While Lebanon Boils, Watch Bosnia
It is always very hard to focus on broad pictures when so many fires are in need of being put out. But it is imperative to keep in mind in the ongoing conflict Iran’s long-standing ties not only to Hezbollah, but to Islamists in Bosnia, a relationship that spans more than a decade.
There is concern among Bosnian contacts that, if Iran feels things are going badly in Lebanon and that the war needs another front, it would take little to ignite Bosnia. It would not be hard to do and the international presence in Bosnia is greatly reduced. So is the intelligence capacity developed in the late 1990s. Several key intelligence-gathering units have been dissolved in Bosnia in the past six months, meaning the West is more blind there than any time since the mid-1990s.
To date Iranian intelligence maintains a huge apparatus in Bosnia and several dozen, if not hundreds, of trainers with the elite units of the Bosnian military. In addition, several hundred mujahadeen who fought in Afghanistan and then Bosnia remain scattered around Bosnia, many of them still with the elite Bosnia units or in the intelligence apparatus.
It is worth remembering this heavy Iranian involvement in the Bosnian conflict because it was in Bosnia that al Qaeda developed its template for future operations. One of the most interesting things is that, while the mujahadeen and Bosnian Muslims were supported by Saudi Arabia and many others, much of the aid flowed through Iran, despite the Shi’ite-Sunni divide. The bridge was Hasan Cengic, an Iranian intelligence agent and later Bosnia’s deputy defense minister who has been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department. Cengic did some of his earliest weapons deals through Viktor Bout, who flew in hundreds of tons of weapons for the Bosnian Muslims in 1992. He later “sold” Cengic at least one aircraft, and perhaps more.
Cengic, although working on behalf of Iran, coordinated the Saudi’s multi-hundred million dollar financial support for the Bosnian Muslims as well. There are concrete examples of this. During one period in the late 1990s, Wa’el Julaidan, now designated by both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as a terrorist financier, received $8 millon from a Cengic-controlled account of the Third World Relief Agency. Julaidan later repaid the money to the TWRA account in a series of smaller payments.
Given Iran’s ongoing desire to push a pan-Islamist agenda and the advantages it gains from ongoing turmoil-not only in terms of oil revenues, but in terms of being able to build alliances, move agents and set a pan-Islamist agenda-its leaders could well feel the need to use another arrow from its quiver. But it could be that no one is watching Bosnia as it prepares to burn.
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Hezbollah-al Qaeda Ties Increase Danger in Lebanon To Cut of Hezbollah Funds, Cut off its External Support Structure
This sounds like a case where success in Iraq, the killing of Zarqawi, might have made it easier to destabilize Bosnia. Zarqawi seemed influential in the western arena of Islamic Terror, and had the reputation of being vilently anti-shiite. So it might actually be esier to bridge the sunni-shiite divide and give us further headaches, in an areea we though we had taken care of. This Islamofascist movement is a many headed hydra.
We may have to rethink out strategy in this war, many times in future years. The biggest asset we may want to develop is military, diplomatic, and political flexiblity.
Maybe th “transformation” of the U.S. Military should proceed on several fronts. Keep the large formatio-large area forces, as well as developing the fast mobile special forces model.
If it’s a “world war”, we might have to have the non-nuclear power projection capacity we had in 1945.
— Wally Lind Jul 19, 16:07 #
The US has an army base as big as a small city in the vicinity…Camp Bondsteel
— Fred Jul 19, 16:49 #
Does Russia still like Serbs and might Bosnia offer a cause for a quarrel between her & Iran? Sure would be nice.
— igout Jul 19, 17:04 #
YOu guys have no clue about Bosnia, so stop making bogus comments. Mr. Farah, this is not war on drugs or Columbia. Seems like you want to talk about issues you have no experience with, or knowldge. Shame on you.
— Josip Jul 20, 03:01 #
The blog author apparently nows very little about the current situation in Bosnia.
Statements like “To date Iranian intelligence maintains a huge apparatus in Bosnia and several dozen, if not hundreds, of trainers with the elite units of the Bosnian military. In addition, several hundred mujahadeen who fought in Afghanistan and then Bosnia remain scattered around Bosnia, many of them still with the elite Bosnia units or in the intelligence apparatus.” are nothing but the fiction since for a long time there is no such a thing like a “Bosnian army”.
