This is typical knee jerk reactionary crap. Where did Saddam's WMD's come from? Reagan, to fight Iran. The WMD's he used on the kurds? The same ones we gave him. 04-05.. what a joke of a statement, democracy and freedom are not spread by the barrel of a gun. You misspelled Al-Quada, it is spelled Al-C.I.A.da. The whole war on terror is a lie and the people know it. Why is it that a site like this spreads the same media spin on everything, can't you be original?

Look at the historic lies of "our" current dictator!

There has never been any campaign of this type in the Middle East that has ever worked.  Sooner or later, alliances break up, old hatreds surface or a series of skirmishes turns into outright war.

Part of the problem is that the US doesn't appear to understand the dynamics of Muslim politics.  When we get an agreement with them, we expect them to stick to it thru thick and thin.  Doesn't work like that.  Muslim politics is all about temporary alliances, shifting allegiances--a contant flux.

You'd think we'd have learned this having watched virtually every "friend" we had in the Middle East turn against us but apparently not.

IOW, it's going to be an endless parade of "biggest obstacles" that we will encounter in our fight for victory over there (whatever that might be).

It's hard to believe anybody thought George Bush had what it takes to accomplish anything useful over there.

As for the generals insisting the surge is working, suggest to them we start withdrawing--they will tell you we can't yet.  And if by some miracle (or curse) we're still there 10 years from now, they'll still be telling we can't leave just yet.

The bottom line on our involvement in Iraq is that we can never leave.

Part of the answer to this question is the extent to which the Iranian Government is indeed pulling the strings of Shi'a militia activity in Iraq.  Serving in Iraq, I have been reminded frequently by Iraqi Shi'a that there is a long history of Iraqi Arab Shia resistance to Iranian Persian Shi'a domination of Iraq.  While there are no doubt some Iraqi Shi'a who are effectively agents for the Iranian Government, there are certainly many others who if not oppose links to Iran at least view the links as at most a marriage of convenience.  It would be helpful if you and other correspondents in Iraq could delve deeper into current trends in the Iraqi Shi'a relationships with the Iranian Government and other Iranian groups rather than simply accepting the tendency to refer to "Iran" as a monolith.

Every setback or failure is explained by another bad guy. Sure Iran is seizing the opportunity to build their position in Iraq. But the real problem is that we openned a Pandora's box by invading Iraq and have to deal with a slew of factions and militias willing to kill for advantage. Iran is just taking advantage as best it can. Besides, now that the administration has apparently sided with pro-Iranians like Hakim and Maliki against an Iraqi nationalist like Sadr, it seems we have chosen to work to Iran's benefit. Maybe now that we are doing their work for them, Iran will ratchet down their support for attacks against us...

Its lunacy to assume that an unstable Iraq is beneficial to Iran.  Why Iran would be amassed with shia refugees if Iraq stays the course or digresses further into oblivion.  Ironically, Iran actually would hold more influence in Iraq if normal and proper democracy was introduced in Iraq.

Lies and no proof of any weapons, personnel nothing in terms of proof that Iran has done a thing. Why don't you just come right out and say we need to attack Iran based on nothing?

I don't understand why we are being so timid with Iran.  If we can prove they are providing weapons to our enemies and killing our soldiers.  We must strike back at them.  Diplomacy is preferable, but we aren't even doing that!  I know we can't afford an all out war with Iran, but we also can't afford to allow them to kill our people and the Iraqi people.  Seal the borders, kill their agents in Iraq, but keep them out of Iraq by all means necessary!

To answer the question it is The flavor of the month.

I don't see it as very different than if a foreign country were arming and supporting gangs in LA, NY, or Chicago.  There'd be chaos, and the police and national guard would be hard pressed to deal with it.

Iran has a vested interest in keeping Iraq down.  It's the only other dominant power in the region that could contend with Iran.  Iran, and other countries like Syria will have a harder time keeping their own people down if Iraq becomes a prosperous nation.  The same way North Korea, looks shabby compared to the success of South Korea.

