Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 12, 2008 Officials think that Tehran could be standing in the way of peace in Iraq, and troop withdrawal.
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Iranian support for militias in Iraq has grown, top U.S. defense leaders said yesterday, asserting that recent battles in Basra gave the Iraqis an eye-opening view of Iran's increased role in the country.
More broadly, the outlook for more progress toward stabilizing Iraq and reducing the U.S. troop presence is clouded by several other potential pitfalls in coming months. In an interview with reporters at the Pentagon, Gen. David H. Petraeus discussed the prospect of increased violence due to the approach of provincial Iraqi elections this fall.
Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, also cited the return of refugees and the release of security detainees as potential sources of instability to be considered as he determines when, and at what pace, U.S. troop withdrawals should resume after July.
In separate remarks, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the United States would be as aggressive as possible to counter the increase in Iranian support for militias, adding that the Iraqis "are in a position themselves to bring some pressures to bear on Iran."
Speaking after a series of hearings on Capitol Hill mapping out progress in Iraq, Gates also acknowledged that future troop withdrawals would go more slowly than he had initially hoped last year.
"I think that the process has gone a little slower," Gates told a Pentagon news conference yesterday. He said that plans - endorsed by President Bush on Thursday - to halt troop withdrawals at least until mid-September would make it a "real challenge" to pull out five additional brigades by the end of the year.
Iran's role has been one of the complicating factors.
"I think that there is some sense of an increased level of supply of [Iranian] weapons and support to these groups," said Gates, referring to what the military has termed "special groups" of Shiite militants. "But whether it's a dramatic increase over recent weeks, I just don't know."
Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recent clashes between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias in Basra highlighted the increase in Iranian support.
"I think the Iraqi government now has a clearer view of the malign impact of Iran's activities inside Iraq," Gates said. "I think they have had what I would call a growing understanding of that negative Iranian role. But I think what they encountered in Basra was a real eye-opener for them."
April 12, 2008 Officials think that Tehran could be standing in the way of peace in Iraq, and troop withdrawal.
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Iranian support for militias in Iraq has grown, top U.S. defense leaders said yesterday, asserting that recent battles in Basra gave the Iraqis an eye-opening view of Iran's increased role in the country.
More broadly, the outlook for more progress toward stabilizing Iraq and reducing the U.S. troop presence is clouded by several other potential pitfalls in coming months. In an interview with reporters at the Pentagon, Gen. David H. Petraeus discussed the prospect of increased violence due to the approach of provincial Iraqi elections this fall.
Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, also cited the return of refugees and the release of security detainees as potential sources of instability to be considered as he determines when, and at what pace, U.S. troop withdrawals should resume after July.
In separate remarks, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the United States would be as aggressive as possible to counter the increase in Iranian support for militias, adding that the Iraqis "are in a position themselves to bring some pressures to bear on Iran."
Speaking after a series of hearings on Capitol Hill mapping out progress in Iraq, Gates also acknowledged that future troop withdrawals would go more slowly than he had initially hoped last year.
"I think that the process has gone a little slower," Gates told a Pentagon news conference yesterday. He said that plans - endorsed by President Bush on Thursday - to halt troop withdrawals at least until mid-September would make it a "real challenge" to pull out five additional brigades by the end of the year.
Iran's role has been one of the complicating factors.
"I think that there is some sense of an increased level of supply of [Iranian] weapons and support to these groups," said Gates, referring to what the military has termed "special groups" of Shiite militants. "But whether it's a dramatic increase over recent weeks, I just don't know."
Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recent clashes between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias in Basra highlighted the increase in Iranian support.
"I think the Iraqi government now has a clearer view of the malign impact of Iran's activities inside Iraq," Gates said. "I think they have had what I would call a growing understanding of that negative Iranian role. But I think what they encountered in Basra was a real eye-opener for them."