General Cites Iranian Links to ‘Special Groups’ Terrorists in Iraq

[Wndrtch]

Thursday, 15 May 2008
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — So-called “special groups” terrorists operating in Iraq apparently are receiving training, arms and funding from Iranian sources, a senior U.S. military official posted in Iraq said May 14.

“Over the course of the last several months, we have publicly discussed numerous times, and shown numerous times, the evidence on four separate occasions on what we have found and continue to find: Iranian-made weapons in the hands of criminals in Iraq,” Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters during a Baghdad news conference.

U.S. officials previously have discussed evidence that indicates some Iraqi militants “are being trained in Iran and receiving funding from Iranian Quds forces to conduct violent attacks in Iraq,” Bergner said. The Quds Force is a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard widely believed to be responsible for operations, including terrorist operations, outside Iran’s borders.

Such Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs violates Iraq’s sovereignty, Bergner pointed out.

“With this evidence, the government of Iraq has recently engaged its neighbor and again sought fulfillment of Iranian commitments previously made to stop the flow of weapons, training and funding” to insurgent groups in Iraq, Bergner said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has established a committee to collect and analyze the reports of Iranian activity and to develop a unified approach to address the issue, Bergner said.

“We will continue to provide information and evidence we have collected to the government of Iraq, to be considered along with their own evidence from the Iraqi security forces,” Bergner said. “As coalition forces, we will continue to fulfill our commitment under the United Nations mandate, together with our Iraqi partners, to support the government of Iraq’s efforts to improve security and stability.”

U.S. and Iraqi forces are targeting Iranian-supplied insurgents in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during a question-and-answer session with members of the Heritage Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo., yesterday. However, he said that such initiatives are internal to Iraq, and that diplomatic discussions between the Iraqi and Iranian governments are continuing.

“I think we have a number of activities under way to try to deal with particularly what the Iranians are doing in support of the special groups and others in Iraq, in terms of going after them,” Gates said.

Gates applauded Maliki’s recent decision to dispatch Iraqi troops into Basra to take on Iranian-backed extremists.

The Iraqi forces “have found substantial caches of Iranian-supplied weapons” in Basra, Gates said. This development, he said, has opened the eyes of the Iraqi government regarding the apparent Iranian complicity in supplying arms and other materials to some insurgent groups in Iraq.

“I think it has awakened them to the reality of the magnitude of Iranian meddling in Iraq,” Gates said. “And, so, we are being very aggressive in going after the networks in Iraq and the individuals who are interfering and are supplying weapons from Iran.”

The apparent Iranian supply links to some insurgent groups in Iraq is being taken seriously by U.S. and Iraqi officials, Gates noted.

“We have a number of other activities under way” within Iraq designed to undercut Iranian efforts to supply insurgents, the secretary said.

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19476&Itemid=1

What was that about no link to Iran?

[jafar00]

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19476&Itemid=1

What was that about no link to Iran?

Is that like this lot?

http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/4886

[Wndrtch]

Is that like this lot?

http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/4886

Just because SOME of the weapons they previously thought were from Iran and were not, doesn't mean that ALL the weapons they found are automatically discredited.

I'll believe our warlords over their warlords any day of the week.

[BoogyMan]

Wndrtch, what we are facing today is a belief that if we squeeze our eyes shut hard enough and keep repeating what we wish to be true that it actually WILL be true. Nobody WANTS Iran to be doing what they appear to be doing.

The self-loathers want to hate America and therefore there is no way that anything other than America being a lying imperialist entity will be accepted and any claims that Iran has anything to do with Iraq will be summarily dismissed without consideration.

It is a sad turn of affairs.

[lily]

Wndrtch, what we are facing today is a belief that if we squeeze our eyes shut hard enough and keep repeating what we wish to be true that it actually WILL be true. Nobody WANTS Iran to be doing what they appear to be doing.

The self-loathers want to hate America and therefore there is no way that anything other than America being a lying imperialist entity will be accepted and any claims that Iran has anything to do with Iraq will be summarily dismissed without consideration.

It is a sad turn of affairs.

You see, the only problem with this statement is that Bush is the one that really wants it to be true.........every time he goes too far in the saber rattling department, one of the generals, or someone that actually knows what is going on ends up reigning him in.......and as for just how trustworthy Bush is, you can only cry wolf so many times, until no one believes you anymore.......theres that and the fact that he has blamed US intelligence for all his mistakes an well..........you get what we have now.

