Nicholas D. Kristof has a column today,
‘With a Few More Brains ...’, where he explains that US citizens are among the most ignorant in the developed world and that they prefer their politicians to be just as ignorant as they are. As
Think Progress points out one politician who qualifies is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Now we have a battle with militias who are operating outside the government. … We must win this fight. The militias that we are fighting are backed by Iran. So this is an effort by Iran to destabilize Iraq.
Of course there is one small problem with this as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI):
The Iranians have close associations with all the Shia communities, not only with Sadr but also Hakim. … The notion that this is fight by American allies against Iranian-inspired elements is not accurate.
But it's even worse that that:
Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations noted the ISCI “was essentially created by Iran, and its militia, the Badr Brigade, was trained and equipped by the Revolutionary Guards” — which the Bush administration calls a “terrorist” organization.
Journalist Gareth Porter added the Badr militia is the “most pro-Iranian political-military forces in Iraq.” In fact, ISCI leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim “met with [Iranian Revolutionary Guard] officers to be his guests in December 2006, apparently to discuss military assistance to the Badr Organisation.”
Graham, underscoring his cluelessness about the situation on the ground right now, added that “the Badr brigade is not the problem.” Graham seems to be supporting an effort to fight Iran by supporting Iran.
In fact Sadr is the least supportive of Iran of all the Shia groups but he is also the most anti-occupation which makes him the enemy.
