Tinfoil Hat Brigade posted by Ben

US fights back against rule by clerics

For the moment, I'm treating the linked article as unsubstantiated. In essence, the author from the Asia Times (supposedly a reliable and reputable news source?) claims that the United States is so alarmed by the results of the Iraqi election that

To head off this threat of a Shi'ite clergy-driven religious movement, the US has, according to Asia Times Online investigations, resolved to arm small militias backed by US troops and entrenched in the population to "nip the evil in the bud".

Asia Times Online has learned that in a highly clandestine operation, the US has procured Pakistan-manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry. Consignments have been loaded in bulk onto US military cargo aircraft at Chaklala airbase in the past few weeks. The aircraft arrived from and departed for Iraq.

Sounds absolutely insane, as this would effectively mean that the United States was funneling arms directly to the insurgency. So why bother posting such a piece of crap? Because historically, we've done it so many times before! Anyone remember the Iran/Contra affair? Or our history of providing arms in Yugoslavia? If you don't remember (or have been told otherwise by an 'expert') go research for yourself and get back to me with your findings.

But what possible reason could we have for funding the enemy in Bush's pet war? If this story turns out to be based on legitimate and verifiable research, I'll tell you. Deal?

For the moment, though, this goes in the tinfoil hat category, but of course, so did the notion that we would seriously countenance attacking Iran, which people laughed at me for suggesting back in September. (I also seem to remember being mocked for suggesting that Iraq had no WMDs. Weird.)