Yes I agree. As an Iranian I know what the Iranian regime wants to do. You should not believe a word that comes from the Iranian regime. They want chaos all over the world so that they would be safe at Iran, ruling deprived Iranians and ravage Iran's natural wealth. So yes, this undemocratic regime of Iran wants chaos in Iraq so that US would eventually gets tired and leave. Then they will turn Mahdi Army in Iraq into another Hizbollah in that's in Labanon. Fully equipped.

I still have not heard a sensible explanation on why Iran wants the the current Pro-Iranian Shiite dominated government to fail. Does Iran want to influence Iraq? Of course they do.  They know that the U.S. could pull out at any moment and then the anti-Iranian Sunnis would have their chance to regain control.

More than just the flavor of the month, it's the latest line of rhetoric pressed upon the military from the white house. It's no big secret that this administration is gunning to invade Iran. I'm not calling the integrity of these officers into question; These men are soldiers, and it is their duty to follow orders. If ordered to say that Mickey Mouse is responsible for the violence, they would do so(Truthfully, they probably wouldn't blame Mickey and Co. though, because they aren't looking to invade Orlando or Anaheim...or maybe they will, those lines are really, really long). I'm pretty sure this "casual remark in passing" has happened to many journalists in Iraq. It's all part of the White House' propaganda machine.

Insurgencies need capital, employees, and equipment just like any other enterprises. I'm sure Iran is not the only source of trouble, just the most significant source. The question is what will make them stop without driving the panic-striken oil market higher?

Yes, there will always be someone who doesn't like Pralines and Cream forced down their throats.   We will brand them the enemy, kill them and  steal their resources.

the problem is that the 8 wasted years of the Bush presidency has only emboldened Irans' penchant for proxy militias to fight their battles..it gives them plausible deniability in their endeavors..Iran has been and as long as the clerics run Iran will always be an enemy of the U.S...The real problem is the arrogance of Bush combined with his ignorance in being able to devise ANY kind of cohesive strategy for defining our goals ..It seems we go from brush fire to brush fire..most of which were started by Bush ...

Iran's mullahs up to their old dumbness, well a democratic Iraq next door is something they'd fear because the young Iranians don't want the repression they have there now.

Lets not forget, alQaeda was never in Iraq until the usa toppled saddam.  
Lets not forget, militias were not a problem until the usa toppled Saddam.  
Lets not forget that the usa heavily supported Saddam in the 80s(remember Reagan and the iran-contra affair, and how Reagan militarized iraq to fight iran!!!!)
It seems to me that the problem with Iraq IS THE USA!!

Why does nobody mention the fact that the Sunnis are funded by the Saudis?  We all know that Bush is hell bent on attacking Iran, another Nation that is no theat to the U.S.

First of all I want to salute everybody on this forum site.
"At the beginings there was a strike of light and then the dark took over the sky"
When we started the war in the name of freedom and democratic Iraq we based our ideeas on a flawed assumtion that the Iraq was our enemy and we brought in the game the corporate America pushing us into this mindless war through a series of lies commited by the boneless parts of government and intelligence services.
Their goal was clear to get control over the regional energy resources more specifc the oil.
Even though we were suppose to have leaders that use the clear head judgement whenever we head our nation into a war unfortunately those leaders were kind of a missing in action and stopped reasoning due to a lack of air supplies or brain activity disorders (i.e. paranoia)
 
