[Marxism] Iranian activity in Iraq?

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

(Generally speaking, the only place you hear about Iran supporting Shia
insurgents in Iraq is on WABC rightwing talk radio. On John Batchelor's
show, for example, they hammer away at this ceaselessly. One has to be
mystified by these reports since is a dearth of reports about Shias using
IED's on American troops, a practice associated with the Sunni. In
addition, the Shias are reported to be involved mainly with death squad
activity against the Sunnis, something exported to Iraq from El Salvador in
the 1980s. It is difficult to figure out where the US is going with this,
but it certainly bears close monitoring.)


General Reports Spike in Iranian Activity in Iraq

By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 23, 2006; A19

Iranian support for extremists inside Iraq has shown a "noticeable
increase" this year, with Tehran's special forces providing weapons and
bomb training to anti-U.S. groups, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said
yesterday.

Other U.S. officials have complained about Iranian meddling in Iraq, but
the criticism of Tehran by Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was the most
direct and explicit so far. Speaking at a Pentagon news conference before
an array of reporters and television cameras, the general listed Iranian
influence as one of the four major problems he faces in Iraq.

"We are quite confident that the Iranians, through their covert special
operations forces, are providing weapons, IED technology and training to
Shia extremist groups in Iraq, the training being conducted in Iran and in
some cases probably in Lebanon through their surrogates," Casey said, using
the military abbreviation for "improvised explosive devices," or roadside
bombs. The Iranians are "using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations
in Iraq, both against us and against the Iraqi people."

Iran's actions are a major concern not only because of attacks on U.S.
forces, but also because the durability of the new Iraqi government depends
in part on the willingness of Iraqi's Sunni minority to accept the
government. The Sunnis will be unlikely to do so if the Iranian government
is perceived as playing a major role in supporting and even arming violent
Shiite factions.

"Since January, we have seen an upsurge in their support, particularly to
the Shia extremist groups," Casey said. "They are providing weapons,
training and equipment to Shia insurgents, and that equipment is being used
against us and Iraqis."

In the wide-ranging news conference, Casey also touched on several other
aspects of the three-year-old U.S. war in Iraq. He said that insurgent
attacks are up but insisted that "the insurgency hasn't expanded." About 90
percent of its attacks are launched within 30 miles of Baghdad, he said.

Discussing the state of al-Qaeda in Iraq since the killing earlier this
month of its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Casey said, "They're hurt, but
they're not finished. . . . They're feeling the pain right now."

Casey expressed confidence in the growing strength of the Iraqi army but
voiced concern about the state of the Iraqi police, especially in the
Baghdad area, where, he said, their operations are influenced by militias.
Sunnis often accuse the police, who are controlled by the Ministry of the
Interior, of working closely with Shiite death squads.

"There are challenges with the police that I think you know, and the
performance of the police varies widely around the country," he said.
"Probably the greatest challenge for the new minister of interior is to
restore the confidence of the Iraqi people in general and the Sunni
population in particular in the Ministry of Interior forces."

Casey also appeared to stand by, but soften, his previous assertion that
the number of U.S. troops would be reduced this year. "I'm confident that
we'll be able to continue to take reductions over the course of this year,"
he said.

There are about 127,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. That is down from a peak of
about 160,000 in winter 2005-06, but close to the typical level over the
past three years of about 135,000. The widespread expectation inside the
U.S. Army is that by the end of this year, the U.S. presence will be cut to
about 100,000.

Since the fall of 2003, top commanders have wanted to reduce the U.S. troop
commitment but have been unable to turn that hope into reality.

Casey appeared to stop a bit short of his statement 11 months ago that held
out the prospect of "fairly substantial" cuts in troop levels. In July
2005, he said: "If the political process continues to go positively, and if
the development of the security forces continues to go as it is going, I do
believe we'll still be able to take some fairly substantial reductions"
after the Iraqi elections in 2006.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who uncharacteristically played a
supporting role during the news conference, added that the size of U.S.
forces "very likely will go down and up and down and up depending on the
circumstances and depending on the need."

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