Dan: Update on the Neocons' Favorite Country

Damned neocons! Why won't they just stand back and let Israel be destroyed???

IRAN & PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD [Andy McCarthy]

Remember one of the big points on why Saddam was an international terror menace who needed to be removed was his payments to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers?

Well, the Times of London reports that the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran is similarly subsidizing rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. According to a “Palestinian intelligence official,” the deal is $10K for rocket attacks. Payments are routed from Teheran to the always helpful Syria, where Ibrahim Shehadeh, the head of PIJ’s overseas operations, is permitted to operated and is said to transfer the loot to the West Bank.

The good sign, if it’s true, is that Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are reported to be helping the Israelis locate and destroy the safehouses where the rockets are being made. The bad sign, again – if it’s true – is that it underscores that Abbas cannot control the terrorist militias himself and needs Israel’s help – even assuming he really wants to destroy them, as to which many of us remain dubious.