A thing it is very clear that we have to change the course 180 degree and think different if we want to succeed in the Persian golf otherwise we're getting closer to a big fat failure in that region of the world.
If we'll think about past wars we are suppose to learn something from those mistakes but unfortunatelly that does not apply to us.
If you think about the past ,the only war that we manage to win and to establish a durable peace was only the World War II and that was due to the fact that the people wanted to trade the tyranny for democracy and the dark light for the white light and the whole world jumpped in and helpped us unconditional and finally we were considered champions of justice and democracy real heroes etc.
We're fighting for our land of our ancestors where we all came from and for the threat to our country USA.
Unfortunatelly that is not the case with us nowaday.
what we have achieved after 5 years of war  3000 civilians WTC  + 4057 service men(and still
counting....) + unknown number of iraqi civilians and american contractors + 12.000.000.000 a month for Iraq war + military equipment destroyed +Afganistan war + military victims Afganistan +35.000 disabled service men (Afganistan+Iraq)and the list is getting bigger and bigger everyday.
At home prices on food and gasoline swirling towards the +infinite ,inflation worries, home crisis and God knows what's comming next.
It is clear the Iran is gonna be interested in supporting the insurgency in Iraq as long as american forces continue to be stationed in Iraq and is supporting a marionette regim similar to iranian shah wich sparked the iranian revolution and the american iranian crisis.
More over due to the fact that we have jumpped  in the fray pan wearrring cowboy boots instead of diplomatic shoes was an other minus point for USA and will cost us dearly in the comming years.
So if we think that USA is a piece of land to small for a such a big planet I will go for a diplomat or negociator as the next commander in chief cause we might have to face other threats infinite much bigger and much dangerous than Iraq and we must be prepared to face them when the time comes.
Final word :
Be  careful about who you gonna vote for and what you citizens are expecting from the next president and from your governement.The way you vote same way your life is gonna be for the next 4 years or maybe 8 .

God bless you all and God bless the USA

Unfortunately this is emblematic of this administrations foreign policy failings. Given a lack of diplomatic dialogue with Iran on any level with a notably aggressive tone in the US response and the subsequent posturing by the Iranian government, it's no wonder that we can't contain potential Iranian influence on Shiite's in Iraq. In a region where major power is split between the large Sunni governments of Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Jordan and the main Shiite power broker of Iran, it is imperative that we begin some form of discussion with both sides that may influence sectarian groups within Iraq. We can't talk to one side and not the other and expect stability. I know we may want to sit and wait until we can have multiparty talks with Iran, but the narrow focus on such diplomatic policies has resulted in diplomatic stagnation and failure on many fronts (most notably North Korea). Waiting for China or Russia to apply pressure to Iran is like waiting for rain to water your garden. It may do a more effective and efficient job, but will cause your plants to die in the short term. This is by no means giving a pass to the hard-line fanatical nut jobs who run Iran, but we can't continue to expect Iran to cut off money from their strategic interests in Iraq, when we won't even try to make some diplomatic gesture to talk to them. They may be crazy, but they're not stupid.

The biggest problem in Iraq is continued US involvement. A multi-national commission should be set up to assist the US in leaving the country and to oversee the formation of a tri-party government consisting of the three religous groups.

Does the US government blame the Mexican government for the smugglers who bring drugs across our border?? I mean, come on, these smugglers are interfering with our "War on Drugs."

To impute the actions of a few on the nation as a whole is completely absurd. In the case of Iran, it's warmongering. It's dangerous. It's retarded.

Furthermore, we now know that the "evidence" this administration used to take our country to war with Iraq was "altered." The Pentagon advisors were "prepped" before going on TV to lie to the American people. Bush is incapable of being honest to his people.

With an administration that demonstrates an ongoing pattern of dishonesty, why should we believe anything they say about Iran??

Plus, if the US was so concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq, then they wouldn't have installed Maliki, an Iranian-backed Shia, as the new Iraqi leader.

Flavor of the month without a doubt. What if we left after we toppled Saddam? What would Iraq look like? It would have been a civil war but it will be one someday anyway. They all want a piece of the pie, sunnis, shia, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia. The country was a western invention let them fight for it I will still buy oil from the winner.  

Iran would be the bigest problem in Iraq ?
Billions of people "don't think so" ! What do they think ? We want to attack them because is "only" in our interest nobody elses globaly but ours ! If war doesn't make imbecilic amount of money at least 100 billion each ! Our country "would quit wars very long times ago" !! Humanitarian wars ? Only the dum, the uninformed and the analfabets do buy into ! Nobody else !