It's really a sad state of affairs.

[BoogyMan]

Lily, the ones who really want their beliefs to be true are those who demand that Americans accepts that there is no possibility that Iran could have any involvement at all with the militants in Iraq. They close their eyes and squeeze them shut so tight that they can only see their talking points.

Is Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner saber rattling? He is the commentator in the OP that we are discussing, not the president.

[lily]

Lily, the ones who really want their beliefs to be true are those who demand that Americans accepts that there is no possibility that Iran could have any involvement at all with the militants in Iraq. They close their eyes and squeeze them shut so tight that they can only see their talking points.

Boogy........we have always been on opposite sides of the aisle on this one. I'm sure there is a half way point where we could meet, but I doubt it will ever happen.

Is Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner saber rattling? He is the commentator in the OP that we are discussing, not the president.

Who does he work for?

[jafar00]

Just because SOME of the weapons they previously thought were from Iran and were not, doesn't mean that ALL the weapons they found are automatically discredited.

I'll believe our warlords over their warlords any day of the week.

This is not the only time the so called Iranian weapons claims have been proved false. I think it's safe to assume they still haven't got the propaganda quite right.

[BoogyMan]

Boogy........we have always been on opposite sides of the aisle on this one. I'm sure there is a half way point where we could meet, but I doubt it will ever happen.

Yeah, but I keep hoping to teach you. :D (grins and ducks)

Who does he work for?

This is such a disingenuous argument, you simply dismiss that which you don't like and say you can do so because the CiC is Bush. How about coming up with a real reason why the guy is supposedly lying?

[jafar00]

How about coming up with a real reason why the guy is supposedly lying?

a) He was told to, or b) His intelligence comes from someone who benefits from telling fibs. Like Chalabi and Allawi did in the lead up to 2003.

[PatrickHenry]

Are the US and allies supproting terror inside Iran?

That's what the Iranians are saying.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/08/iran.explosion/index.html?iref=newssearch

Is anybody lying?

The US has a track record...

[lily]

This is such a disingenuous argument, you simply dismiss that which you don't like and say you can do so because the CiC is Bush. How about coming up with a real reason why the guy is supposedly lying?

Boogy.........I may have believed it the first, second or even the third time they tried it.........but not the 20th.

[BoogyMan]

a) He was told to, or b) His intelligence comes from someone who benefits from telling fibs. Like Chalabi and Allawi did in the lead up to 2003.

Both of those scenarios are based on a conclusion drawn from information you don't posses Jafar.

[CharlesMartel]

And the missiles fired at Isreal from Southern Lebanon and Gaza I suppose have no link to Iran either.

Supplying shia militias in Iraq. Equipping and training on copper laced IEDs that can penetrate American armor, the 122mm rockets landing in the Green Zone killing americans ain't being manufactured in the slums of Sadr City. Iran is supporting international terrorism, calling for Israel's destruction every other week, enriching uranium against all international sactions, improving their long range missile capabilities, and buying billions in sophisticated weaponry from Russia and China.

The head in sand mentality in here regarding Iran......is a tad alarming.

[jafar00]

And the missiles fired at Isreal from Southern Lebanon and Gaza I suppose have no link to Iran either.

What's Isreal?


Supplying shia militias in Iraq. Equipping and training on copper laced IEDs that can penetrate American armor,

Which can be purchased from a number of other places including Israel.


the 122mm rockets landing in the Green Zone killing americans ain't being manufactured in the slums of Sadr City. Iran is supporting international terrorism,

Got proof?


calling for Israel's destruction every other week,


When? I must have blinked because I missed it.


enriching uranium against all international sactions,


Against US sponsored sanctions maybe, but according to international law and the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty, they are totally allowed to do it.


improving their long range missile capabilities, and buying billions in sophisticated weaponry from Russia and China.

The US is improving it's nuclear arsenal. Israel built a nuclear arsenal under everyone's noses. No mention of that?


The head in sand mentality in here regarding Iran......is a tad alarming.

The paranoia and outrageous claims against Iran without a shred of proof by countries who are in no position to criticise anyone is the only thing alarming here.

