Group: Iranians were part of elite force

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[Sub-Driver]

Group: Iranians were part of elite force

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago

Two Iranians detained by U.S. forces in Iraq were senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and had coordinated attacks against coalition troops and Iraqi civilians, the head of an Iranian opposition group said Thursday.

The White House said earlier this week that U.S. troops had caught a group of Iranians in a raid on suspected insurgents in Iraq. Two of the men had diplomatic immunity and were released them to Iran, but the other two were kept in custody.

Maryam Rajavi, who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NICR), an anti-regime umbrella group based in Paris, said the two men being held were senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Qods force and were responsible for sectarian attacks in Iraq.

She cited the group's intelligence officials as the source of the information.

It was not possible to independently verify Rajavi's claim, but the group has provided relatively accurate information on developments in Iran over the past several years, including details on the country's secretive nuclear program.

In Washington, a Pentagon official said Thursday that U.S. forces had found "indications and evidence that all of the people rounded up, including the two Iranians, are involved in the transfer of IED technologies from Iran to Iraq." IED stands for improvised explosive devices, or small bombs that are commonly used in attacks in Iraq.

The U.S. military has confirmed that troops found documents, but it was not clear if any actual explosives were found.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public, said that U.S. forces are currently working out ways to turn over the Iranians to the Iraqis, but

[traumer]

"My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes "

[Canard]

"Why is it a meaningless statement, by the way, if that's what Blair said about Saddam's execution?"

Blair's on holiday with some Bee Gee in Florida. Margaret Beckett made the government statement (or words to that effect). I didn't say this particular statement was meaningless, I said that Blair has a penchant for statements that sound deep, but on closer inspection, actually say nothing. It was just a dig at Blair, I rarely can resist an opportunity.

As for myself, I'd concur that it was entirely a matter for the Iraqis to decide. It's right that there was a 'proper' legal process, even though the outcome was inevitable. At this stage the actual execution is somewhat of a necessary irrelevance. It represents the necessary closing of a particular chapter, but won't of itself improve anything at this stage for any Iraqi.

[elhombrelibre]

I find it amazing that so many people who believed what Saddam did to the Iraqi people was no one's business but the sovereign of Iraq's (i.e., Saddam's), but now that the Iraqi people through their government have executed him after a lengthy judicial process, of which the evidence was overwhelming and denied by practically no one, there are people in the world who think this was unfair. Where were these people when Saddam was gassing the Kurds, burying Kurds in mass graves, killing people of all types who got in his way, killing Shia, and on and on? If I were Mick Jagger, I'd sing it out "Sympathy for the Devil." Note though that there was a time when most socialists were opposed to Saddam and all of his horrors. It was when he was receiving aid from the US and others to stop the Iranians from overrunning him for the war he started. So for many of those socialists there was a time when they were against Saddam. It was when they saw him as a US ally, which seems to be for many of them their guiding principle.

Have a good evening and a Happy New Year.