The US military has announced that not only is Iran aiding the Shi'ite militias in Iraq, but their Lebanese surrogate, Hezbollah, is also participating
Iraqis are receiving the training at camps operated by the Quds Force, Air Force Col. Donald Bacon told the Associated Press. "We have multiple detainees who state Lebanese Hezbollah are providing training to Iraqis in Iranian IRGC-QF training camps near Tehran," said Bacon, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. (The Quds Force is also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force, or IRGC-QF. Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem.)
In the past, Iran's participation has also been noted on many occasions. In a News Briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff two weeks ago, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen was quite clear on this
...on Iran, I've been clear lately that I'm extremely concerned about what I believe to be an increasingly lethal and malign influence by that government and the Qods Force in particular in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. I believe recent events, especially the Basra operation, have revealed just how much and just how far Iran is reaching into Iraq to foment instability. Their support to criminal groups in the form of munitions and training, as well as other assistance they are providing and the attacks they are encouraging, continues to kill coalition and Iraqi personnel. The Iranian government pledged to halt such activities some months ago. It's plainly obvious they have not. Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way.
Iran, of course, denies such involvement while Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohne writing for TIME Magazine attempt to sow doubts as well
...the U.S. allegations appear to be based on speculation, spurred by the appearance about a year ago of a new breed of roadside bomb in Iraq. Explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, proved effective at piercing American armor by firing a concave copper disc from a makeshift cannon, which transformed the slug midair into a molten jet of super-heated metal. Accusations that Iran was shipping the things into Iraq grew louder as U.S. casualties from the weapon rose. But no concrete evidence has emerged in public that Iran was behind the weapons. U.S. officials have revealed no captured shipments of such devices and offered no other proof.
Instead, the Americans argued their case publicly with deductive reasoning: the copper slugs used in EFPs had to be precisely tooled with a heavy press in order to work properly, they said; no such heavy presses were in operation in Iraq, according to the Americans, therefore the slugs had to have been machined in Iran and moved into Iraq. It is, however, not impossible that such heavy presses may well be operating in Iraq. Three major cities in southern Iraq (Basra, Karbala and Najaf) have gone without a significant U.S. military presence for more than a year. These cities, which U.S. officials believe form hubs for the flow of arms into Baghdad, may indeed have such presses.
And the Iraqi Government seems reluctant to outright blame their neighbor, and some in the US media take this as yet another opportunity to discern ulterior motives is the US Government's claims against Iran.
Back in February of 2007, the US Military put on display for the first time evidence of the Iranian-made EFPs found in Iraq.
Regardless, the US and Iraqi combat operations in Sadr City and Basra aimed at destroying the primary Iranian-backed militia continues, unabated, now entering its 5th week.
The leader of the Shi'ite militia, Muqtada al-Sadi has tried threats and negotiation to stop the decimation of his force; while remaining in Iran for the past year, all to no avail.
Now, in a last ditch effort to preserve the Shi'a insurgency, Iran itself is trying to get the operation halted.
As American strikes on Shiite fighters in Baghdad have widened, Iran has suspended talks with the United States on Iraqi security, with the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday citing the continued offensive as the reason...
“The focus of discussions with the U.S. is Iraq’s security and stability,” said Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran, according to IRNA, the official Iranian news agency.
“We are witnessing indiscriminate bombardment of Iraqi residential areas by the U.S. occupying forces,” Mr. Hosseini told reporters at his weekly news conference.
But if they are not involved as they say, why does Iran care so much about these militias? It's not as if the Government were Sunni's trying to destroy Shi'as; no, the Government is mostly Shi'a and trying to assert itself. Isn't the point of "security talks" to find ways to increase the integrity of the Iraqi Government? It certainly should not focus on anti-Government forces, unless, of course, this is Iran's hidden agenda.
And it's not like most Shi'a support these militias
Above all, Hassan and his neighborhood watchmen do not like the Mahdi Army.
“Originally, the Jaish al Mahdi [Mahdi Army] in our area used to deceive people by using the name of the religion to do their purposes,” said Dhia, Hassan’s executive officer. “They were all corrupted. They have history in crime, robberies, murders, rapes, and all kinds of bad things. They even reached the level of kidnapping people and demanding ransoms just because they have money. It didn’t matter if he is Shia or Sunni; just because he has money. They gave a bad reputation for Islam.”
American officials assert that the final factor that has improved security is the citizenry’s fatigue with violence and the militias.
“They’re still intimidated by [the Mahdi Army], but they’re tired of them,” said Thornburg.
In the past the Mahdi Army commanded local support because of the need for security in a vacuum and intimidation tactics. But as security improved and other forces are gaining prominence, support for the Mahdi militia in Rusafa is evaporating.
But Iran had to know that once al Qaida had been dealt with, that we would come after them. Perhaps they thought they would do better then they have.
They were wrong.