Are we becoming a nation of whiners? We armed the Taliban and Sadaam Hussein when it suited our purposes. Israel's' nuclear capability was either given or stolen from us. The fact that Iran is behaving according to its self interest and its perceived threat (us?) should not be a shocking revelation nor the cause of hand wringing. Maybe the fact that we manage to turn former allies into enemies, especially as a flavor of the month, should be the real concern?

"U.S. military commanders deduce that if Iran stopped stoking the fires of conflict, both Sunnis and Shiites would stop fighting long enough for Iraq to blossom into the prosperous nation"
The Iranians need to be reminded that the United States of America can swat them like a fly, and set them back decades if they continue to kill our military service men and women. It is time for Iranians to acknowledge this quickly, as their fait hangs in the balance.

No, Bush is the biggest problem in Iraq.  Why is it that the media is either silenced or chooses to ignore the war crimes commited by the President of the United States?

Anyone familiar with the Middel East will tell you.  There is no one on a regional scale to negotiate with.  There are so many fragments that it is impossible to reach consensus.  Arabs are fighting Arabs, Arabs are fighting Jews.  Everyone is fighting the US.  This scenario has been going on for thousands of years in one way or another.

If these guys would leave the West alone, then let them do what they want to each other.  But, the oil is there and we need it.  We have alternative oil supplies offshore America, so why don't we use it instead of theirs?

A very few people in our country are blocking this.  For Christ sake wake up, use or own resources, and forget about the idots in the Middle East.

Best Regards
Tim Briggs

   

I think it is logically false to include Saddam Hussein amongst the groups of aggressors in the first place.  His demise triggered the subsequent uprising of these groups.  It would seem difficult to determine how many groups there are.  And it would be foolsih to think that a new group could not possibly form tomorrow.  These groups could be equated to your "flavor of the month".  But your tell-tale use of "just another.." is indicative of the mix of emotions that are running rampant: frustation, apathy, and despair.  It would be best if you did not feed any of these 3 emotions but rather to remain hopeful that Iran's Revolutionary Guard would be the LAST group of agressors we would face in Iraq.  Might there be another group that would rise up after the Iran Revolutionary Guard?  Let's hope and pray not.  That should be our response to your question.

Beating the drums for a new war. Lets just keep goosesteping along.

I guess we won't know until we do something about Iran.

Thank you for your editorial piece. It sheds some light on the real problem at hand. We need to think about what is good for the people of Iraq, not the U.S. government when it comes to stability in Iraq. The United States will be successful when Iraq can flourish, which will only happen when Iraq becomes an autonomous, sovereign nation (not a nation who'se government is mandated by whom a foreign invader dictates should lead). We need to let the Iraqi people decide how they want to govern themselves, for true democracy to blossom in Iraq.

The US needs to move with caution here. The last thing we need is to spread this into Iran. We dont have the manpower or the resilience to embroil ourself in another conflict. I suggest we fight a quiet fight, sending a carrier group as a "warning" as we did today only serves to increase tensions.

Once Iran declares itself a nuclear armed nation (and it's likely it will) then have NATO take on this battle. We cant be going it alone anymore as we have in Iraq, twice. The world's nations need to move with us.

Most of you are ultra left-wing fools. Iran is definitley a big problem. Terrorism isn't a made up thing you fool "Your Name" of Tacoma.

I'm impressed that so many, including so many US Americans, see through the "Lie Machine" that seeks to blind and deafen us to the world.

The contrast between the US military commanders (which, we have subsequently learned, are used by the Pentagon as "message force multipliers") and we, the people, couldn't be clearer: yes, the US presence in Iraq is the main destabilising force; yes, the armed presence of these forces in the USA continues to destabilise this country as well.

