by Kenneth J. Theisen – March 12, 2008
On March 9, 2008 Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a spokesman for the American military in Iraq, continued recent U.S. propaganda attacks against Iran by accusing the Iranians of meddling in the affairs of Iraq. He referred to arrests of detainees in Iraq as proof that, “Handlers trained by Hezbollah inside Iran came back here purposefully to support anti-coalition and anti-security elements.” He alleged that the U.S. had captured insurgents and terrorists who had undergone training in Iran late last year. Smith also claimed U.S. troops recently discovered a weapons cache in Iraq that had markings showing the arms had originated in Iran. (It always amazes me how U.S. spokespeople can accuse other nations of meddling in the affairs of Iraq. What do they call the invasion and occupation of the country?)
The charges have been leveled before and will be made again. Iran is accused of supporting terrorists and insurgents and disrupting the “stability” of Iraq. Just last week, U.S. Army Lt. General Odierno claimed Iran was the greatest long-term threat to Iraq. (This must be why John McCain wants U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for 100 years or more.) He alleged that Iranian leaders were trying to weaken the Iraqi government for the benefit of Iran. About the same time, Navy Admiral William Fallon also charged that Tehran was destabilizing Iraq (as I write this, Fallon has announced he will resign). Both Odierno and Fallon claimed they had evidence that Iran continued to train and supply insurgents in Iraq.
U.S. military officials in Iraq are currently telling reporters of a slight increase in reported rocket and sophisticated roadside bomb attacks. The officials are blaming these attacks on Iranian-backed militiamen. The U.S. military refers to some of these militias as “Special Groups.” They claim that they have ties with Iran’s Quds Force, the elite wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to Admiral Smith, “We don’t assess necessarily that the central government of Iran is behind this but we are certain there are elements, including the Quds Force, who continue to train, finance and equip these people”They send Iraqis in [to Iran] and put them back on the border like wind-up toys. They’re out there roaming around with all this training behind them and they’re very lethal.”
The latest accusations are part of a continuing propaganda offensive against Iran by the Bush regime. These latest attacks have come from military officers, but top-ranking civilians including Bush, Cheney, Rice, and Gates have also regularly made similar charges over the last year. In his recent trip to the Middle East, Bush included such charges in his speeches and press conferences. We can surely expect even more such rhetoric with the upcoming trip of Dick Cheney to the region.
Ostensibly, the Bush regime is scheduled to leave office next January. But a lot can happen between now and then. Bush regime officials are not just making these charges accusing Iran because they are on auto-pilot. They would like to remove the Iranian government as an obstacle to U.S. hegemony. Just like the charges that Iran intends to acquire nukes, these charges of aiding terrorists and insurgents are met to justify U.S. military action against Iran. We can not afford to be complacent about such political propaganda attacks launched by the regime. They are a prelude to military attacks if the Bush regime has its way. Our job is to make sure that the regime is driven from power before it can launch still another war.