themes into one unified attack by linking Al-Qaeda with Western interference in Syria.
Iran has long asserted that the United States founded Al-Qaeda and remains its chief backer. (To continue holding to that line, many officials of the Islamic Republic dismiss the 9-11 attacks as an American ploy, not an Al-Qaeda initiative.)
Separately, the Islamic Republic has charged the United States this past year with intervening in Syria, creating the current uprising, which began in March of last year, out of whole cloth in order to divide the Islamic world.
Last week, these two themes were brought together. Major General Hassan Firuzabadi, the highest ranking officer in the Iranian military as chairman of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces, announced that the Americans were bringing Al-Qaeda into Syria.
“The danger of establishing Al-Qaeda on the southeast coast of the Mediterranean is more dangerous than the threat of nuclear weapons,” Firuzabadi proclaimed rather hyperbolically.
“The global arrogance [referring to the West in general and the US in particular], which created Al-Qaeda Ö and today claims to be at war with it in the Islamic country of Pakistan, has closed its eyes [to its errors] and now is establishing Al-Qaeda in Syria and Lebanon.”
Firuzabadi demanded that the Americans explain the illogical paradox of claiming to be fighting Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan while actually establishing “Al-Qaeda on coasts near Europe.”
He said this American policy was sheer folly and would pose a great danger to Europeans.
Throughout his speech, he neglected to say what he saw that led him to believe the United States—or anyone—was establishing Al-Qaeda in Syria and Lebanon. There have been scattered news reports of possible efforts by Al-Qaeda in Syria and US Senator John McCain asserted Monday that Al-Qaeda was trying to “hijack” the Syria revolution.
In Lebanon, Hassan Nas-rollah, the leader of Hezbollah, picked up on Firuzabadi’s theme and asserted Sunday that Israel, the US and some other Western countries along with certain Arab nations were seeking to topple the Bashar al-Assad government with the help of Al-Qaeda.