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| Iraq-Jordan |
| US wary of Iranian |
| 2004-02-13 |
| They’d call it imperialism if any Western state was doing this ... The Bush administration is increasingly concerned about a buildup of Iranian spies and militants in Iraq and about Iran’s support for groups with a history of anti-U.S. terrorism. Although the administration has not openly criticized Iran about the influx recently, four high-ranking U.S. military and State Department officials, who spoke on condition they not be named, said they worry that Iran is trying to influence, and possibly disrupt, plans for a transition to Iraqi rule. Zarqawi seems to be running an operation along the same lines. He’s also reputed to be moving back and forth between Iraq and Iran. Think there’s a connection? Iran is setting up civilian and armed cells in Iraq to intimidate Iraqis and covertly influence elections, says one of the four officials, a high-level officer with the U.S. military command in Baghdad. Ah, the local Hezbollah chapter. Because the topic is so sensitive, U.S. officials won’t discuss it on the record. Iranian officials deny trying to manipulate the transition or set up terrorist cells in Iraq. "None of these accusations have any foundation," says Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations. "We seek a stable Iraq, the return of sovereignty and the establishment of a democratic and representative system." With a June 30 deadline looming to transfer political power to Iraqis, the Bush administration hopes Iran will not derail the transition, but it has no guarantees. "One coalition official told me candidly, ’We’re relying on Iranian goodwill,’ " says Jonathan Schanzer, a terrorism expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Schanzer returned from Iraq last week. Since the fall of Baghdad in April, Iraq’s 900-mile border with Iran has not been patrolled as strictly as it was under Saddam Hussein. Thousands of Iranians have entered Iraq, apparently with their government’s blessing. Most are believed to be pilgrims visiting Shiite Muslim shrines. But some have a political agenda, the U.S. officials say. The key question: What are Iran’s intentions? Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East expert at the Congressional Research Service, says Iran has little interest now in disrupting a transition that seems likely to turn Iraq into a more overtly Islamic state. "The Iranians believe their ship is coming in and that Shiite Islamicists will achieve dominance," Katzman says. Shiites account for 60% of Iraq’s 25 million people. Among U.S. concerns: • Iran is trying to build support for groups like Hezbollah. Hezbollah was organized by Iran after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. The group was responsible for anti-U.S. terrorism in the 1980s; its attacks on Israeli soldiers prompted Israel to end its occupation of southern Lebanon four years ago. Schanzer says three different organizations calling themselves Hezbollah have offices in the mainly Shiite southern city of Basra. One is next door to the Basra governor’s office. Raymond Tanter, another Middle East expert at the Washington Institute, quotes Iranian dissidents as saying Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards also have established a covert Iraqi Hezbollah organization with headquarters in the southern city of Al Amarah and branches in other cities. "The Iranians are setting up an intelligence infrastructure in Iraq," Tanter says. "They can use it for political influence and/or military action." Iran is building on links with other Iraqi Shiite groups, including the Dawa, or "Islamic Call," movement. The group was banned while Saddam was in power, but it now operates freely as a political party. Iran also has long ties with the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), an Iraqi group based in Iran during Saddam’s rule. Dawa and SCIRI have representatives on Iraq’s U.S.-appointed Governing Council. SCIRI has its own Iranian-trained militia, the so-called Badr Brigades. • Iran is letting terrorists linked to al-Qaeda infiltrate Iraq. "Iran is the segue from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq," Schanzer says. • Iran is supporting social services for Iraqi Shiites in another bid to gain influence. State Department officials say the Iranian presence in Iraq could be a form of insurance policy to deter the Bush administration from efforts to undermine the Iranian regime, which is facing a surge of protests from moderates. Mindful of Iran’s leverage in Iraq, the United States has recently been more conciliatory. Last month, U.S. authorities in Iraq shut down a radio station operated by the Mujahedin el-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident group that had been harbored by Saddam. U.S. authorities also took DNA samples from several thousand MEK members under U.S. guard in apparent preparation to charge some with terrorist crimes. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 And those Iranian asshole mullahs have the nerve to complain about U.S. "meddling"? It's high time the Bush administration started squeezing Iran. Those mullahs and their proxies have been causing trouble and skating by for too long. The days of Jimmy Carter are long gone, and this needs to be driven home. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-2-13 1:16:15 PM |
| #1 "relying on iranian goodwill"--oy--more taqqiyya for the kufr--i got a bridge to sell this ignorant schmuck |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2004-2-13 2:05:04 AM |