Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq

[BushOut06]

Source: The Guardian

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, US officials say.

"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 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 . The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard who are connected right to the top ."

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 ," the official said.

"Certainly it 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.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2085195,00.html

---

Bullshit, if you ask me. Looks like * is determined to start yet ANOTHER war.

[Barrett808]

1. Iran "forging ties" with Sunni insurgents?

Poppycock.

[BushOut06]

2. Not only that, but with "Al Kayda" elements

When in doubt, bring out the Boogeyman.

[IndianaGreen]

14. Has Bin Laden abandoned the view that Shias were heretics?

When all else fails, bring out Emmanuel Goldstein!

[Mika]

25. Doubleplusplusgood.

Good news Brothers and Sisters! Chocolate rations have been increased to 20 grams.

http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/1984/5

It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal. The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grammes.

[ovidsen]

11. I agree

Any co-operation now between Sunni insurgents and the Shiites in Iran (whether government backed or merely tolerated by leaders in Tehran) is simply a shaky marriage of convenience. It's debatable whether or not they hate the US or eachother more. You can be sure that when (not if) the US exits Iraq, the Sunnis in Iraq and the Shia there and in Iran will be at eachother's throats. One thousand plus years of mutual hatred will rear it's ugly head as soon as American (or any other foreign "peacekeeping" force) depart.

[msongs]

3. doh! if it's a secret how do THEY know about it? nt

[LynnTheDem]

4. *yawn* BULLSHIT.

Again.

[ticapnews]

5. Fortunately, AQ is irrelevant since our armed forces killed bin Laden at Tora Bora

Oh wait, we invaded Iraq instead of going after bin Laden...my mistake...

[Bridget Burke]

23. But we've killed the #2 leader of AQ....

Many times.

[Roy]

6. Bullshit, if you ask me. Looks like * is determined to start yet ANOTHER war.

Why not???
There are plenty of undead soldiers left, and a media who will cover only report the good news that never happens.
And an opposition who will only write nasty letters only to retract them when he raises his voice in phony outrage.

I really wish I could use the sarcasm tag here... but I won't, cause todays' news really have me down and disappointed.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

7. It may be bullshit, but I wouldn't be surprised if Iran...

...is looking at what things they can do that might elevate public pressure on BushCo at home to withdrawal from Iraq. If they study Viet Nam they may conclude that a significant rise in American casualties in Iraq is the answer. I worry that the Green Zone is going to be massively attacked some night, setting off a series of major insurgent offensives.

Wiki on the Tet Offensive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive

--SNIP--

According to General Vo Nguyen Giap, the communist north's goals were not purely military but political and diplomatic as well, to take advantage of public opposition to the war in the United States and the weakness of the Saigon Government. Giap sought to accomplish the following:

- Create a general uprising among the South Vietnamese against the Saigon government, leading to the formation of a coalition government and the departure of the United States.

- Demonstrate that American claims regarding progress in the war were wrong and to apply pressure upon the U.S. government.

- Bring the war to the cities of South Vietnam to relieve military pressure on the countryside.

[ohio2007]

10. Iran has internal problems with gas rationing

they were supposed to raise thier heavily subsidized price of gas today from like .34 to 44 cents a gallon !

Didn't happen, they put off their own populations 'general uprising' for another day LOL

[tabasco]

8. LMAO. Which branch of the propaganda wing came up with this gem.

Maybe a preview of what comes with the big faux September progress report.

BTW - why aren't the Dems hammering Bush for his "artificial timeline" in naming September as an "important moment?"

Bush keeps yammering on about the Dems naming arbitrary dates, what about Bush himself?

[papau]

9. Why did the Guardian act like Hitchens and plant this story for Bush? I thought better of

them - until now.

[sanskritwarrior]

21. Maybe they are acting on info they have.........

Jesus Christ The Guardian is not a RW rag........Maybe there is something to it, it's not like Iran wants to make kissy faces at us or our troops in Iraq. I'm not going to knee jerk either way, I'll let events play themselves out........

