Iran in Iraq

Over at Liberals Against Terrorism, Praktike notes reports of Iran's growing influence in Basra. I agree with him that the Hamas analogy is an odd one. What Iran is reportedly doing to win support in southern Iraq is exactly what they did in southern Lebanon and western Afghanistan. Hamas gets a lot of support for their social services, but they also get some for their hardline stance against Israel. Of course lately I've been wondering what's up with RFE-RL, as the tone of their coverage has been one that would definitely warm the hearts of Bush administration officials. The organization's attitude toward the Arab media has also seemed skewed.