HOW WARS START

And you thought the Iranians were peace loving little fellas, didn't you?

You haven't read this anywhere (God forbid. It's actual news!), but here is how wars get started. Sources are non-American (Irani and Israeli) and Boston.com.

"Days ago, head of the U.S. Southern Command, Admiral James Stavridis told a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that he fears the phenomenon of increasing Iranian influence in Latin America and a "disastrous" linkup between drug traffickers and radical Islamists operating in and from that region. Islam strictly forbids narcotics such as alcohol, cannabis, opium, cocaine and psychedelics. How then is it possible that there are increasingly strong links between drug dealers and radical Islamists in Latin America? Intelligence sources agree the terrorist financial scene has been changing for some years. Funding, at times, is achieved through cash payments, using various currencies, for certain terror services from groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas. Cash is obtained through a variety of illegal activities, predominantly through the drug trade, human smuggling, extortion and money laundering. Stavridis warned that Iran, a heavy financial backer of Hizbullah and Hamas has already opened 10 embassies in Latin America and President Ahmadinejad says he wants to have an embassy in every country in this region."

In September Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Bolivia, where he pledged $1 billion in investment, and then Venezuela to meet President Hugo Chavez, whom the Bush administration accuses of being a threat to stability in the region. He also has been to Nicaragua recently.

"I haven't seen any evidence that Iran has fomented any kind of terrorism in this part of the world," but there remains a "very disconcerting" possibility that Iran's growing presence could lead to future terrorist links, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.