Terror paymasters are the "chief beneficiary of the war on terror.."?!

A dollar short and a day late, is how one would characterize political think tanks, but at least the Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs) in its recent report (Iran, Its Neighbours and The Regional Crisis, August 2006) has drawn a frank conclusion from the bungling of the US, EU, and Israel in the middle east; the report begins with "There is little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on terror in the Middle East. The United States, with Coalition support, has eliminated two of Iran's regional rival governments.."

With the additional foothold in Lebanon, via their Hezbollah proxy, the mullahs are now confident of their hegemonic goals in the region, and in projecting trouble and extending their sphere of influence. Via their shock troops in Iraq, the Badr and Sadr forces, the mullahs aim to destablize Iraq to the point that, a) the US is preoccupied with fighting the militia, b) increase the mullahs footprint in Iraq so that another militarily strong regime does not materialize, and c) divert away from the problems at home and their nuclear drive. In Afghanistan, the mullahs have cultivated a strong proxy in the western provinces.

What has become clear from the recent conflict in Lebanon, and continuuing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, is that none of the power players, the US, the EU, and Israel, will be able to confront a hugely fundamentalist and obstructionist urge of the Iranian mullahs. This rise in fundamentalism, originated and bank rolled by the mullahs in Iran, can only be effectively confronted by the Iranian people, who remain the main beneficiary of the mullahs wrath. Unshackling the Iranian resistance, should be the first step in a long ride to removing the mullahs' threat in the region and in the world.