Terror, Con't

As the skepticism grows about the far-fetched Iranian assassination plot evidently the administration has decided to reveal a few more details. The WaPo's Peter Finn relays the information from "officials", who explain that Arbabsiar had a failed marriage and financial problems in Texas and had "moved" to Iran:

This year, the 56-year-old Arbabsiar, running from a series of failed businesses and a collapsing marriage, returned to Iran to live. And Shahlai apparently decided that he had found another proxy to strike at two of Iran’s principal enemies: the United States and Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, is a key foreign policy adviser to King Abdullah.

U.S. officials say that Shahlai hoped that Arbabsiar, by virtue of his time in Texas, might be able to get in touch with Mexican drug traffickers who would kidnap Jubeir. The plan allegedly later evolved into assassinating him in Washington.

It goes on to say that Shahlai (the guy behind the Karbala ambush in Iraq) gave him the wherewithal to return to the US and look up contacts in the Mexican drug gangs to pull off the plot. Supposedly Arbabsiar thought the nephew of a female friend was connected with Zetas and that turned out to be our mole.

Early reports did not emphasize that Arbabsiar had 'moved' to Iran, they just painted him as a happy-go-lucky Texan named Jack. If he had indeed moved back home that certainly could explain an unpatriotic turn. Also, "Jack" was married to a Latina. So it's not out of the question he could have some Mexican connections. It's also not out of the question the US knew he was a cousin of Shahlai and were watching him closely when he returned to Iran. Or even deeper Clancy-esque stuff. No doubt money was involved, maybe on both sides.

None of which gets Iran off the hook or removes their snookering. People ask why they would risk working with Arbabsiar--good question--but perhaps part of the overall thinking in Tehran was to create the image that the Mexican drug gangs were in league with Iran to create more terror and fear in America. If so, well it's ashamed it backfired in their fat faces. But whatever the rationale this plot looks more and more reality-based and suggests the Mullahs might be getting desperate. Let's hope they don't do what desperate men often do.


Meanwhile the Drone Contingency Operation to combat man-caused disasters is going quite well. Ah, remember the days when the Global War on Terror was just a bumper sticker under George W Bushitler who kept terrorists locked up in secret eastern European gulags? Well, we've moved on to kill, kill, kill! Hey, it's a war. Er, a contingency. Whatever, we're kicking ass.

Of late they've knocked out a major Haggani leader and of note, the Blind Sheikh Omar Rahman's son. He was just recently around Tahrir Square stirring up trouble with the Brotherhood. And this morning we learn that Awlaki's son was turned into desert in south Yemen. That's a lot to put on a bumper sticker.