The Times had a titilating piece ten days back about Iran supplying some of the Iraqi insurgency’s roadside bombs. Today, Time magazine carries the story about seven football fields further, documenting a wide-scale effort by Tehran to make its presence felt through Iraq.
A TIME investigation, based on documents smuggled out of Iran and dozens of interviews with U.S., British and Iraqi intelligence officials, as well as an Iranian agent, armed dissidents and Iraqi militia and political allies, reveals an Iranian plan for gaining influence in Iraq that began before the U.S. invaded. In their scope and ambition, Iran’s activities rival those of the U.S. and its allies, especially in the south.
Read it all.
THERE’S MORE: “The American commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, speaking to reporters from Baghdad June 21, played down the notion of outside [read: Iranian] expertise coming into the country,” Defense News observes.
They are certainly getting some outside advice, but there is some technical expertise that was resident in the Iraqi Army, probably from their explosive ordnance personnel. He said it is not so much technical sophistication thats a problem; the lethality of the IEDs comes from a combination of bombs. The tactical expertise to do that, that capability exists here in the country, he said.
There’s a big difference in IEDs coming from Iranian territory and “Iran supplying some of the Iraqi insurgency’s roadside bombs.” I don’t think anyone has publicly stated that Iran as a state is supporting the insurgency. The more credible current theories revolve around expertise and machining capability from Iranian individuals being involved in the improved IED designs we are seeing in Iraq currently.
There’s a big difference between Iran, as a state, having a vested interest in the stability and future of its neighbor Iraq (with whom it recently fought a long war, outside of the religious and cultural connections), and Iran, as a state, giving material assistance to insurgents in Iraq. It would make sense for Iran to have legitimate interests in influencing the emerging Iraqi state.
I’d have to agree with Lt. General Vines, that it is still much more likely that the sophisitcation we are currently seeing is being generated within Iraq. The improved designs are not outside the technical capability of the Iraqui people. Remember, until the first Gulf War, Iraq had one of the most well educated populations in the Middle East, as well as a massive home grown military. There’s lots of native expertise floating around in Iraq, even after the devestation of the past decade and a half.
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