Op-Ed Commentary

 

Our View :
US-Iran coup planning in Iraq?

The US has taken the astounding step in Iraq of releasing into Iran's
custody two high ranking military Iranian officers captured by US forces two
days ago and suspected of planning terrorist attacks against US forces,
according to the San Jose Mercury News. One of the captured officers is the
third ranking leader of Iran's Special Operation Forces. (see "Iraq frees
Iranian operatives arrested in raids, angers US." 29 December 07).
According to published reports, the Iranian agents were captured with
planning documents for terrorist attacks on US and Iraqi forces.

To quote the San Jose Mercury News:

"One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the
third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Al-Quds
Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside
Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other
commander was described as equally significant to Iran's support of foreign
militaries but not as high ranking."

The US decision to release these high raking Iranian officials is striking
for several reasons.

First, these Iranian officials, especially Chizari , would be knowledgeable
not only about specific Iranian attacks being planned but of Iranian
terrorism plans across the board in Iraq. The US released Chizari before
undertaking an interrogation to gain access to his information. By doing
so, the US has put US military and civilian personnel at risk. Iran can now
move ahead with previously planned attacks with the awareness that US forces
US will not be alerted.

Second, for this reason, the US military did not approve of the decision to
release these high ranking Iranian officials. Who did approve this
decision, in effect overriding the standing policy on interrogations
established by GEN Casey? The authority to override GEN Casey could not
come from Ambassador Khalilzad, who has no authority over US military
personnel in Iraq. Was this decision to override GEN Casey made by National
Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who speaks for President Bush?

Third, how extensive is the cooperation between US civilian officials,
including Ambassador Khalilzad, with Iranian officials involved in planning
terrorism, as well as with Iraqi supporters of the Badr Brigade including
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim? The US military has no such contacts with the Badr
Brigade or it would most likely not have staged the raid on Hakim's compound
in the first place, where several Iranian and Badr Brigade officials were
detained. Moreover, the US military would not have objected to the release
of Chizai and officials and insisted upon access to their information.

In short, has a split emerged in US policy on terrorism in Iraq with the US
military opposed to Iran and the Badr Brigade, while US civilian officials,
backed up by the White House and State, are in favor of US contacts with the
Badr Brigade?

Moreover, is State's support for the Badr Brigade tied to State's supprt for
Hakim's ambitions to replace Nouri Maliki as prime minister. In the past
several weeks Hakim has been involved in extensive negotiations with Iran
and with other Iraqi political parties to ease Maliki, who is backed by
Sadr, from power. Only the last minute opposition from Ayatollah Sistani
has preserved the Maliki government from falling in the face this
Iranian-State Department campaign.

To be specific, is the Badr Brigade, supported by Iran, planning to stage a
coup in Iraq against the Maliki government? Are the detained Iranian
officials aware of this coup planning? Is this why the Iranian officials
are not being questioned and have been released into Iran's custody?

 

Petroleumworld

 

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Petroleumworld News 01/02/07

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