The term 'blowback', which originated with the CIA, is generally understood as the unintended consequences of American actions abroad. Frequently, these actions are not well-understood by the same American public who implicitly fund and support them.
But, the consequences are undoubtedly felt all the same. For example, the genesis of the Al-Qaeda organization is rooted in CIA-funded Afghani mujaheedin as well as in cynical American collusion with corrupt, autocratic Arab regimes. Both bin Laden and Hussein were 'our boys' before they seemingly morphed into 'evil men' overnight.
In another chapter, British coalition troops are facing their own version of blowback. The Sunday Independent reports that eight British soldiers have been ambushed by insurgents using technology provided by British MI5 members to the IRA in the early 1990s.
Says one British agent:
Unfortunately, no one could see back then that this technology would be used to kill British soldiers thousands of miles away in a different war.
more after the jump...
Eight British soldiers killed during ambushes in Iraq were the victims of a highly sophisticated bomb first used by the IRA, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
The soldiers, who were targeted by insurgents as they travelled through the country, died after being attacked with bombs triggered by infra-red beams. The bombs were developed by the IRA using technology passed on by the security services in a botched "sting" operation more than a decade ago.
This contradicts the British government's claims that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is helping Shia insurgents to make the devices.
The Independent on Sunday can also reveal that the bombs and the firing devices used to kill the soldiers, as well as two private security guards, were initially created by the UK security services as part of a counter-terrorism strategy at the height of the troubles in the early 1990s.
According to security sources, the technology for the bombs used in the attacks, which were developed using technology from photographic flash units, was employed by the IRA some 15 years ago after Irish terrorists were given advice by British agents...
[A] former agent who infiltrated the IRA told The Independent on Sunday that the technology reached the Middle East through the IRA's co-operation with Palestinian groups. In turn, some of these groups used to be sponsored by Saddam Hussein and his Baath party.
The former agent added: "...The technology came from the security forces, but the IRA always shared its equipment and expertise with Farc guerrillas in Colombia, the Basque separatists, ETA and Palestinian groups. There is no doubt in my mind that the technology used to kill our troops in Basra is the same British technology from a decade ago."
Even more alarming is the claim that the devices were supplied by the security services to an agent inside the Provisionals as part of a dangerous game of double bluff.
According to investigators examining past collusion between the security forces and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, members of the shadowy army undercover outfit, the Force Research Unit, and officers from MI5 learned in the early 1990s that a senior IRA member in south Armagh was working to develop bombs triggered by light beams. They decided the risks would be diminished if they knew what technology was being used...
"Unfortunately, no one could see back then that this technology would be used to kill British soldiers thousands of miles away in a different war."