Iran behind kidnapping, murder of U.S. troops
We all have been thinking of the recent kidnap and murder of U.S. soldiers by what appears to have been a special team of terrorists speaking English and using American equipment. Bill Roggio, Uncle Jimbo and I were all looking to Iran as the likely source of the attack.
And it seems that we weren't the only ones.
We had been expecting the Bush Administration to come forward this week with details of Iran's involvement in Iraq, replete with specifics:
Officials had said a "dossier" against Iran compiled by the U.S. likely would be made public at a press conference this week in Baghdad, and that the evidence would contain specifics including shipping documents, serial numbers, maps and other evidence which officials say would irrefutably link Iran to weapons shipments to Iraq.
Former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad and military leaders from Iraq were prepared to make that assertion. In the wake of the recent kidnap/murder, that disclosure has apparently been put on hold.
It seems that the White House knows who was behind the attack, but is holding back the information. However, publicly at least, the administration continues the hard press against Iran. Pres. Bush said yesterday that there are no plans to invade Iran:
I don’t know how anybody can then say, well, protecting the troops means that we’re going to invade Iran. If that’s what he’s talking about, there’s – I mean, we will protect our interests in Iraq. That’s what the American people expect us to do. That’s definitely what our troops want to do, and that’s what the families of our troops want us to do. And if we find the Iranians are moving weapons that will end up harming American troops, we’ll deal with it.
In the wake of the recent internal struggles in Iran, perhaps the White House is going to sit on the Iran-in-Iraq evidence to see if they fall down on their own.
"evidence that the Iranians have been involved in activities that have led to the deaths of American soldiers and also the deaths of innocent Iraqi civilians — and to the extent that that kind of activity continues, we will respond appropriately."
Does he mean the Karbala attack specifically?
In a USA Today piece, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said that the U.S. has recovered weapons, including RPG's, Katyusha rockets and explosives, that, through their serial numbers, have been traced back to Iran.
The IED, or more accurately EFP (Explosively Formed Projectiles) situation is especially troubling. Iranian EFP's are extremely deadly, capable of defeating some of our most advanced armor. And their use is on the rise.
"I think the evidence is strong that the Iranian government is making these IEDs, and the Iranian government is sending them across the border and they are killing U.S. troops once they get there," says Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism chief and an ABC News consultant.
Here's a slideshow of the use of EFP's and IED's in Iraq.
It also seems that Iran is still miffed at the capture of several of its officials in Iraq recently. They are even threatening to kidnap U.S. troops. They also hint at a secret "kill or capture" list of Iranians, put together by the Bush Administration.
"The United States has put together a list including the names of 35 high officials of the Pasdaran and Iran's atomic agency to kidnap and question them on the military and nuclear potential of the Islamic Republic but if they will try to kidnap even one person our reaction will be harsh and immediate," Zakeri wrote in the article.
The article follows a report in the Washington Post last week saying that the Bush administration has authorized US troops to kill or capture Iranian operatives in Iraq.
The Washington Post reported that the so-called 'kill or capture' programme of the Bush administration was authorized by the president himself at a meeting with top advisers earlier last autumn in a bid to diminish Iran's influence across the Middle East and convince the country to ultimately give up its nuclear programme. The idea reportedly gained momentum after the 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese militia Hezbollah, armed by Iran, which ended with a fragile ceasefire on 14 August.
Works for me, but where does it leave us?
Iran was clearly behind the Karbala attack, and probably many other attacks on the U.S. military and Iraqi civilians. They are also providing weapons, terrorists and military assistance to several insurgent groups in Iraq. We have the evidence, whether being concealed from the public or not.
But why? They did not try to kidnap (as far as we know) a diplomat or even any field-grade officers. They seemed to have grabbed several soldiers at random. Therefore, only one conclusion can be reached: this was a slap in the face, a we-can-do-it-and-you-can't-stop-us demonstration. Nothing more and nothing less.
The Iranians have clearly been emboldened by the weakness and cowardice of the Carter and Clinton administrations, the situation in Iraq and the unbelievable lack of support (by Kerry, Pelosi and their ilk) for our troops and their mission. We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Now it's time to hold Iran accountable.
Bill Roggio has more good intel on the subject.
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