Matt Yglesias passes along a very strange fact:
Did you know that many Badr Brigade members are actually drawing pensions from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps? Good things our troops are fighting, dying, and killing to help them consolidate their control over Iraq.
Democracy Arsenal provides the details:
The Badr Organization is the military arm of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI previously known as SCIRI). Now ISCI is closely aligned with Maliki government and is arguably the most significant player in the current central government. In fact significant elements of the Badr Organization have been incorporated into the Iraqi Security Forces.
Now, here is where things start to break down. The Badr Organization (Originally called the Badr Brigades) was originally formed by Iran. But according to Ware many of its members were considered to be part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. And many of them are now considered to be retirees of the IRGC. Which means...wait for it... wait for it...They still get pensions from the IRGC!! But it gets better. The Bush Administration has classified the IRGC as a terrorist organization!!
So, just so that we're clear on this. We are building an army full of people who are still getting pension payments from an organization that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. And we are basing our entire future in Iraq on that army. Not only that, but when this army decides it's going to take out its major opponent for power as it did last week, and doesn't even tell us about it, we still back it up with air power and American troops as it stumbles. And then we tell everybody that this is a good sign.
The stupidity of our current policy makes my head hurt.
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