Iran and Al Qaeda: Allies or Enemies?

The MSM, desparate to offset the continual hammering of Barack Obama tried the other day to create some sort of controversy when John McCain said that Iran was aiding al Qaeda in Iraq - a point that McCain immediately retracted and corrected. However, was it really a mistake that McCain made?
This article here from Family Security Matters does an excellent job of laying out the long supportive relationship between Iran and Iraq. Look at this example of the relationship:

In late 1991 or early 1992, in meetings held in Sudan, Iran agreed to train al Qaeda operatives. Not long afterwards, al Qaeda terrorists traveled to Iran and received training in explosives. Subsequent to this, al Qaeda terrorists also traveled to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, where they received training from Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The article goes on to list out additional examples of the aid that Iran afforded al Qaeda. Also, there is considerable evidence that Iran and al Qaeda have worked together to fight the U.S. and coalition allies in Iraq, such as:

Also in May 2007, England’s Guardian newspaper reported that Iran was secretly forging ties with al Qaeda elements in Iraq in an attempt to launch a summer offensive designed to prompt the U.S. Congress to vote for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

Let's face...for all of the centuries old hatred that the Persians and Arabs have for each other, it is clear that for the sake of islam and in unity against the "Great Satan", Iran has cooperated with many Sunni factions in the Middle East - recently, Ahmadinejad held talks with Saudi officials in Mecca, for example. Iran has also hedged its bets in many conflicts - they have supported the Taliban's fight in Afghanistan by supplying weapons.
Now, do I agree totally with the author of the article that al Qaeda and the Iranians are buddy buddy? No. I think if America was to surrender in Iraq via the election of Obama or Clinton, that in the end, the Iranians would be fighting al Qaeda tooth and nail, but when it comes to fighting the infidels, believe me, Iran and al Qaeda are tight. Likes peas in a pod...or more accurately, pigs in a blanket.

Iran and al Qaeda: Setting the Record Straight

In recent weeks, two news reports have circulated referencing Iran’s relationship with al Qaeda.

On Tuesday, March 18th, Senator John McCain repeatedly stated that Iran was aiding al Qaeda in Iraq. Later, however, he retracted this statement and said that Iran was not aiding al Qaeda in Iraq.

Senator McCain was right the first time and he should not have retracted his statement. In fact, al Qaeda and Iran have a rather long history of cooperation.

A few days before Senator McCain’s unfortunate retraction, a senior military adviser to the Barack Obama campaign, retired Air Force General Merrill McPeak, was quoted in the March 15th edition of the Washington Times as saying, “Iran is a big enemy of al Qaeda.”

General McPeak’s statement astonishes in its ignorance; especially coming from a flag rank retired military officer.

The shadowy relationship between Iran and al Qaeda was first revealed in the report issued by the bipartisan, independent 9-11 Commission back in 2004.

• Once Osama bin Laden moved from Sudan to Afghanistan and established terrorist training camps there, Iran facilitated the transit of Jihadists to al Qaeda training camps through Iran. This facilitation included making an exception for al Qaeda terrorists in stamping passports when they passed through Iran to Afghanistan. This made it impossible for countries to know when someone had attended a training camp in Afghanistan because there was no record of transit into Afghanistan on the passport. This policy particularly benefited Saudi members of al Qaeda and the Commission reported that 8 to 10 of the Saudi 9/11 hijackers transited Iran.

• The Commission reported that intelligence reports indicated continued contacts between al Qaeda and Iranian officials after bin Laden had moved back to Afghanistan and made the recommendation that the U.S. government investigate further the ties between al Qaeda and Iran.

Other reports have reinforced the findings of the 9-11 Commission, including evidence of al Qaeda-Iran cooperation in Iraq.

• In May 2007, as reported by Bill Roggio, Coalition Forces captured a messenger carrying messages from al Qaeda in Iraq leaders to senior al Qaeda leaders who have long been in safe haven in Iran, including Osama Bin Laden’s son, Said Bin Laden.

• Also in May 2007, England’s Guardian newspaper reported that Iran was secretly forging ties with al Qaeda elements in Iraq in an attempt to launch a summer offensive designed to prompt the U.S. Congress to vote for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

• In July 2007, the Financial Times reported that “western officials” said that Iranian territory was being used as a base by al Qaeda for terrorist operations in Iraq.