Op-Ed Commentary

Our View :
Gates hides Iran's aggression in Iraq

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is deliberately hiding from Congress and
the US public the truth about Iranian subversion in Iraq and the Middle
East. At the same time, Gate is pushing for more US troops to be sent into
Iraq to be used in ways that will help Iran consolidate control of Iraq.

In short, Gates is aiding and abetting the Iranian enemy.

You can look it up.

On December 18 the Department of Defense released its long awaited report on
security trends in Iraq ("Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq"). The
report exonerates the government of Iran and its local agents like Abdl Aziz
al-Hakim -- the US's main political partner in Iraq -- who are undermining
Iraq's stability. Instead, the report identifes Muqtada al-Sadr and the
Mahdi Army, which are resisting Iran and Hakim, as the main threat to Iraq's
stability.

As an example, DoD's report mentions Iran only once (on page 13), and fails
to address Iran's malign intentions toward Iraq. DoD ignores altogether the
existence of death squads in Iraq sponsored directly by the Iranian
government, or Iran's persistent efforts to partition Iraq. Moreover, DoD's
report assists Iran by asserting that U.S. and Iraqi efforts to control
Iraq's border with Iran should not be undertaken because they would face a
"formidable challenge." As a result, Iraq's open border with Iran will
remain a major corridor for Iranian logistical support to its death squads
in Iraq.

In the real world, Iran has declared war on Iraq. To this end, Iran is
sending military personnel and weapons across the border with Iraq to attack
US and Iraqi forces.

It gets worse. According to a front page Washington Times story that
appeared in the same day (December 18) as DoD's whitewash of Iran, the
government of Iran has created in Iraq a pro-Iranian Shia "state within a
state" that is answerable to Tehran not Baghdad. This assessment is drawn
from a 40 page report prepared by the Saudi government that details the
extent of Iranian penetration of Iraq. Why did Secretary Gates refuse to
include these facts in the DoD report?

To quote from the Washington Times story: "Recent intelligence indicates
that IRGC officers (note Iranian army) are currently operating in Iraq
certain Shi'ite militia and actual army and police units." To repeat, the
Iranian Army and intelligence services are directing the activities of
pro-Iran death squads, based in the Iraqi army and police, in units that are
advised by US personnel and receiving US funding. In other words, Iran is
now directing many of the Iraqi and police units that will act as the
nucleus of expanded Iraqi forces under President Bush's surge plan.

It is a fair assumption that Iran is undertaking covert operations in Iraq
in order to weaken US influence and prepare for future conflict with the US.

Meanwhile, President Bush, following Gates' lead during his confirmation
hearings, is now saying he does not know if the US is "winning or losing in
Iraq." Let me clear up the confusion. Iran is winning in Iraq, thanks to
Gates and his pro-Iran stance. The US is losing.

Moreover, Gates intends to use any additional US troops (the so-called surge
strategy) in ways that will reinforce Iran's presence in Iraq. Gates intends
the US troops will be used in Baghdad against Muqtada al-Sadr, under the
supervision of Iranian army officers in command of Iraqi units.

In short, Iran and the IRGC are the primary US security partners in Iraq.
The larger the US presence in Iraq, the more Iran will benefit due to its
influence in the Iraqi army and police.

Finally, Iran will use its presence in Iraq to promote a sectarian civil war
as a means of driving out US forces. Iraq's civil war would lead to
partition and would create three ethnic states that would be dominated by
Iran. Tehran would then use Iraq as a staging area for aggression against
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other states.

The ugly and unacceptable truth is that US forces are now acting on Iran's
behalf in Iraq. As a result, both Iran and the US are increasingly seen as
occupying powers in Iraq. The collaboration between Iran and the US in
Iraq, including military and intelligence affairs, directed at the upper
echelons of Iraq's government by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, can no longer be
hidden despite best efforts by Secretary Gates.

Petroleumworld

 

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Petroleumworld News 12/21/06

Copyright© 2006 Petroleumworld. All rights reserved.

 

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