Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) speaks during a meeting with Kerbala's tribal members in Baghdad May 4, 2008.
Posted on 05/04/2008 9:46:34 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) speaks during a meeting with Kerbala's tribal members in Baghdad May 4, 2008.
REUTERS/Iraqi government office/Handout
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered the formation of a committee to compile evidence of Iranian "interference" in Iraq that will then be presented to Tehran, the government spokesman said on Sunday.
Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh was speaking a day after a delegation from Iraq's ruling Shi'ite alliance returned from Tehran after showing Iranian officials evidence of the Islamic Republic's backing of Shi'ite militias in Iraq.
Dabbagh said Iranian officials who met that delegation had denied any meddling in Iraq.
"The prime minister has ordered the formation of a committee to document the interference of the Iranians in Iraqi affairs. The Iraqi government will follow up with the Iranians and put (these findings) in front of them," Dabbagh told Reuters.
At an earlier news conference Dabbagh appeared to distance the government from U.S. accusations of Iranian interference in Iraq. He had said Iraq would not be pushed into conflict with its neighbour and wanted its own inquiry to find "tangible information and not information based on speculation."
Asked by Reuters what evidence existed so far, Dabbagh said Iranian missiles had been found in the southern city of Basra during a recent crackdown on militias in the southern city.
"The proof we have is weapons which are shown to be made in Iran. We want to trace back how they reached (Iraq), who is using them, where are they getting it," Dabbagh said.
Washington accuses Iran of funding, arming and training Shi'ite militias to attack U.S.-led troops and Iraqi government forces, despite its public commitment to stabilising Iraq. Tehran blames the violence on the presence of U.S. forces.
The U.S. military said last week "very, very significant" amounts of Iranian arms had been found in Basra and also Baghdad during an offensive against militiamen loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that began in late March.
Some of those arms were made in 2008, the military said.
U.S. military officials had planned to display some of the weapons but decided to let the Iraqis make their own case to Iran first.
Dabbagh said the government committee would be comprised of representatives of the various security ministries.
NO PROXY WAR
The Iraqis have repeatedly said they do not want their territory to become a battleground for a proxy war between the United States and Iran. The arch-foes are at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"We don't want to be pushed into any conflict with any neighbouring countries, especially Iran. What happened before is enough. We paid a lot," Dabbagh told the earlier news conference, referring to the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war in which an estimated 1 million people died.
"It happened because the others pushed Iraq to take an aggressive stance with Iran. We want to organise relations with all neighbouring countries to preserve the interests of Iraq."
Ties between Iran and Iraq have improved since Sunni Arab strongman Saddam Hussein was ousted in the U.S.-led invasion and a Shi'ite-led government came to power in Baghdad.
Analysts say Tehran wants to keep a friendly, Shi'ite-led government in charge but also wants to ensure rival Iraqi Shi'ite factions look to Iran as a power broker.
Iran's ISNA news agency said on Sunday Iran backed efforts by the Iraqi government to disarm militias and would "make its utmost efforts to establish security in Iraq".
The U.S. military said on Sunday it killed nine militants in helicopter strikes overnight in eastern Baghdad, where battles have raged between troops and Sadr's Mehdi Army fighters.
Much of the fighting took place in and around the crowded Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, the cleric's stronghold in Baghdad.
Despite an overall improvement in Iraq's security, levels of violence are still high.
The wife of Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, escaped a roadside bomb attack on her convoy near the national theatre in central Baghdad in which four security guards were wounded.
Gunmen also shot dead a journalist in the northern city of Mosul after pulling her out of a taxi. A colleague said she had received a text message on her mobile phone three weeks ago warning her to stop reporting.
(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks)
Update on Iran and Iraq meeting.
Iraq Says It Has Proof Of Iranian Meddling
Tehran Funneling Weapons, Officials Say
***********************EXCERPT*************************
BAGHDAD, May 4 -- The Iraqi government said Sunday that it has "concrete evidence" Iran is fomenting violence in Iraq and that a high-level panel had been formed to document the proof.
*************************snip*********************
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called reporters late Sunday night to clarify remarks he made at a news conference earlier in the day, when he appeared to say that there was no hard evidence that Iran was allowing weapons to come into Iraq. Dabbagh said his comments had been misinterpreted.
"There is an interference and evidence that they have interfered in Iraqi affairs," Dabbagh said in an interview arranged by a U.S. official. When asked how he would characterize the proof that Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq, he said: "It is a concrete evidence."
Coalition forces capture two suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups criminals (Baghdad)
| Sunday, 04 May 2008 | |
|
MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ Press Release A080504a Coalition forces capture two suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups criminals BAGHDAD – Coalition forces captured two suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups criminals early this morning in the Rashid district in Baghdad. Intelligence information led Coalition forces to the location of a suspected Special Groups leader wanted for facilitating the import of Iranian-made munitions into Iraq. He is also suspected of providing information to Special Groups leadership, which led to rocket attacks against Coalition and Iraqi forces. In addition, he is suspected of providing safe-haven to criminals wanted by Coalition and Iraqi forces. Coalition forces entered the targeted individual’s location where he surrendered without incident. Afterward, Coalition forces conducted a follow-on mission to a separate location, also in the Rashid district, to capture another suspected criminal. There, they detained a second individual who was identified as a Special Groups criminal. “Coalition forces are working with the Iraqi Security Forces to remove the Special Groups thugs who foment violence and instability on the streets of Baghdad,” said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. |
They just picked up more evidence...see post #6.
Yep.
You’re very welcome Ernest.
Thank you for reading it.
CTA Symposium: Iraq v. Mahdi Army
**********************************EXCERPT INTRO***************************
Center for Threats Awareness ^ | April 7, 2008 | Ralph Peters, Bill Roggio, Michael Ledeen, and Omar Fadhil
Posted on Sat 03 May 2008 06:31:45 AM PDT by moderatewolverine
The recent offensive operations taken by the Iraqi government against the Mahdi Army (Jaish al-Mahdi - JAM) of Muqtada al-Sadr have received much analysis and commentary since the onset. Each of the ensuing analysis and commentary offerings have agreed that the Maliki government’s military actions and the Mahdi Army response are revelatory in nature. But that is where the agreement seems to end, as there appears a divergence regarding precisely what has been revealed: Who has operated and enjoys the position of strength, Maliki and the Iraqi government and military forces, or the Mahdi Army forces of Muqtada al-Sadr, which operate at the behest of the Iranian Quds Force and General Qassem Suleimani?
We at the Center for Threat Awareness (CTA) believe the answers in the end are neither black nor white, but rather grey in nature. To engage the subject and make sense of the divergent analyses, ThreatsWatch has assembled a panel of experts.
Exhibit #1: Large caches of newly manufactured Iranian weapons in Sadr City and Basra.
Exhibit #2: The regular capture of Iranian security forces in Basra and Sadr City.
Exhibit #3: Many of the Mahdi army confessing to repeatedly going to Iran for military training.
ping
Kinda sums up the whole "religion"! Praise muuuHAMhead (Pigs be inseminating her)!
Iran will have no grounds to stand on once the Iraqi folks give them the scorecard. It will of course echo what the US military forces have said for a long time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.