In the News
April 13, 2007, 4:11PM
General sees Iran's hand in Iraq fight
By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The U.S. suspects Iran is providing weapons and other military support to both sides of the sectarian conflict in Iraq — not just to the Shiites who have historic ties to the Iranians, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq said Friday.
"We're working now to determine whether they are in fact not only providing support to Shiite groups, but also Sunni insurgent groups," said Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, referring to the Quds force, an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Odierno spoke to reporters at the Pentagon from his headquarters outside Baghdad.
"We don't have any specific proof of that yet, but there's been some indications that that could in fact be the case," he added in a question-and-answer session via satellite video. He did not get more specific about such support.
Odierno was asked why Iran would help the Sunni extremists of Iraq, since both Iran and Iraq are predominantly Shiite.
"I think it's mainly because they want to continue to create chaos in Iraq," he replied. "They do not want this government potentially to succeed. But additionally, I think they want to try to tie down coalition forces here. And it's clear that they are attempting to affect what's going on inside of Iraq on a daily basis."...
Likely the Iranians are arming both sides. So are many other countries:
Who are arming the Iraqi insurgents? Whoever has the best bang for the buck.[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dealers in Death - A Visit to an Arms Bazaar [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]by Robert Fisk[/FONT]
It is as civilised as fine art - which is what the sale of weapons has become for the world's armourers.
Behind the tents and trinket shops and pipe band, there lies on display the most sophisticated and lethal ordnance ever made by man, so new you can smell the fresh paint.
Each time I examine a French missile, a German tank, an American rocket, a British armoured vehicle, a Dutch self-propelled gun or a Russian automatic rifle, up comes a charming gentleman in another of those dark blue suits, a merchant of death brandishing a file of glossy brochures, offering a powerful handshake and another cup of tea.
Some are a bit portly - selling death on a large scale means a lot of hospitality - and often they carry a small purple or blue flower in their buttonhole. Ballistics is their fascination.
"As the day warms up, a bullet flies faster," a cheerful Australian confides to me. "In the evening, the air grows heavier and the bullet goes more slowly." Smiling field marshals and jolly generals from across the Arab world drift through the arms pavilions, running their hands along the sleek missile tubes, peering through sniper rifles, clambering like schoolchildren on to howitzers and tanks...
...I walk over to a small stand hidden away in the corner of one of the farthest pavilions, where brown-painted models of mobile-launched rockets lie along a shelf. This is the Iranian arms bazaar.
Most of their missiles are called "Dawn" or "Morning Sunrise," but one caught my eye, a big 125km-range monster, produced by the SB Industrial Group of Tehran and called the "Nazeat." It's a Persian word meaning "Horror of Death."
Yes, Iran - the only nation in all of the world arms market to tell the true purpose of a weapon - has actually named a missile after the extinction of life. Does the answer to my question lie here? These missiles are not for sale, I am solemnly informed by Morteza Khosravi, a young man from the Iranian ministry of defence with an intense expression. They are only to show Iran's "capabilities." He swiftly adds that Iran sells arms only according to strict rules under the UN's Defence Control Act...
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0512-04.htm