[CharlesMartel]

What's Isreal?

The misspelled name of the rare democracy within what is the Middle East.

Which can be purchased from a number of other places including Israel.

You're alarm clock keeps going off....why not actually do something rather than just hitting snooze. Nevermind, go back to sleep, we'll handle this one.

Got proof?

Did you say "no roof" I can't hear you with your head in the sand.

Against US sponsored sanctions maybe, but according to international law and the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty, they are totally allowed to do it.

US sponsored sanctions? Are we alone sponsoring sanctions? Their negotiations and attempts at diplomacy from Europe and Russia have ended in failure. Again, you're argument is disingenuous.

The US is improving it's nuclear arsenal. Israel built a nuclear arsenal under everyone's noses. No mention of that?

I made several mentions of this. Israel and the US are well known nuclear powers, they both have means to deploy and engage and you and I sleep comfortably each and every night full well knowing this. You allow Iran to acquire a nuke and the entire equation changes. Overnight. Do not pretend you and I sleep as soundly, it isn't reality.

The paranoia and outrageous claims against Iran without a shred of proof by countries who are in no position to criticise anyone is the only thing alarming here.

No. No proof at all when shaped projectiles are shredding Americans. No proof when their weapons are used in southern Lebanon. Everyone knows they are arming international terrorism. They blatantly enrich uranium, improve their missile technology, and threaten Israel. We won't even go to Palestine or Lebanon where they're creating utter havoc.

[Tessy]

Lily, the ones who really want their beliefs to be true are those who demand that Americans accepts that there is no possibility that Iran could have any involvement at all with the militants in Iraq. They close their eyes and squeeze them shut so tight that they can only see their talking points.

That's like one-u-dem straw-man things I keep hearing about. It assumes
that we have any business in Iraq at all in the first place! We do not! And
the "self loathers" as you call them (a ridiculous term and twice as ridiculous
a notion!) are the few real Americans left with any patriotic blood in their
veins at all. The truth is that the breakdown is more like the chicken-necked
communists who vary between mindless drones that believe corporate news,
cant think for themselves, and can't be bothered to study even recent history
and full blown nazi war commanders like Bush, Chainy, Obama, Clinton, and
McCain on one side and patriots on the other side who do know their history,
may be old enough to have a meaningful reference of politics, liberty, and
the founding ideologies of the United States, or have been recently clued in
by any of the former.

This nazistic imperial expansion through military might all around the world
for the purpose of pillaging nations all in the name of democratizing them
and saving them from themselves justified by emotionally impactful lies like
the 9-11 attacks, the gulf of Tonkin, and literally hundreds of other similar
staged events is a scam that has become so weak and obvious that I would
think that even the extremely simple-minded Americans could see through it
by now. Evidentially not all can and worse the ones who do are called "self
loathers" by those who still cannot.

[jafar00]

The misspelled name of the rare democracy within what is the Middle East.

Democracy is a term used loosely when Democracy is allowed but only as long as you are Jewish.


You're alarm clock keeps going off....why not actually do something rather than just hitting snooze. Nevermind, go back to sleep, we'll handle this one.

What alarm?


Did you say "no roof" I can't hear you with your head in the sand.


No, I said PROOF. If you stop running around shouting out " The Sky Is Falling!" for a second, you might be able to supply me with some proof of your accusations?


US sponsored sanctions? Are we alone sponsoring sanctions? Their negotiations and attempts at diplomacy from Europe and Russia have ended in failure. Again, you're argument is disingenuous.

Yes, US sponsored actions. Actually, the Russians are doing the right thing and fulfilling their part of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty by assisting Iran in developing a peaceful nuclear power system.


I made several mentions of this. Israel and the US are well known nuclear powers, they both have means to deploy and engage and you and I sleep comfortably each and every night full well knowing this. You allow Iran to acquire a nuke and the entire equation changes. Overnight. Do not pretend you and I sleep as soundly, it isn't reality.

I certainly don't sleep soundly knowing 2 rogue nations can obliterate me in an instant while I sleep. As for Iran acquiring a Nuke, I'm no worried in the slightest unless someone actually finds some evidence they are working on getting one. So far, Iran has shown that it is obeying International Laws while it develops nuclear power.


