Fwd: [lbo-talk] Juan Cole: PKK Spin-Off Behind Istanbul Bombings

[cian]

Michael, you're missing my point. The Turkish Hizbullah is a sunni group,
with no connection to the Lebanese group (Shi'ite) whatsoever. They share a
name, but given that they have different religions (effectively), that's
probably about all that they share. I know that Iran and Syria were/are
backing the Lebanese group - but that's a whole different can of worms. I've
read a number of newspaper reports, and also US government papers, on
terrorism in the middle east which seem to assume that every group called
Hezbollah, is the same group, or linked. Which displays a disturbing level
of ignorance on the part of people who should know better, if nothing else.

I can believe that Syria (or rather someone in the Syrian regime, anyway)
might be backing whoever was responsible for the bombings in Turkey. Sounds
a lot more probable. I think this was too brutal to be the work of Mossad.
Or it could just have been a Turkish terrorist group (of whom there are no
shortage of well motivated, and equipped, groups). It certainly doesn't have
to have anything to do with Al-Quaeda. There are plenty of reasons why
domestic groups might carry out such an attack.

-----Original Message-----
From: lbo-talk-admin at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-admin at lbo-talk.org]On
Behalf Of Michael Pugliese
Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2003 1:41 AM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: Re: Fwd: [lbo-talk] Juan Cole: PKK Spin-Off Behind Istanbul
Bombings

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:38:28 -0000, cian <cian_oconnor at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:


> Is there any evidence of Iran helping Sunni extremists? It seems
> improbable
> that they would. Or is this another example of deciding to link any group
> calling itself Hizbullah (Party of God) to Iran - relying on most
> people's
> ignorance to make the connection (including it seems US intelligence).

   I'll scour the shelves at Borders this weekend for the reliable texts
from leftish, centrist and neo-con and "realist" conservative terrorism
scholars on Iranian and Syrian state sponsorship of Hizbollah. I suspect
there has been much more from the Iranian state and Assad, Sr. when he was
alive, than your agnostic stance implies.

   One dinner guest w/ Doug (and Jordan Hayes, wished we'd known you where
there at Modern Times too), Thomas Seay, Joanna Bujes and myself the other
night in San Francisco was Joel Schalit, (whose first book, "Jerusalem
Calling, " looks like a great read [I've had a copy for a yr. at
least....now I feel more motivated to read it...]) thinks the Istanbul
bombings have Syrian state sponsorship and are payback for the IDF raid
into Syria a few months ago, bombing an old terrorist training camp.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/litarchives/2002_may/interview_joel_schalit.html

   On another list, leftist-trainspotters, a neo-Maoist a self-described,
"tankie, "  and a Hoxhaiite from Norway into the Islamist Iraqi Resistance
and the unrecontructed Iraqi CP (Cadre) M-L, plus one of my Trotskyist
friends in San Francisco, who happens to be Jewish, all think these
Istanbul bombings are Mossad false flag provocations like the synagogogue
bombings in Baghdad in the late 40's.

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