http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/23/060823191433.f6anfeud.html

'Clear evidence' Iran is arming, training Iraqi extremists: US general
Aug 23 3:14 PM US/Eastern
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A senior US military official said there is "clear evidence" that Iran is funding, training and arming Shiite extremists to destabilize Iraq.
"I think it is irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and equipping some of these Shia extremist groups, and also providing advanced IED technology," said Brigadier General Michael Barbero, using the acronym for "improvised explosive devices."

"And there is clear evidence of that," he added at a Pentagon press conference.

His comments came the same day that Iran turned aside demands by the international community that it halt uranium enrichment as required by a UN Security Council resolution, offering "serious negotiations" instead.

Barbero, deputy operations director of the joint staff, said he had seen no reports of "direct contact" involving Iranian paramilitary or intelligence forces.

But he said he had seen "reports of their involvement and presence there as trainers to train these terrorists and Shia extremist groups."

How to respond to destabilizing Iranian activity was a question for policymakers, Barbero said.

But he said neutralizing the Shiite extremist groups in Iraq "will go a long way to removing their direct influence into the affairs of the sovereign country of Iraq."

In recent weeks, US military forces have stepped up raids against Shiite and Sunni extremist groups in Baghdad in an effort to tamp down a wave of violence that has raised fears of civil war.

The violence last month forced the United States to extend the tours of nearly 4,000 troops, preventing a reduction in the size of the 133,000-strong US force.

"Our intent is to draw down the number of troops," Barbero said. "And, as I said, that will be driven by the conditions on the ground and the requests from the commanders on the ground."

Yup, seems pretty obvious.   We've seen this before.   The pretense is in the works.   I'd give us a year, and we'll be watching airstrikes.

Good stuff, jks.

I think it's just a matter of time, and it will be measured more in months than in years.

I'm really interested in seeing what this doggone surprise is going to be in a few days.  They've been talking a great game but so far it's talk.  Then again, I'd rather have them talking rather than producing.

HH

Nothing will happen.
The politicians don't have the balls to do whats needed.

Quoted: Nothing will happen. The politicians don't have the balls to do whats needed.

+1

That's the frustrating part.  

Quoted: Nothing will happen. The politicians don't have the balls to do whats needed.

+1

Perhaps we are the ones who have the surprise to spring. I doubt it though

Quoted: Nothing will happen. The politicians don't have the balls to do whats needed.

I expect that it could cause a sort of "cold war" where Iran trains the militias in Iraq in order to destabilize the country, then we train and supply someone else to do the same in Iran.  

But it is more likely that we will ignore them until it's too late.  

I think that expresses my elation.

In the infamous words of Bruce B,

"all you haters yap, yap, yap, yap, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp..."

By that I mean all this talk of action and Iran and nukes and glass etc.
is just that.... talk.  Everyone knows it.  I know it, they know it, you know it.

Nothing is going to happen.  There will be macho posturing.
Then there will be talk.  Followed by yapping.  Then chirping.  

No action, no consequences, simply Americans getting killed by some IED
planting scumsuckers because our government doesn't have the balls and
our citizens don't have the intestinal fortitude to take care of business.

We know who is working behind the scenes.

Yeah, listen to the US or we will kick your ass err, stroke you at the peace table and place sanction after sanction on your country.
If you break those sanctions, we will sanction you some more.  We seem to be
pretty freaking good at coming up with sanctions.  In fact, we may well have a secret sanction department of our government.

More specifically,  the politicians will have the balls to START something, but there is very little chance that they'll have the balls to FINISH THE JOB.

Gulf War 1:   We didn't finish.  That led to GW II, in time.   Totally unnecessary.

Our involvement in Afghanistan has gone very well by most accounts but let's face it,
chasing the Taliban and a few bands of Al Quaeda allied terrorists isn't much of a mission
compared to what's going on in Iraq.

