Where Are Those Iranian Weapons in Iraq?

[babylonsister]

Where Are Those Iranian Weapons in Iraq?

Analysis by Gareth Porter


22/05/08 -- WASHINGTON, May 21 (IPS) - The U.S. military command in Iraq continues to talk about an alleged pipeline of Iranian weapons to Iraqi Shiites opposing the U.S. occupation, implying that they have become dependent on Iran for indirect-fire weapons and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

But U.S. officials have failed thus far to provide evidence that would support that claim, and a long-delayed U.S. military report on Iranian arms is unlikely to offer any data on what proportion of the weapons in the hands of Shiite fighters are from Iran and what proportion comes from purchases on the open market.

When Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner was asked that question at a briefing May 8, he did not answer it directly. Instead Bergner reverted to a standard U.S. military line that these groups "could not do what they're doing without the support of foreign support {sic}." Then he defined "foreign support" to include training and funding as well as weapons, implicitly conceding that he did not have much of a case based on weapons alone.

Bergner's refusal to address that question reflects a fundamental problem with the U.S. claims about Iranian weapons in Iraq: if there are indeed any Iranian rockets and mortars, and RPGs in the Mahdi Army's arsenal of stand-off weapons, they represent an insignificant part of it.

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http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19971.htm

[AuntPatsy]

1. perhaps we will once again be subjected to bushies idea at humor

in looking for them underneath every object in the oval room ensuring we americans realize that bombing and destroying other countries based on suspicion and without true cause can be pretty amusing and maybe even fun....