Baghdad's Agony
The top American commander in Iraq says the new security plan 'will take months, not days, not weeks'
Friends and foes. Discussion on May 4 will turn to regional politics, specifically ways in which each country is helping or hindering Iraq's fledgling government and moribund reconciliation process. The spotlight will be on Iran and Syria and on how actively Rice engages with two states the United States formally accuses of supporting terrorism (and, in Iran's case, of seeking nuclear weapons). Calling their actions "distinctly unhelpful," Petraeus told U.S. News: "It is a fact that foreign fighters come in through Syria...and that various insurgent groups have their political headquarters, if you will, inside Syria. And it's a fact that Iran has been fueling some of the very, very lethal activities on the Shia side through the provision of money, advanced weapons, and training."
Petraeus then proceeded to add some very specific details about Iran's meddling: Two death squad leaders, once connected to Shiite firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, were recently captured after a yearlong effort by U.S. and Iraqi special operations forces. Breaking with Sadr, the two brothers, Laith and Qais Khazali, allegedly led a splinter group of 3,000 followers that received training and weapons from Iran.
In a not-so-veiled warning to Iran, Petraeus said: "We learned an enormous amount about [Iranian activities] during the interrogation of the Khazali brothers and the materials that were captured with them, which included very detailed logs of operations and a 22-page report on the operation in Karbala." In the latter, four U.S. soldiers were kidnapped and killed by Shiite militia members wearing stolen U.S. uniforms and carrying official ids. Calling activities by Iran and Syria "very damaging," Petraeus is clearly hoping that his message reaches Sharm al-Sheikh.
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