The massive anti-US protests in the wake of the organized book burning at Bagram Air Base were the result of “anti-American provocation” by the Iranian government, according to US officials familiar with the situation.

 

According to the officials, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul has a “very active” program of fomenting dissent against the US occupation forces, and they seem convinced that the violent protests were entirely Iran’s fault.

The new take is an interesting one, particularly since the officials don’t seem to interpret the organized burning of large numbers of Qurans as any sort of proximate cause for the protests, and assume that the only reason Afghans would be riled up was Iranian spies told them to be.