— Anes Jul 20, 05:00 #
How on earth do you think Iran has either the ability or the desire to start a conflict in Bosnia? You clearly know little about the situation there.
I am genuinely puzzled by this post, not only because it shows a lack of understanding of Bosnia, but also of Iran, Hezb’llah and even the United States.
The only major arms shipment from Iran to Bosnia happened during the war with US approval and assistance (it flew into a US military airfield).
Hasan Cengic’s job was to arm Bosnia when faced with Serbian genocide, and of course he turned to whoever would help at the time. He does not, AFAIK, work for Iran but for Bosnia. Calling him an Iranian asset is just silly.
If you want to predict bloodshed or pray for war, then do it somewhere else. Don’t try to involve little Bosnia in your absurd Islamaphobic fantasies.
— Lee Jul 20, 07:27 #
You sir have no idea what you are talking about. What would make you think that Iran could set off a war in Bosnia?
What a ridiculous statement. You should do more research before making these comments. A simple transaction of weapons between Bosnia and Iran during the 1992 war has nothing to do with what’s happening in Lebanon right now.
— Mirza Jul 20, 11:26 #
The “speculation” that Bush will let the war go on only one more week is probably a message to others who might consider the 2 front strategy, whether it’s Bosnia or Turkey. Granted, Turkey’s problems with the Kurds might seem remote from Lebanon, but I suspect Turkey is telling the US not to stray too far off the Iraq reservation.
— vachon Jul 20, 13:36 #
A) Intel units have not been dissolved. RS and FBIH have started to merge thier seperate police and army units into one united(znam znam…)force.
B)The US has and still does fully support Saudi and Iranian investment in bosnia. Why? Because the number of idiots who think that they can get an islamic state going in bosnia are outnumbered by a hundred to one by the secular bosnian muslims, croats and serbs. They might start up but they would be crushed. There are what 5 US city sized bases within 500KM of any part of bosnia
— ME Jul 20, 14:59 #
Those Bosnians, or Bosniaks ;) that have posted may need to reconsider the difference between the views of ‘your generation,’ number one, and those villagers who have replaced you in Sarajevo, Tuzla, and so forth. Secondly, there was more than a single flight, and the intelligence contacts went quite high, even exposing American personnel and endangering them. Finally, ties remain between former members of ABiH and the Iranians as well as other members of the government establishment. There remained a hardcore of ideologues within the Bosnian government, just as within Herzegovina and in Banja Luka (or Pale, or Foca! if you prefer).
— Visigoth Jul 20, 21:05 #
Just another bunch of fabrications from Visigoth. I guess that it’s quite a fun making plot stories.
— Anes Jul 21, 08:08 #
I guess that no airplanes were landing on the long straight road just outside Visoko, either, Anes. ;)
The airfield in Tuzla wasn’t under U.S. control at the time, either.
My comments about the Bosnian deals with the devil are not meant to suggest that genocide wasn’t committed. I stood at the edge of a pit and watched an exhumation in Sanica (outside Sanski Most) with children’s bones with bullet holes in the head. But you need to stop clinging to your ‘innocent Bosnia’ myth and realize how deeply enmeshed SDA and aBiH and the associated services were with the Iranians.
An American was also shot in an assassination attempt outside the general staff HQ – you know, just off Alipasina with the bunker in the hillside – just after the war, as well. Ask around, or search the press for this.
For an excellent picture, please see http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/August/roy.html
There is a reason why the U.S. has consistently supported SDP. Bosnia’s self-defense also meant that they accepted outside help – like some bearded guys outside the jamiya in Travnik in 1992 – as well as sweeties like ‘Celo’ (at KP Dom at the same time as Izetbegovic…) and…well, you had your own Islamist ideologues too, even if they were less fervent initially. Heroic defenders of multicultural Bosnia…it was both true, and a myth, in nearly equal parts. The Serbian fantasy and justification for their ‘aggression’ (it is sort of a stock phrase in B/C/S but describes it accurately) will become a truth if you don’t wonder why so many more women are covered in Bascarsija today…and where little Bosnia is headed, with a new concrete Gulf or Saudi-funded mosque in every little village. But maybe I am just making this up, too.
