messing up American foreign policy goals, all the better.

It should be noted that Iranian and Hezbollah support of the Iraqi Shiite insurgents and militias should come as no surprise. The Soviet Union and China followed a very similar, though more obvious path during the Vietnam War in tying down U.S. forces and inflicting casualties on our military by aiding the North Vietnamese. And the United States returned that favor by supporting the insurgents in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and occupation from 1979-1989.

Check out: Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq –By Michael R. Gordon and Dexter Filkins

New York Times: November 28, 2006

2:51:18 PM