Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
April 26, 2008
Pg. 3
Tehran Is Accused Of Increasing Aid To Iraq Insurgents
By Yochi J. Dreazen
WASHINGTON -- The nation's top military official said Iran's support for insurgents in Iraq is steadily increasing, and he warned Tehran that the U.S. military maintains the power to strike Iran if given the order.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. has no plans to attack Iran and prefers diplomacy to resolve growing tensions with Tehran. He also acknowledged that a third conflict in the broader Mideast would be "extremely stressing" to the military.
Still, Adm. Mullen said the Navy and Air Force have enough manpower, weapons and vehicles to strike Iran if told to by President Bush.
"I have reserve capability," he said. "It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability."
The unusually strident remarks marked the latest escalation in U.S. rhetoric about Iran, which the Bush administration blames for hundreds of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq. The U.S. also has begun describing Iran as the largest threat to Iraq's long-term stability.
In response, Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York, accused the Bush administration of "demonizing" Iran.
"Instead of scapegoating Iran for U.S.'s policy failures in Iraq, the U.S. government should address its wrong policies...and desist from deceiving its own public opinion," he said in a written statement.
The exchanges came as U.S. officials in Baghdad prepared to release information purporting to show that Tehran is continuing to ship lethal weapons into Iraq despite Tehran's vows to the contrary.
U.S. military officials had said privately in recent days that they had found caches of Iranian-made mortars, rockets and explosives bearing date stamps indicating the weapons had been made within the past two months, long after Tehran had promised to curb the flow of Iranian weaponry into Iraq.
Adm. Mullen said the weapons were "recently not just found, but recently manufactured."
He added that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, would hold a briefing about the weapons caches within the next two weeks. A trio of senior military officials said the presentation could come as early as Monday.
Mr. Mohammadi denied the new U.S. claims. "To suggest that Iran puts its labels and dates on weapons and then smuggles them to Iraq is ridiculously false," he said.
In his public comments Friday, Adm. Mullen said Iran is steadily increasing its support for Shiite insurgents from across Iraq, bringing them into Iran for training and then funneling weapons, explosives and rockets to them in Iraq.
He also accused Iran of providing the Taliban in Afghanistan with technology for both roadside bombs and explosively formed penetrators, which are capable of punching through virtually all U.S. armor.
Similar assertions have been widely questioned by outside analysts who say they are skeptical that a Shiite country like Iran would ally itself with a Sunni terrorist group like the Taliban.
Adm. Mullen said Iran is acting out of a desire to become a regional power. He argued that Tehran preferred to see a weak Iraq that could be "significantly influenced" by the decisions and activities of the Iranian government.
The admiral said it is unclear what levels of the Iranian government knew about or were directing the flow of armaments into Iraq, though he said that he was "very hard-pressed to believe" that the leadership of Iran's Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was unaware of the shipments.
"That said, I have no smoking gun which could prove that the highest leadership is involved in this," he said.
April 26, 2008
Pg. 3
Tehran Is Accused Of Increasing Aid To Iraq Insurgents
By Yochi J. Dreazen
WASHINGTON -- The nation's top military official said Iran's support for insurgents in Iraq is steadily increasing, and he warned Tehran that the U.S. military maintains the power to strike Iran if given the order.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. has no plans to attack Iran and prefers diplomacy to resolve growing tensions with Tehran. He also acknowledged that a third conflict in the broader Mideast would be "extremely stressing" to the military.
Still, Adm. Mullen said the Navy and Air Force have enough manpower, weapons and vehicles to strike Iran if told to by President Bush.
"I have reserve capability," he said. "It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability."
The unusually strident remarks marked the latest escalation in U.S. rhetoric about Iran, which the Bush administration blames for hundreds of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq. The U.S. also has begun describing Iran as the largest threat to Iraq's long-term stability.
In response, Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York, accused the Bush administration of "demonizing" Iran.
"Instead of scapegoating Iran for U.S.'s policy failures in Iraq, the U.S. government should address its wrong policies...and desist from deceiving its own public opinion," he said in a written statement.
The exchanges came as U.S. officials in Baghdad prepared to release information purporting to show that Tehran is continuing to ship lethal weapons into Iraq despite Tehran's vows to the contrary.
U.S. military officials had said privately in recent days that they had found caches of Iranian-made mortars, rockets and explosives bearing date stamps indicating the weapons had been made within the past two months, long after Tehran had promised to curb the flow of Iranian weaponry into Iraq.
Adm. Mullen said the weapons were "recently not just found, but recently manufactured."
He added that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, would hold a briefing about the weapons caches within the next two weeks. A trio of senior military officials said the presentation could come as early as Monday.
Mr. Mohammadi denied the new U.S. claims. "To suggest that Iran puts its labels and dates on weapons and then smuggles them to Iraq is ridiculously false," he said.
In his public comments Friday, Adm. Mullen said Iran is steadily increasing its support for Shiite insurgents from across Iraq, bringing them into Iran for training and then funneling weapons, explosives and rockets to them in Iraq.
He also accused Iran of providing the Taliban in Afghanistan with technology for both roadside bombs and explosively formed penetrators, which are capable of punching through virtually all U.S. armor.
Similar assertions have been widely questioned by outside analysts who say they are skeptical that a Shiite country like Iran would ally itself with a Sunni terrorist group like the Taliban.
Adm. Mullen said Iran is acting out of a desire to become a regional power. He argued that Tehran preferred to see a weak Iraq that could be "significantly influenced" by the decisions and activities of the Iranian government.
The admiral said it is unclear what levels of the Iranian government knew about or were directing the flow of armaments into Iraq, though he said that he was "very hard-pressed to believe" that the leadership of Iran's Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was unaware of the shipments.
"That said, I have no smoking gun which could prove that the highest leadership is involved in this," he said.