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May 21, 2007

Iran Has Secret Plan For Summer Offensive Against U.S. Forces In Iraq

Has the United States government completely lost all sense of reality or is there some secret U.S. plan in the works to strike Iran and turn it into a sandlot? Why else would the president have U.S. forces sit back and allow Iran to committing daily acts of war against US and British forces, and do absolutely nothing about it?

And if what the Guardian reports is true, that Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, why is it that the the U.S. is sitting back, as we speak, and allowing this to progress to fruition?

"Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq and it's a very dangerous course for them to be following. They are already committing daily acts of war against US and British forces," a senior US official in Baghdad warned. "They [Iran] are behind a lot of high-profile attacks meant to undermine US will and British will, such as the rocket attacks on Basra palace and the Green Zone [in Baghdad]. The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard who are connected right to the top [of the Iranian government]."

The official said US commanders were bracing for a nationwide, Iranian-orchestrated summer offensive, linking al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents to Tehran's Shia militia allies, that Iran hoped would trigger a political mutiny in Washington and a US retreat. "We expect that al-Qaida and Iran will both attempt to increase the propaganda and increase the violence prior to Petraeus's report in September [when the US commander General David Petraeus will report to Congress on President George Bush's controversial, six-month security "surge" of 30,000 troop reinforcements]," the official said.

"Certainly it [the violence] is going to pick up from their side. There is significant latent capability in Iraq, especially Iranian-sponsored capability. They can turn it up whenever they want. You can see that from the pre-positioning that's been going on and the huge stockpiles of Iranian weapons that we've turned up in the last couple of months. The relationships between Iran and groups like al-Qaida are very fluid," the official said.

... US officials now say they have firm evidence that Tehran has switched tack as it senses a chance of victory in Iraq. In a parallel development, they say they also have proof that Iran has reversed its previous policy in Afghanistan and is now supporting and supplying the Taliban's campaign against US, British and other Nato forces.

Sounds to me like what we're now doing in Iraq is a complete exercise in futility, unless the rules of engagement immediately include Iranian territory and personnel, juxtaposed with a short diplomatic note that says "cease and desist" else Iran and Syria become fair game - and mean it. To allow Iran to continue this long is beyond failed policy, it borders on being criminally neglegent, grossly incompetent, or both.

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at May 21, 2007 10:21 PM