Promoted by Steven D

Iraq is in the midst of a Civil War.  I know it, you know and the 6000 Iraqi civilians who have been shot, tortured or blown up in the past couple of months probably knew it too.  It seems that the only people in denial over this obvious truth is the Bush administration and their acolytes. And today the New York Times decided, in the guise of a news story, to aid and abet the administration fantasy that all of the chaos and violence in Iraq is being orchestrated from Iran.  The article begins:

Iran is pressing Shiite militias here to step up attacks against the American-led forces…The Iranian incitement has led to a surge in mortar and rocket attacks on the fortified Green Zone…The splinter groups have ties to Iran…There is evidence that Iran is pushing for more attacks…

It’s not until the sixth paragraph that we are given the evidence backing up these claims:

…he acknowledged that there was no proof that Iran was directing any particular operations by militias here.

Pretty damning, eh?

   
The source for this article is the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.  As a matter of fact, he is the only source cited in the article.  And from the comfort of the Green Zone, Mr. Khalilzad goes on to say that:

Iran is seeking to put more pressure, encourage more pressure on the coalition from the forces that they are allied with here, and the same is maybe true of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah?  I would think that they are rather busy dealing with their own problems in Lebanon, but if Mr. Khalilzad says so, it must be true.

And what else has Iran been up to?

…they believe that Iran has given technology for lethal shaped-charge explosives to Iraqi militias.

But since Khalilzad didn’t mention it, apparently the New York Times didn’t think it was worth pointing out a March Department of Defense press briefing:

Q     You and General Pace and, indeed, the president and others have had intimated strongly in recent days that Iran is stirring — actively stirring up violence in Iraq.  You said that Revolutionary Guards and IEDs and weapons are moving across the border from Iran. What you have not said conclusively is whether the government of Iran and the mullahs are sponsoring that activity.  Do you have proof that they are, indeed, behind this, the government of Iran?

SEC. RUMSFELD:  Pete?

GEN. PACE:  I do not, sir.

Apparently the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is out of the loop.

Of course Mr. Khalilzad walks a fine line here…accusing Iran and Hezbollah without implicating powerful Shiite leaders within Iraq:

Despite the recent attacks by the splinter groups, Mr. Khalilzad insisted that the most powerful Shiite leaders in Iraq had not yet pushed for more violence against the Americans, even though Iran would like them to. That includes Mr. Sadr, he said.

Mr. Sadr?  The same Mr. Sadr that George W. Bush spoke of two years ago?

In the south of Iraq, coalition forces face riots and attacks that are being incited by a radical cleric named al-Sadr. He has assembled some of his supporters into an illegal militia, and publicly supported the terrorist groups…

But now the same Mr. Sadr that U.S. forces were in a battle with just last week, two days after Mr. Sadr held a pro-Hezbollah rally, complete with the “Death to America” battle cry, is described by Mr. Khalilzad as one of many in the Shia leadership acting, “more as Iraqi patriots.”

Because now as the United States considers their options in their next “great opportunity,” demonizing Iran and their intentions is paramount.  “Smoking guns in the form of mushroom cloud” has been done, and the deadline for the United Nations resolution on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program is fast approaching.  

Mr. Khalilzad is really killing two birds with one stone here.  Blaming Iran for the violence in Iraq sets the stage for military actions against Iran, while at the same time excusing the failed policies of this administration in Iraq.

Kudos to the New York Times for their outstanding stenography skills.