Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) On Saturday, 16 February, a suicide bomber killed the senior Iraqi army intelligence officer, Brigadier General Awni Ali, and two of his bodyguards in his home, in northern Iraq. So far, nobody has claimed responsibility for the assassination. Analysts suspect the hand of Saudi-Arabia and the “Islamic State of Iraq“, which is the Iraqi branch of the international network of terrorist and mercenary organizations under the umbrella of Al Qaeda, behind the suicide attack.
High-ranking Iraqi officials, including Iraq´s Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malaki, have over the past months repeatedly warned about an influx of terrorists, supported by Saudi-Arabia in Iraq and against a Saudi attempt to destabilize the country.
In December, FNA reported, that Saudi Arabia has reactiveted its old smuggling routes, which were used during the wars on Iraq, to smuggle weapons, drugs, and various types of military equioment to insurgents in Syria. The smuggling route starts from Al-Nakhib, in the western A-Anbar province, near the Ar´ar border crossing. From there, the deadly contraband is shipped to the variety of terrorist organizationsin Syria. However, analysts and security experts, such as the Pakistani, retired major Agha H Amin, state, that many of the supplies will also be used to sustain and build up the insurgency in Iraq.
Also in December 2012, a senior Iraqi legislator, issued a warning against plots which are being hatched by Tyrkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia against Iraq, calling the citizens of Iraq to be vigillant. In an interview with the Lebanese al-Mayyadeen satellite network in 2012, P.M. Nouri al-Malaki stated:
Nouri Al-Maliki, Photo: nsnbc archives
” Qatar and Saudi Arabia which are meddling to topple the Syrian government are now doing the same meddling to topple the Iraqi regime. Their goal is overthrowing the Iraqi government. Their goal is overthrowing the Iraqi ruling system and not overthrowing me”.
Analysts expect two principle reasons for the aggravation of the Gulf-Arab Nations subversive activities in Iraq. Subsequent to the ousting of the Baath Party government of former President Saddam Hussein, Iraq has been building increasingly close ties with Iran. Another, and most likely the principle reason is, that Iraq is part of the cartel behind the 10 billion USD PARS gas-pipeline project, which, if completed, would deliver gas from Iran, through Iraq and Syria to the eastern Mediterranean coast. The geo-political and energy-security related aspects of an eventual completion of the project, is by many analysts, inclyding the scribe, and F William Engdahl, meant to be one of the primary reasons for the attempted subversion in Syria.
Related articles:
Saudi Smuggling Route to Syria Disclosed.
Up in arms: ‘Iraqi Jihadists and weapons flow to Syria’
Syria, Turkey, Israel and a Greater Middle East Energy War
The Dynamics of the Crisis in Syria. Conflict Versus Conflict Resolution. (Part 1)
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