FOXNews.com - Views - CATO - Did Iran Use Chalabi to Lure U.S. into Iraq?: "Is it possible that Iran used Chalabi and his organization to lure the United States into invading and occupying Iraq?
The troubling reality is that Tehran would have had multiple motives for such a strategy. First, Iranians regarded Saddam Hussein as more than just an adversary; they viewed him with the same kind of fear and loathing that Russians in the 1940s viewed Adolf Hitler.........
Second, the invasion did Tehran a favor in another way. Iraq was the only credible strategic counterweight to Iran in the Persian Gulf region. Iran's military capabilities dwarf those of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and while Turkey is a potential strategic counterweight, Ankara has long been reluctant to play a major role in that region. A united Iraq was the principal obstacle to Iranian preeminence.
A U.S. occupation of Iraq (especially the disbanding of the Iraqi army, which Chalabi strongly advocated) significantly advanced Iran's interests. The possible destabilization of Iraq arising from the elimination of a strong central government in Baghdad -- and the possible emergence of a friendly, Shiite-led successor government--was a potential bonus for Tehran.
Finally, the Islamist regime had an incentive to distract the United States. Washington was beginning to pay an extensive amount of attention to Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Tying down the U.S. military in a nation-building quagmire in Iraq might reduce the likelihood that Washington would be able to take preemptive action against Iran. Notably, the loose talk in some hawkish American circles about the Iraq war being merely the first stage of a campaign of forcible regime change throughout the Middle East has subsided greatly as the difficulties of the Iraq occupation have mounted. "
The troubling reality is that Tehran would have had multiple motives for such a strategy. First, Iranians regarded Saddam Hussein as more than just an adversary; they viewed him with the same kind of fear and loathing that Russians in the 1940s viewed Adolf Hitler.........
Second, the invasion did Tehran a favor in another way. Iraq was the only credible strategic counterweight to Iran in the Persian Gulf region. Iran's military capabilities dwarf those of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and while Turkey is a potential strategic counterweight, Ankara has long been reluctant to play a major role in that region. A united Iraq was the principal obstacle to Iranian preeminence.
A U.S. occupation of Iraq (especially the disbanding of the Iraqi army, which Chalabi strongly advocated) significantly advanced Iran's interests. The possible destabilization of Iraq arising from the elimination of a strong central government in Baghdad -- and the possible emergence of a friendly, Shiite-led successor government--was a potential bonus for Tehran.
Finally, the Islamist regime had an incentive to distract the United States. Washington was beginning to pay an extensive amount of attention to Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Tying down the U.S. military in a nation-building quagmire in Iraq might reduce the likelihood that Washington would be able to take preemptive action against Iran. Notably, the loose talk in some hawkish American circles about the Iraq war being merely the first stage of a campaign of forcible regime change throughout the Middle East has subsided greatly as the difficulties of the Iraq occupation have mounted. "
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