(1)Iraqis fear the return of al Qaeda in Kirkuk
Al Jazeera covers recent suicide bombings in Kirkuk, and the belief that al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is staging a comeback in the oil-rich city. "In two years there was only one suicide bombing in Kirkuk," said correspondent Jane Arraf. "In the last six months, there have been seven."
READER COMMENTS: "Iraqis fear the return of al Qaeda in Kirkuk"
Posted by blert at February 7, 2013 11:16 PM ET:
cui bono?
Kurds are overwhelmingly in the Sunni camp.
So, any AQI op would constitute an Arab Sunni vs Kurd Sunni action.
At this time, such a conflict works to the advantage of Tehran.
Even Shi'ite dominated Baghdad, the Maliki administration, is entirely opposed to these terror tactics.
The CIA has linked Tehran to AQI in past actions. For obvious reasons, the mullahs use cut-outs to hide from their dupes the raw reality: they're being played as pawns.
No matter how they flow, Iraqi oil exports come at Iran's expense. There was a time when Iran exported more than Iraq. That is no longer true. (!)
Iran has been forced/ embargoed down to 1,900,000 bpd.
Her number two customer is also a provider of refined Iranian imports -- gasoline, mostly.
Netting off, Iran is down to 1,700,000 bpd in exports.
(Because 200,000 bpd goes out and comes back as refined products. (round numbers))
Worse still, China and India are demanding even heftier discounts in the crude that Iran exports.
Hence, all across the board, Tehran is pulling out all the stops.