Amir Taheri: "From Kunduz to Gaza: Who is Stirring Trouble and Why?"

Here are the closing paragraphs:

[...] Strategists in Tehran appear convinced that the US retreat will take place within the next two years at most. They are also determined not to allow the US to help shape a regional alliance capable of protecting a new balance of power. This will create a vacuum in many parts of the region, notably Afghanistan, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Tehran cannot allow rival radical groups, especially Al Qaeda and the Taliban, to fill that vacuum. It is, therefore, trying to place its allies and clients in strategic positions from which to claim power in Kabul, Baghdad ad Beirut, among other places.

Early signs show that a long hit summer of conflict, perhaps even full-scale war, is ahead of us in the Middle East. The perception that the US is divided and weak has encouraged the most radical elements throughout the region, including Tehran and Damascus. With what was left of the so-called realists and pragmatists on the defensive everywhere, the radical agenda is unchallenged. As Ali Khamenehi, the "Supreme Guide" of the Khomeinist movement said last week Tehran can deploy suicide-martyrdom groups, a weapon "many times stronger than the atomic bombs used in Hiroshima."

Read the rest.

Tags: Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq