Meet The Man Who Is 'Secretly Running' Iraq

Qassem Suleimani: The Iranian General 'Secretly Running' Iraq -- The Guardian

Martin Chulov reports on the elusive Iranian with so much Iraqi influence that Baghdadis believe he is controlling the country

There's a story that the new CIA director, David Petraeus, likes to tell which harks back to his days as a four-star general in Iraq.

Early in 2008, during a series of battles between the US and Iraqi army on one side and the Shia militias on the other, Petraeus was handed a phone with a text message from the Iranian general who had by then become his nemesis.

The message came from the head of Iran's elite al-Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, and was conveyed by a senior Iraqi leader. It read: "General Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Suleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan. And indeed, the ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who's going to replace him is a Quds Force member."

Read more ....

My Comment: Another story that underlines how silly and naive many in the West were in believing that President Obama's Presidential victory would herald a new and positive change in U.S. - Iran relations. A point that I have been making non-stop for as long as I can remember.

Bottom line .... Iran is ruled by a fanatical religious group that has only one interest, which is the expansion of Shiite Persian power and dominance (through diplomacy, bribes, murder, terrorism) of the Middle East. Many Sunni (and Shiite) Arabs understand this, but we in the West .... we cling (I guess) to a policy of hope that things will change.

Speaking of things not changing, here is a post from McClatchy from three years ago that is saying the same thing that the above Guardian article is saying today.