Iran ready to expand military links with Iraq (never saw that one coming...)

The Telegraph ^ | 12/25/11

[markomalley]

Iran is ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq, its armed forces chief of staff has said, a week after the exit of US forces from their neighbour.

General Hassan Firouzabadi hailed the "forced departure" of the US and allied forces that he said "was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government," the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The statements were made in messages Gen Firouzabadi sent to his Iraqi counterpart, Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari, and to Iraq's acting defence minister, Saadun al-Dulaimi, IRNA said.

The departure of the US troops "was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government," he said.

"I hope the humiliating failure of the United States after nine years of occupying Iraq will serve as a lesson for them to never think of attacking another country," he said.

Lt Gen Firouzabadi added that Iran was now "ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq."

[af_vet_rr]

The thing is, 0 and his bumbling cronies didn’t see that coming. They never do it really is amazing.

George W. Bush is the one who signed the agreement for US troops to leave this month. Obama takes credit for it.

And don't think FReepers weren't predicting this all the way back to 2003. A lot of us knew that Iraq was just a Yugoslavia in waiting - remove the dictator, Tito or Sadam in ths case, and eventually the country will collapse into fighting between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds.

The only thing surprising is that they are being so blatant about it. The Iranians had agents in Iraq since not long after we invaded. I would have thought they would have been a little more subtle for a while longer.