— Visigoth Jul 22, 10:52 #
Visigoth,
Again, you have only some clues about the war situation in Bosnia, just like an above blog author, and when one has only some, but not ALL clues, plots so easily arise.
Yes, the Tuzla airport was not under the US control, during the war, but it was under the UN control – the UN base was there since 1993. and no planes were landing on it. Yes, there was a stretch of the road used as an airstrip for small planes only, outside not Visoko, but Kakanj, but only very small planes were landing there (one of them was parked at the nearby school most of the time, next to the road daily heavily used by the UN and foreign press) so what’s so secretive about it?
You have forgotten also that there was a NATO enforced no-fly zone over Bosnia since 1993. and no bird and let alone planes could land without the NATO approval.
Yes, there was a strong Iranian presence in ‘94 and ‘95 in Bosnia, since Iran was indeed ‘secretly’ supplying the Bosnian side with arms in ‘94 and ‘95 but all of this was taking place with the US approval since that was the only way to arm the Bosnian side since there was a UN arms embargo imposed in 1991. whose only practical victims where Bosnians. Yes, Iranians wanted to establish the stronger presence, but that was completely ended in 1996. by famous NATO Pogorelica operation and that was it.
Yes, Bosnia has been a target of different Islamic organizations who mostly arrived as NGOs after the war, some with good some with bad intentions and under their influence some Bosnian Muslims were converted to the Saudi version of Islam but that story has nothing to do with Iran, but only with the Saudi money. However, even that story come to the end after September 11. since NATO did all it could to eradicate any Al Qaeda traces in Bosnia.
There are no more secrets in Bosnia, after 10 years of heavy NATO and USA presence and I am surprised how that the blog author is not aware of such a simple and obvious fact.
Whatever happens to Bosnia in future it will happen only with their approval.
But, again it’s probably more fun to make up plot stories, especially when it’s hot and sexy to write about such a subject like omnipotent Iranians creating wars around the globe.
— Anes Jul 22, 13:56 #
Bosnia is not just an Islamic country. There might be a Moslem majority called “Bosniaks”, but the large parts of the population are Croats and Serbs. They are represented in a country institutions, and they will more than strongly resist any attempt to convert Bosnia into islamic state, or anything similar to that. We can all remember early 90’s. It would be a mistake to think that it could not happen again.
— Drazen Gemic, Zagreb, Croatia Jul 22, 14:10 #
Anes, you need to go to Visoko, Kakanj (I’d avoid vares ;) and ask who was flying what. Iranians weren’t the only one arming the Bosnians. You’ll find out some interesting things if you talk to the right people.
There were many violations of the no-fly zone as well.
I’m glad there are no more secrets in Bosnia. There are a couple of folks we’d like to take to the Hague, have them wait in Kogo for me, please.
Finally, I hope you’re right that 11 September ended the meddling of hardline Islamic allies in Bosnian politics. The CV of the current Ambassador to the United States, however, do not give me hope.
Anes, it is pointless to bring up the moral justifications or reasons for the Iranian presence in BiH. Having had genocide committed against you in the past has nothing to do with the present. They’re there, now. I don’t think of this as a ‘plot.’ There are plenty of people willing to look the other way; hopefully, not enough of them.
— Visigoth Jul 22, 18:21 #
This really is silly, big difference between Iranians and Bosnian muslims is that they are shia and we are sunni muslims. You can see for yourself how well the two get along in Iraq.
Also all those foreign mujahadeen you were talking about had their visas revoked just last month and the Federation government kicked out hundreds of them.
A little more investigation next time before you go after every muslim nation in the world.
— Boz Jul 26, 14:44 #
Haha this is funny.
Bosnian and Iranian muslims don’t are not even on the same leverl and the Iranians could never turn Bosnia in to a only “Muslim” country.
The Croats wouldn’t want it or the Serbs or Europe or anyone, plus the Bosniaks are happy the way their country is, I doubt many would want to live in a only “Muslim” country.
And lets get something straight, when half of Iranian muslims start drinking bear and their women wearing tight clothes like the Bosniaks then we can compare these countries. But we all know that will never happen because Bosnian muslims have so little in common with muslims in the middle east. Plus as much as you want to disagree a majority of Bosnian muslims drink and public alcohol is avaliable in any city.
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