Posted on 03/12/2007 9:47:48 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NEW YORK (AP) -
The top U.S. commander in Iraq said in an interview released Monday that it's "indisputable" Iran is training and arming militants to fight against U.S.-led troops in Iraq.
Gen. David Petraeus also told ABC News that suicide bombers are streaming across Iraq's border from Syria and making their way into the country's volatile western Anbar province.
His comments follow a harsh exchange of words over the weekend between the U.S. and Iran at a conference in Baghdad on Iraq's security. The U.S. envoy to the talks, David Satterfield, said he had evidence that Iran was arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq, which his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, vehemently denied. He called such accusations a "cover" for U.S. failures in Iraq.
At the conference, both Iran and Syria pledged to support moves to stabilize Iraq, including reconciliation among Iraq's factions. But U.S. and Iraqi leaders have questioned Iran's commitment to backing such American-led efforts.
In the interview with ABC, Petraeus said cooperation from Iran and Syria would be key to stopping the violence in Iraq.
He said there are elements of Iran's Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force that are training fighters and sending them into Iraq to fight U.S.-led forces. He said Iran is also sending "rockets, mortars and other explosives and munitions" into the country.
"That's indisputable and again it's a very, very problematic situation four our soldiers and Iraqi soldiers," he told ABC.
"And if it's something that can be brought to a halt through these initiatives of the Iraqi government, we would applaud that vigorously," he said, referring to the talks in Baghdad aimed at bringing security to the country.
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Rocket science. So what are we going to do about it?
"So what are we going to do about it?"
What we should do, is close the border with Iran. No trade, worshippers, nada.
Then evacuate an area about 5 clicks wide along the border and declare it a free fire zone. Then slaughter anything that moves in that zone.
>What we should do, is close the border with Iran
Ha. This is a joke right? We can't even close the borders in our own country, and we should magically do this in Iraq...against people who are actually armed and dangerous. Yeah, we're already strained for resources, this is not going to happen. So we expect Iran to wall up their borders, when we can't even do the same at home.
Look, the big picture is that there's a geopolitical chessboard and every side sees how it gain advantage in the region. The US has its "militants" in the region despite the fact that the majority of Sunni's and Shi'ites both want us gone. So we are an unwelcome presence. Iran is allowing its militants to defend Shi'ites in the region as well. Every country is pursuing its interests in Iraq. In some ways, the Iranian militants may be more welcome to the largely Sh'ite majority in Iraq than the American militants are.
So we can complain all day about what Iran is doing, that they are a foreign presence meddling in Iraq's affairs, but that is precisely how the Iraqis and the rest of the world sees us.
AP's finest strikes again.
Find the training Facilities and bomb them.
"We can't even close the borders in our own country, ..."
Not can't but won't.
"...and we should magically do this in Iraq..."
Nothing magic about it. Just have to be willing to make a lot of folks angry and kill a bunch who wan to test the free fire zone.
Do you know how a free fire zone works?
Rogator- Iraq is the size of California. Its boundary with Iran is very long; it is impracticable to defend entirely. Just not possible; especially not with our troops strained as it is. Bush can keep demanding Iran police their entire border, but we can't do it at home (or won't), we can't do it in Iraq; so the request that Iran do so is an idle one. It's not a real demand that can be met; it's creating the foundations for sanctions and/or war against Iran in the future.
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