American Prospect: Bush's campaign to pin the Iraq quagmire on Iranian meddling won't wash.

[seafan]

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12433">The Blame Game

By Gareth Porter
Web Exclusive: 02.02.07

After promising that the Bush administration would publish a document this week detailing the evidence for its charge that Iranians in Iraq are providing arms and advice to Shiite militias to kill American troops, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack suggested Wednesday that no such document would be forthcoming any time soon. Paul Richter of The Los Angeles Times reported that some officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had resisted the release of the dossier, because they believed the assertions contained in it would have so little credibility that it would backfire politically. As Richter wrote, "They want to avoid repeating the embarrassment that followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, when it became clear that information the administration cited to justify the war was incorrect…"

Indeed, the new campaign hyping Iranian meddling, like the 2002-2003 propaganda campaign leading up to the invasion of Iraq, emphasizes a single, highly emotional theme. Instead of the “mushroom cloud” invoked by Condoleezza Rice in September 2002, the administration now conjures up the image of Iranian agents lurking in Iraq for the purpose of killing Americans. And although the White House has decided against the release of any documentation of these allegations for now, the campaign proceeds apace.

As it did in 2002 and 2003 regarding the Iraqi threat, the Bush administration claims to have “intelligence” to support its central theme of Iranian agents fomenting Shiite violence. But a careful investigation of some specific statements that have been made on the alleged Iranian role in sending weapons to Iraqi Shiite militias reveals a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

.....

The rest of this article goes into great detail about specific claims against Iran that this administration and certain US military leaders have continually made regarding RPG-29's (rocket-propelled grenades), Katyusha rockets, EFP's(explosively formed projectiles), C4 explosive batch numbers, and a Hezbollah manual for making EFPs.

In each case of type of weapon, this article details evidence that has discredited these claims, yet the members of this administration and certain US military leaders continually trumpet them.


This is going to be a real dogfight with these people.

[gratefultobelib]

1. This is very encouraging.

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. THEY MUST be IMPEACHED if they attack Iran without A Declaration of War

from the Senate. I do hope the Senators know there will be a Gulf of Tonkin in the ME region in order to blame Iran and get their war on. I hope the Senators are smart enough to know it when they see it too.

[Erika]

3. Helderheid. Please read this article.

Even the conservatives can no longer back W.

[Miss Chybil]

4. Recommended. nt

[DemReadingDU]

5. morning kick

[bigtree]

6. everything is a game of chicken

with these chickenhawks

[Qutzupalotl]

7. K&R

[slipslidingaway]

8. kick & thanks! n/t