That’s right, the one man whom Americans cannot criticize, the one man who cannot be suspected of ever telling a lie (or a half-lie or failing to tell all the truth all the time), the man who is above politics, the greatest General in recent US military history, and the man who is single handedly winning the War on Terror (unless the Defeatocrats in Congress ever get their way) has spoken, and now you must listen as he tells all Americans who is really to blame for all the violence in Iraq (drumroll, please, maestro) — it’s IRAN!

EAST OF BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) – The U.S. military commander in Iraq has stepped up accusations that Iran was stoking violence in Iraq and said Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad was a member of the Revolutionary Guards Qods force.

Washington accuses the force, the elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, of inciting bloodshed in Iraq and of training and equipping militias who have attacked U.S. troops.

General David Petraeus, speaking at a U.S. military base about 30 km (20 miles) from the Iranian border on Saturday, said Iran was giving advanced weaponry to militias in Iraq.

“They are responsible for providing the weapons, the training, the funding and in some cases the direction for operations that have indeed killed U.S. soldiers,” Petraeus told a small group of reporters when asked if the Iranian government was responsible for killing U.S. troops.

“There is no question about the connection between Iran and these components, (the) attacks that have killed our soldiers.” […]

“The ambassador is a Qods force member,” Petraeus said of Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, Iran’s envoy to Baghdad. He did not say how he knew this but appeared to suggest that Kazemi-Qomi was not under the U.S. military spotlight because he was a diplomat. […]

Petraeus said Iran was supplying advanced rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-fired “Stinger-like” air defence missiles, components to make EFPs and 240 mm rockets to militias in Iraq.

Petraeus also suggested there was an Iranian link in the assassination of two provincial governors in southern Iraq in August. Both were killed by roadside bombs.

“They are implicated in the assassination of some governors in the southern provinces,” he said.

So, there you have it. Iran is killing American soldiers. We heard it from the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life. Enough said. Enough with this silly diplomacy talk. Time to cowboy up. Time to let the bombs fall on Tehran where they may.

Unless you don’t trust General Petraeus. Well, do you or don’t you, punk? I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t.

In August President George W. Bush, already at odds with Iran over its nuclear program, said attacks on U.S. troops with Iranian-supplied weapons were increasing and he had told commanders in Iraq to “confront Tehran’s murderous activities”.

Since then, U.S. military officers have repeatedly presented what they say is evidence of Iranian-produced arms, including the particularly deadly explosively formed projectile (EFP) bombs, being used against U.S. soldiers.

It’s not like the US military has ever lied to us before about Iraq, after all.

Newly released documents confirm that a Pentagon unit knowingly cooked up intelligence claiming a direct link between Iraq and al-Qaeda in order to win support for a preemptive strike against the country.

A report prepared by the Defense Department’s Inspector General for Carl Levin, the Democratic Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, explicitly shows how former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith used his Defense Department position to cook intelligence claiming a connection between the terrorist organization and Saddam Hussein’s regime.

And they’ve always been completely honest in identifying the major source of violence in Iraq since we invaded:

WASHINGTON — Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida “the main enemy” in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration’s senior intelligence analysts. […]

Bush called al Qaida in Iraq the perpetrator of the worst violence racking that country and said it was the same group that had carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

“Al Qaida is the main enemy for Shia, Sunni and Kurds alike,” Bush asserted. “Al Qaida’s responsible for the most sensational killings in Iraq. They’re responsible for the sensational killings on U.S. soil.”

U.S. military and intelligence officials, however, say that Iraqis with ties to al Qaida are only a small fraction of the threat to American troops. The group known as al Qaida in Iraq didn’t exist before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, didn’t pledge its loyalty to al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden until October 2004 and isn’t controlled by bin Laden or his top aides.

Ooops. Maybe we should just forget about that. Besides that was the Decider talking. I’m sure General Petraeus never said Al Qaeda was the greatest source of violence in Iraq. Right?

U.S. general says al Qaeda remains top foe in Iraq
By Bill Gertz | Published Apr/27/2007

… Al Qaeda in Iraq is “a very significant enemy,” Gen. Petraeus said.

“I think it is probably public enemy No. 1,” he said. “It is the enemy whose actions sparked the enormous increase in sectarian violence that did so much damage to Iraq in 2006, the bombing of the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra, the gold-domed mosque there, the third-holiest Shia shrine. And it is the organization that continues to try to reignite not just sectarian violence but ethnic violence, as well, going after Iraqi Kurds in Nineveh province and Kirkuk and areas such as that as well.”

Oh. Well were all entitled to a mulligan once in a while. I’m sure he corrected himself shortly thereafter. Like when he testified before Congress last month:

Yesterday, NBC’s Brian Williams picked up that ball with a vengeance, directly challenging General Petraeus on that point:

[Brian Williams]: Over the last two days of testimony, you mentioned Al Qaeda, by our count, 160 times. Now for a lot of Americans, al Qaeda – that’s the guys who flew those planes into the buildings in New York, and Washington, and Pennsylvania. Explain what you mean — because Al Qaeda in Iraq wasn’t around that day.

Petraues responded that Al Qaeda in Iraq was “part of the greater al Qaeda movement” and “the
the organization that has carried out the most horrific, most damaging terrorist actions in Iraq.” Petraues had previously referred to al Qaeda as “public enemy number one” in Iraq, even though it represents at most 8 – 15% of the total insurgency — and that’s the uppermost estimate. Various intelligence reports put that at a much lower number, all the way down to only 2 -5% of the total insurgency.

By the way, here’s Petreaus’ opening statement when he testified to the Congress in September if you would like to read it in full. I think he mentions Iran in there somewhere as being the greatest source of violence in Iraq, when he isn’t talking about all the actions our forces have taken against Al Qaeda. Or maybe not.

Well, I’m sure he was just misinformed back then. I’m sure he’s got all the facts now. Why else would he blame Iran for everything wrong in Iraq one month after telling us it was mostly Al Qaeda’s fault?