April 19, 2011: The government continues to announce new weapons, the latest being anti-aircraft missiles and cruise missiles. These weapons somehow never make it into the hands of the troops, and are something of a joke in the region. The decades of embargoes have reduced the Iranian armed forces to a threadbare condition. The infantry units are reasonably good (both in the regular army and the revolutionary guard), but the mechanized forces, the navy and air force are all largely equipped with press releases, broken promises and not much else.
The Arab world is angry at Iranian meddling and war-mongering throughout the region. Palestinians accuse Iran of preventing Palestinian unity by ordering its client in Gaza, Hamas, to sabotage any efforts at reconciliation with their West Bank rivals. Syrian protestors believe Iran has helped the Shia minority that runs the country to put down the current unrest. Iran has demonstrated considerable skill in defeating its own protestors, and is apparently exporting these skills to favored allies. Bahrain and Kuwait accuse Iran of establishing spy networks in foreign nations and fomenting unrest. Lebanese politicians also accuse Iran of supporting a local Shia minority in an attempt to overthrow the Sunni/Christian majority and turn the country into an Iranian puppet.
Bahrain has told Iran to keep out of Bahraini affairs. Iran says it has had nothing to do with the two months of unrest in Bahrain, and demands that the … >>>
