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DoD vs State Over Iranians Captured in Iraq
Exclusive to PJM by Richard Miniter, PJM Washington EditorAmerican forces in Iraq now hold some 300 prisoners tied to Irans intelligence agencies, Pajamas Media learned from both diplomatic and military sources. More likely, the large number of Iran-linked prisoners reflects a change in tactics following the arrival of Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. Previously, Iranians and other foreigners could not be picked up without a provable connection to terrorism. Now, American and allied forces are encouraged to seize militants based on a reasonable suspicion of involvement in insurgent attacks. This is consistent with Iraqi law. The Pentagon received considerable pressure from officials in the State department and CIA to release some or all of the Iran-linked prisoners to facilitate discussions between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian officials. Apparently, Gen. Petraeus sharply disagreed, saying that he intends to hold the prisoners until they run out of information or we run out of food, according to our sources who heard these remarks through channels. (RTR) Posted by: Glenmore 2007-03-25 |
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