No. No proof at all when shaped projectiles are shredding Americans. No proof when their weapons are used in southern Lebanon. Everyone knows they are arming international terrorism.

Again, any proof the Iranian government is doing that?


They blatantly enrich uranium, improve their missile technology, and threaten Israel.

Yes they enrich Uranium which under the NPT which they signed and have not deviated from, they are allowed to do. They are also allowed to improve their defenses, but as for threatening Israel, I have no idea what you are going on about. Isn't it the other way around?


We won't even go to Palestine or Lebanon where they're creating utter havoc.

Well, at least while it's not profitable for you to do so.

[ptif219]

Is that like this lot?

http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/4886

If you read your article you may find that Iraqi's said they were Iranian and when US forces inspected them they said they were not.

Stop decieving and state facts.

The US did not falsely state it Iraqi's did.

[jafar00]

If you read your article you may find that Iraqi's said they were Iranian and when US forces inspected them they said they were not.

Stop decieving and state facts.

The US did not falsely state it Iraqi's did.

It's a pattern you can follow. Some Iraqi with an agenda lies and the US believe him. It's what led the US to invade in the first place.

[BoogyMan]

That's like one-u-dem straw-man things I keep hearing about. It assumes
that we have any business in Iraq at all in the first place! We do not! And
the "self loathers" as you call them (a ridiculous term and twice as ridiculous
a notion!) are the few real Americans left with any patriotic blood in their
veins at all. The truth is that the breakdown is more like the chicken-necked
communists who vary between mindless drones that believe corporate news,
cant think for themselves, and can't be bothered to study even recent history
and full blown nazi war commanders like Bush, Chainy, Obama, Clinton, and
McCain on one side and patriots on the other side who do know their history,
may be old enough to have a meaningful reference of politics, liberty, and
the founding ideologies of the United States, or have been recently clued in
by any of the former.

This nazistic imperial expansion through military might all around the world
for the purpose of pillaging nations all in the name of democratizing them
and saving them from themselves justified by emotionally impactful lies like
the 9-11 attacks, the gulf of Tonkin, and literally hundreds of other similar
staged events is a scam that has become so weak and obvious that I would
think that even the extremely simple-minded Americans could see through it
by now. Evidentially not all can and worse the ones who do are called "self
loathers" by those who still cannot.

And since you believe we don't have any place in Iraq, you are OK with Iran interfering?

[jafar00]

And since you believe we don't have any place in Iraq, you are OK with Iran interfering?

Have they? I mean for sure, with concrete evidence, not just hearsay from someone looking to make a few dinars?

[Tessy]

Yeah, all indications are that it's more of the same false justification
to carry out yet more war crimes. But the initial question is nonsensical
- it asks a question based on a false premise.

It's like asking: You're against cars all together so is ford or chevy better?

It's none of our dang business what Iran does in Iraq! We are NOT the police
of the world though we think we are. The "american consciousness" on both
a state and individual level is so out of sync with the rest of the world AND
REALITY in general how could they possibly be the cops? They do it anyway
though - which I guess is part of the problem.

I can tell you this though: If there was an abusive person living next door
to me and they were a buddhist family, and the cops came in to take him
out and then decided to stay, and enforce hinduism and kill the kids when
they didn't go along with it... I would indeed try to sneak weapons over to
them if I though going over there myself would be futile.


--
I don't mean to imply a religious context here. I could just as well said Capitalist
family that was having Communistic ideals or culture forced on them or anything
really. We're steeling THEIR shit (country, political system, infrastructure, the
works) and killing those who stand up for themselves - calling them "terrorists"
like there even is such a thing.

--
I don't expect anyone in this forum to agree with any form of common sense tho.
I can see by watching you all talk about Obama, Clinton, and McCain that common
sense is completely and totally lost to americans in general. It's like watching the
victim of an obvious and untalented grifter come back for more - again and again
and again... Americans aren't two-time losers! It's many more than two! And that
would be OK with me too if through their inability to use common sense they were
not affecting others - but use of the US Military with all their guns, and missiles
ends up being the result. That and your own enslavement.

Maybe the grifter IS talented after-all? After the sting he convinced you all that
the results were good and that you're all on the right track. LOL!!! like Iraq, the
US election system, the corporate media, and on and on. Yes, much more than
two-timers.