We let Israel START exterminating Hezbollah,  but intervene and get them to STOP,
which gives the terrorists time to rearm and reorganize.  It will not be so easy to knock them
on their asses next time.      That should have been Israel's war and theirs alone to win or
lose, but we intervened and deserve a spanking for that.   We ensured that the job that
had to be done was NOT done properly.

We'll probably pull out of Iraq before it's stable and then have to go back in AGAIN and
try to pick up the pieces.      And Iraq will NEVER be stable until Iran and Syria can be
made to quit meddling in Iraq's business.     And I think we'll have to expend a lot of
munitions in order to get them to see reason our way.    Each of those two conflicts
by themselves are likely to drag on into Iraq-style boondoggles with no satisfactory
way out for years to come.    And the probabilty of our politicans making us withdraw
before the job is done, yet AGAIN,  is too high to ignore.


Finish what you start.  If you're not going to do that,  don't get started in the first place.


CJ

Quoted: More specifically,  the politicians will have the balls to START something, but there is very little chance that they'll have the balls to FINISH THE JOB. Gulf War 1:   We didn't finish.  That led to GW II, in time.   Totally unnecessary. Our involvement in Afghanistan has gone very well by most accounts but let's face it, chasing the Taliban and a few bands of Al Quaeda allied terrorists isn't much of a mission compared to what's going on in Iraq. We let Israel START exterminating Hezbollah,  but intervene and get them to STOP, which gives the terrorists time to rearm and reorganize.  It will not be so easy to knock them on their asses next time.      That should have been Israel's war and theirs alone to win or lose, but we intervened and deserve a spanking for that.   We ensured that the job that had to be done was NOT done properly. We'll probably pull out of Iraq before it's stable and then have to go back in AGAIN and try to pick up the pieces.      And Iraq will NEVER be stable until Iran and Syria can be made to quit meddling in Iraq's business.     And I think we'll have to expend a lot of munitions in order to get them to see reason our way.    Each of those two conflicts by themselves are likely to drag on into Iraq-style boondoggles with no satisfactory way out for years to come.    And the probabilty of our politicans making us withdraw before the job is done, yet AGAIN,  is too high to ignore. Finish what you start.  If you're not going to do that,  don't get started in the first place. CJ

I disagree CM, I think our politicians have lost the will to start anything. Look at GWB, he is giving the Hezbos 250m to rebuild what Israel just destroyed. He is adamant on Iraq, but I dont see anything from him on the Iranian threat. We had some spine 3 years ago, but we have lost the initiative, or let other take it from us.

Your view is even less optimistic than mine.  Maybe you're right,  but I didn't want to give up hope.



Damn it, when are we going to take back our own country from those who worship money above all else and don't have the courage to do what's right or the sense to know what right even is?


Maybe I should run for President.   I could run under the slogan "You could do a lot worse...and you already have!"




CJ

i hate iran, you hate iran, we all hate iran..

but... iran has not started a war in 200 years. they aint gonna do it now.. they just gonna sit back and agitate..

are we gonna attack a country that has not attacked anyone else? iraq started GWI and we had a pretense for GWII.. whats the pretense of IWI (Iran war I)? they won't show us their nukes? they train and equip anti-american forces? sorry, dont think thats enough.

how would we 'do' this war? conventional bombing? i think they are too deeply buried for that to work with assurance.. we gonna invade? 3 times the size and 3 times the number of people as iraq and a much more mountainous country.. more soliders.. so are we gonna draft 500,000 soldiers to fight the war? gonna use our own nukes? attack a country with nuclear weapons in a preemptive strike.. sheese give me a break.. the international fallout (pun intended) would be horrendous, not the least of wich would be gas prices in excess of 6 bucks a gallon AND gas shortages regardless.. which would cause worldwide economic chaos.. and the chinese would respond along with the russkies by allying themselves bigtime and pumping huge amounts of cash into their military.. and the dems would take over bigtime in the next election and confiscate all you guns and increase taxess 200 percent and reduce our military by 90 percent, try bush as a war criminal, and turn over our court system to the united nations....

no..

iran will be allowed to strike the first hard blow.

same as it ever was..