[Bitwit1234]

12. karl will think of and do anything to keep the republicans in charge

won't he...but the country is used to "his" lies by now. IT WON'T DAMN WORK.

[Dover]

13. Iran wants the U.S. out of Iraq? What a coincidence. So do most Americans!

The tie that binds. Now there's some common ground on which to begin mending what's been broken.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

15. another UN-NAMED "senior US official"

translation... bullshit propaganda

[BushOut06]

16. That was the first thing that caught my attention

Second thing was they want us to believe that suddenly, Iran is going to ally itself with Sunnis and Al-Qaeda.

[Warren Stupidity]

17. Um uh er, hey wait a second

I Call

BULLSHIT

What did the Guardian gain access to Iranian war plans? Wow! Or perhaps the Guardian gained access to a US Army Ministry of Disinformation and Wishfull Thinking 'briefing'.

What a crock.

So when September rolls around and the situation remains FUBAR we will be getting a round of Blame Iran followed by a round of Bomb Iran. Well we all know this is coming.

[Strelnikov_]

18. Setting up the backstory for why we can't leave when the surge fails

'If we leave, we are surrendering to the Iranians'

[Boo Boo]

26. They're setting up the backstory for why we have to attack Iran. /nt

[StarryNite]

19. * and the evil empire are looking

for excuses to attack Iran.

[Trajan]

20. I will repeat ....

The US can attack Iran from the air and sea .... but they cannot possibly invade : NOT with the current force structure in place ....

There would have to be a HUGE increase in manpower and material ..... and while an emergency draft is possible, mere thinking does not shit out hardware .....

Even bombardment would be a stretch, given the current shortages already straining resources in Iraq ..... Sabre rattling ? ... yes ..... indications of an upcoming action ? .... no fucking way ....

What is MORE significant here ? : Why didnt the war planners predict interventionary movements by Iranians and/or other regional states ? ....

It appears that the strategists have again left open a yawning chasm in which a weaker rival can exploit using asymmetrical techniques .....

Fancy that ! .... Gotta hand it to those brilliant minds at AEI .....

[leftchick]

22. Juan Cole considers this notion "looney"

I have to agree....

<SNIP>


I suppose I have to link to this silly article by poor Simon Tisdall in of all places, The Guardian, whom someone is using to push a sinister agenda. Yes, its sources are looney in positing a coming offensive jointly sponsored by Iran, the Mahdi Army and al-Qaeda. Anyone who reads IC regularly will see immediately holes in this story. At a time when Sunni Arab guerrillas are said to be opposing "al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia" for its indiscriminate violence against Iraqis, including Shiites, we are now expected to believe that Shiite Iran is allying with it. And, it claims that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are shelling the Green Zone. The parliament building that was hit to day by such shelling is dominated by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and its paramilitary, the Badr Organization. Who trained Badr? The Iranian Revolutionary Guards. And they are trying to hit their own guys . . . why? By the way, the US has 16,000 suspected insurgents in custody. Tisdall should ask how many of them are Iranian. (Hint: close to none. What, do they just run faster than the others?) The article even traffics in the ridiculous assertion that Iran is backing hyper-Sunni, Shiite-killing Taliban in Afghanistan. Why not just cut to the quick and openly say that Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei is in reality . . . Satan! It really is discouraging that Tisdall didn't report instead on what crazy things the US military spokesmen in Iraq told him. US military spokesmen have been trying to push implausible articles about Shiite Iran supporting Sunni insurgents for a couple of years now, and with virtually the sole exception of the New York Times, no one in the journalistic community has taken these wild charges seriously. But The Guardian?

http://www.juancole.com/labels/Iraq.html

[Roland99]

24. This says it all! >> "US officials say."

:eyes:

[superconnected]

27. We should send flowers if they manage to get us out of iraq.