U.S.: Iran helped Iraqi rebels kill 5 American soldiers
The New York Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Agents of Iran helped plan a January raid in Iraq's Shiite holy city of Karbala in which five American soldiers were killed by Islamic militants, an American military spokesman said Monday. The charge was the most specific allegation of Iranian involvement in an attack that killed American troops, at a time of rising tensions with Iran over its role in Iraq and its nuclear program.
Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, the military spokesman here, said an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a force under the control of Iran's most powerful religious leaders, had used veterans of the Lebanese Islamic militia group Hezbollah as a "proxy" to train, arm and plan attacks by an array of Shiite militant cells in Iraq. One high-ranking Hezbollah commander from Lebanon was captured in Basra in March, and after weeks of pretending to be a deaf mute, he gave American interrogators details of the Iranian role, the general said.
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The briefings on Monday shifted the focus from the weapons to what Bergner described as a network of secret militant cells armed, financed and directed by the Iranians. Bergner said the information was drawn from interrogations of three men captured in a raid in Basra on May 20, and from documents found with them.
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Bergner, seemingly keen to avoid a renewal of the criticism that the American command has used the allegations of Iranian interference here to lend momentum to the Bush administration's war policy, declined under questioning by reporters to draw any broader political implications, although he did say that American intelligence indicated that "the senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity."
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The general said the cells had been responsible for much violence. "I think the reality of this is that they're killing American forces, they're killing Iraqis, they're killing Iraqi security forces, and they are disrupting the stability in Iraq," he said.
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Another high-ranking American official said that Iranian financing for the Tehran-linked militias – said by Bergner to amount to $750,000 to $3 million a month – had for a long time been channeled through al-Sadr, and that American intelligence was not clear on whether the money was still going partly or wholly to him. "One of the big questions is, 'Who controls the secret cells, if anyone does?"' the official said. "The fact is, it's hard to tell where the militias end and the secret cells begin. There is a pre-existing relationship between Sadr and the Iranians, but I think the answer is that some of them are out of control."
Lieberman: Iran has declared war on the US
Josh Catone
Published: Monday July 2, 2007
Following a statement issued by the American Forces Press Service accusing Iran's Quds Force of "training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups," as well as Hezbollah operatives in Iraq, Senator Joseph Lieberman released a statement saying that Iran has declared war on America.
"Although no one desires a conflict with Iran, the fact is that the Iranian government by its actions has declared war on us," Lieberman wrote, while urging the United States to keep "open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran."
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"For Congress to mandate a retreat from Iraq will give the Iranians exactly what they want most," Lieberman concluded. "A retreat would not only represent a catastrophic defeat for the United States, but an epic victory for Iran, Hezbollah, and the forces of Islamist terrorism."
'Wiped off the Map' – The Rumor of the Century
by Arash Norouzi
Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran's president has threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, "Israel must be wiped off the map." Contrary to popular belief, this statement was never made.
On Tuesday, October 25th, 2005 at the Ministry of Interior conference hall in Tehran, newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a speech at a program, reportedly attended by thousands, titled "The World Without Zionism." Large posters surrounding him displayed this title prominently in English, obviously for the benefit of the international press. Below the poster's title was a slick graphic depicting an hour glass containing planet Earth at its top. Two small round orbs representing the United States and Israel are shown falling through the hour glass' narrow neck and crashing to the bottom.
Before we get to the infamous remark, it's important to note that the "quote" in question was itself a quote – they are the words of the late Ayatollah Khomenei, the father of the Islamic Revolution. Although he quoted Khomeini to affirm his own position on Zionism, the actual words belong to Khomeini and not Ahmadinejad. Thus, Ahmadinejad has essentially been credited (or blamed) for a quote that is not only unoriginal, but represents a viewpoint already in place well before he ever took office.
The Actual Quote:
So what did Ahmadinejad actually say? To quote his exact words in Farsi:
"Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad."
That passage will mean nothing to most people, but one word might ring a bell: rezhim-e. It is the word "regime." pronounced just like the English word with an extra "eh" sound at the end. Ahmadinejad did not refer to Israel the country or Israel the land mass, but the Israeli regime. This is a vastly significant distinction, as one cannot wipe a regime off the map. Ahmadinejad does not even refer to Israel by name, he instead uses the specific phrase "rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods" (regime occupying Jerusalem).
So this raises the question.. what exactly did he want "wiped from the map"? The answer is: nothing. That's because the word "map" was never used. The Persian word for map, "nagsheh" is not contained anywhere in his original Farsi quote, or, for that matter, anywhere in his entire speech. Nor was the western phrase "wipe out" ever said. Yet we are led to believe that Iran's president threatened to "wipe Israel off the map." despite never having uttered the words "map." "wipe out" or even "Israel."
The full quote translated directly to English:
"The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."
The Speech and Context:
While the false "wiped off the map" extract has been repeated infinitely without verification, Ahmadinejad's actual speech itself has been almost entirely ignored. Given the importance placed on the "map" comment, it would be sensible to present his words in their full context to get a fuller understanding of his position. In fact, by looking at the entire speech, there is a clear, logical trajectory leading up to his call for a "world without Zionism." One may disagree with his reasoning, but critical appraisals are infeasible without first knowing what that reasoning is.
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Ahmadinejad would seem to be calling for regime change, not war.
Further reading: Media Backtracks on Iran's 'Threat'
All in all, looks like a lot of groundwork is being laid out here.
- Frank Herbert
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