And yes, absolutely, what's being done to the Iraqi people is a "dress rehearsal" of what may soon come to the USA.

No, we, the people of the USA don't have armed forces to defend and protect us from those commanded by the Lie Machine: let us destroy that Lie Machine with floods of truth, like this and countless other blogs, before we are forced to re-learn what the 2nd Amendment is all about.

It is amazing to me that after all this time and all of the misinformation that has been discovered, no one wants to address the real issues.  We the U.S. have either led or participated in punishing the German soldiers of  WW2 for doing what we are doing - in the name of protecting American interest. Also we are so ready to fight for this so called democracy - well the Bush administration seems to thin that we are now a dictatorship and only the President has to ower to incarcerate, wire tap and otherwise threaten nespaper people for punishing what we are not upposed to know.  Come on people take America back andlets make it great agin. Get rid of every single incumbit that allowed the Bush Shaney goons to take control and look the other way.

Those "senior military officials" need educating. Al-Qaeda has nothing to do with Iran. One is sunni the other is shiite. They don't like each other. But since McCain wants war with Iran might as well put out the propaganda that Iran is dangerous. Please!! Israel could bomb them back to the stone age. Stop with the fear tactics already. Iraq is fractured and will stay that way until people there let go of religious extremism and hate which probably won't happen in our life time. What victory is that?

If anyone believes the whitewash they are trying to put on the latest suicide bombings you deserve to pay for this war and care for a wounded veterant the rest of your life.

The real sickness here is American apathy towards foreign policy, and the ability of this administration to take FULL ADVANTAGE and promote more apathy with an ongoing non-stop propaganda effort to keep American citizens afraid, ignorant, or just plain ambivalent.

This country is rotting from the inside out and I'm afraid I blame it all on the citizens for letting it happen to themselves for so long. You buy hogwash then you swim with pigs. You believe propaganda because you do not care enough to seek the truth then you deserve to get taken by your govertnment and the media. If you buy that this is all we need to do before calm and peace is restored you are stupid, naive, and most likely attend church twice a week. Therein lies our nation's folly.....

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of seeing our troops getting killed. Lets go get the people that are supporting the deaths of our Military and sack them!

chicken salad?
pralines ice cream?  Did you enjoy the taste of KBR blood on your tongue?
Try reading the history of the middle east and recognizing that the British (and US) lines drawn in the middle east, central asia, and africa are THE source of conflict for the 20th and now 21st centuries
Try reading books like "Kabul In Winter" by Ann Jones
Your ignorance is offensive
Your squatting in Iraq to write superficial stories is offensive
You merely mimic the ignorance of this administration
"Agricola was aware of the temper of the provincials, and took to heart the lesson which was the experience of other suggested, THAT LITTLE WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY FORCE IF INJUSTICE FOLLOWED" -- Tacitus
Those too stupid to read or understand history are doomed to repeat it

they are both working together. on the surface they have war of words but behind the curtain they both want the oil prices to remain high. they might even go as far as limited war to keep the region in chaos so the oil prices remain high. of course both countries have their own interests as well which is why they are competing for Iraq's oil fields and projects.

The real problem in Iraq is the women don't shave their muffs!  I mean I would be crazy too if I had to dig through all that hair to find gold!  That and they need more Oreo Double Stuffed cookies!  YUM!!!!

The surge ,  We paid The Sunni's to stop fighting us. Well that tactic will not last long.  these guys wanted the money to gear up against the sunni"s for some unfinished business.  Gen petrausis just a another government stooge who pads his job so he can get a raise and move on before his project goes to hell.... no leadership no results...

i think the U.S IS THE PROBLEM IN IRAQ, I ALSO THINK IRAN IS NOT INNOCEN, THE U.S GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO STOP WORRING ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES AND START THINKING ABOUT ITS OWN PEOPLE, INSTEAD OF THROWING US TO THE WOLVES, WHILE THE U.S. OFFICIALS LIVE THE LAVISH LIFE ON OUR TAX DOLLARS.

This article and many of its readers perpetuate the argument that Iran is not a major problem in Iraq or has only recently begun supporting the various Shiite militias. On what do you base your arguments? Experience?
Having just completed a year long tour in Iraq I can validate the success of the "surge" and also the Iranian governments propensity for arming both Sunni and Shiite insurgents. Every mortar and EFP (Explosively Formed Projectile) we had dropped on us, or that we were lucky enough to find prior to detonation, was supplied by Iran.
Theirs is not a noble effort to liberate a tyranical foe for the sake of religion, democracy or freedom. Theirs is to destabalize for purely political means.
My countries goals were noble.

Iran and Iraq have had an uneasy relationship for years; perhaps Bush forgot that Reagan supported Hussein in the Iran/Iraq war because Iraq was seen as a counterweight to Iran's influence.  Remove that counterweight and replace it with general anarchy and of course Iran will get involved.  If Mexico or Canada was in the situation Iraq is in you can better believe the US would be interfering in those nations in order to influence the formation of a government.  We need to come to some sort of agreement with Iran about the future of the middle east; this can only come through diplomacy, not starting another war which the US isn't strong enough to fight right now anyway, unless we reinstate the draft and let all the war lovers put their money where their mouth is.  Better yet get out of there entirely; I'll be damned if I can see why the US as the most powerful nation in the world feels threatened by Iran.  Terrorism will always be with us, and we do ourselves no favors by fomenting hate and discontent around the world through the indiscriminate use of military force.  

I love how Foriegners chime in this sort of stuff...
Always whinning about America this America that.

This war in Iraq has made it easy for so called "American Allies" to down play America and posture while America actually does something about a problem that would fester which would result in more global terrorism.

You would think people of the world would be thankful that America is cleaning the hedges of terrorism.

Unfortunately the problem is not Iran, but a colony of apes that has descended upon Iraq from the third ring of Saturn.  I also believe these apes to be the culprits behind the use of corn for ethanol.  If Mrs. Brady can't get a hand on Sam the Butcher and Alice's relationship, we're all doomed!

We are involved in a situation that is a cause and effect senerio. First, if we can remember, we were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. It seems that we forget rather quickly in the United States if it affects our pocket books. Our government, headed by George Bush stated that those who were responsible must pay the consequences. The attack was issued upon the Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and we drove them out of power in that country. Did this completely rid us of the threat? The answer is no. Additional Islamic radicals occupied Iraq under the protection of Saddam Hussein. Did we need to go after the Islamic radicals in Iraq? Seems like we haven't had another attack in the United States since then. Do we abandon Iraq so Iran can sweep in and take over? It seems as if to me that Iran is also controlled by an Islamic radical who threatens to do whatever is necessary to overcome the U.S. and Israel. We have grown tired of war in the United States, which Saddam Hussein said we would, just not soon enough for him. If Iran is shown as contributing to the instability in the Middle-East then by all means let us have the courage to protect ourselves once again and promote freedom in the world and not terrorism.

Too many of the posts I read here are truly frightening. Let's use "tactical" nuclear weapons on a nation that has never attacked, nor even threatened us (see Iran, Iraq).  4000 Americans have died to make things "better" for the Iraqi people...etc.  Are all of you as totally insane as George Bush?  The US attacked Iraq with no provocation whatsoever.  That is a war crime.  We attacked Afghanistan under the thinnest of veneers (Al Qaeda and 9/11) which, to this day, we have no credible solid evidence of.  Iran goes to the aid of its neighbors who have been unjustly attacked, and it's supposed to be they who are the terrorists?  If Rev. Wright is correct about anything, it is that this nation is an international terrorist nation, having exported terrorism in the form of these unwarranted attacks against other nations.  That blowback he speaks of is those nations banding together to try to repel us, the US, the aggressor.  We are the main problem in Iraq, and the sooner the Iraqis band together to defeat us, the better off this world, and the Middle East, will be.

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