http://www.turkishd
<http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=73867>
ailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=73867
Iran 'plans to force US out of Iraq'
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
ISTANBUL - TDN with wire dispatches

Shiite Iran, regarded as "heretic" by the Sunni Wahhabi extremist al-Qaeda
is "secretly forging ties" with al-Qaeda elements in Iraq, The Guardian
claimed yesterday. According the story based on accounts of U.S. officials,
the cooperation aims to unleash a "summer offensive" against United States
forces in Iraq and force the U.S. Congress to vote for "a full military
withdrawal."

"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
U.S. and British forces," a senior U.S. official in Baghdad said to the
paper. "They [Iran] are behind a lot of high-profile attacks meant to
undermine U.S. will and British will, such as the rocket attacks on Basra
palace and the Green Zone [in Baghdad]. The attacks are directed by the
Revolutionary Guards who are connected right to the top [of the Iranian
government]."

A 'fluid relationship':

The official, declining to be named, claimed the U.S. military is bracing
for a "Iranian-orchestrated summer offensive" in Iraq. Reminding that U.S.
commander General David Petraeus will report to Congress on the results of
the "security surge" in September, the official said Iran "hopes to trigger
a political mutiny in Washington and a U.S. retreat." The relationship
between Iran and al-Qaeda affiliated groups are "very fluid," the official
claimed.

U.S. officials also claimed Iran is now supporting the Taliban insurgency,
effectively overturning its long-established Afghanistan policy.

The Taliban, like the al-Qaeda, subscribe to the Wahhabi/Salafi
interpretation of Sunni Islam and thus, are virulent enemies of Shiite Iran.
Taliban commanders are accused of killing thousands of Shiites in western
Afghanistan. The Taliban had also executed eight Iranian diplomats in
Mazar-i Sharif in 1997, a development which nearly resulted in Iranian
military action against Afghanistan.

Still, American officials claimed Iran now aims mainly to "foment a decisive
congressional revolt" against White House policies and thus, is cooperating
in Sunni groups, including al-Qaeda, in both countries.

The U.S. official also claimed Iran is expanding its ties with the Kurdistan
Patriotic Union (PUK), led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He added that
if Iran succeeded" in driving occupying forces out of Iraq, regional war
would be a strong possibility, a war which would draw in "the Sunni Arab
Gulf states, Syria and Turkey."

Uneasiness in Baghdad:

Meanwhile, Iraq's military is drawing up plans to cope with any quick U.S.
military pullout, the defense minister said, as a senior American official
warned that the Bush administration may reconsider its support if Iraqi
leaders do not make major reforms by fall.

"The army plans on the basis of a worst case scenario so as not to allow any
security vacuum," Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi said on
Monday. "There are meetings with political leaders on how we can deal with a
sudden pullout."

Two senior Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that U.S. President
George W. Bush warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during a
telephone conversation that Washington expected to see "tangible results
quickly" on the oil bill and other legislation as the price for continued
support.

Senior Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman confirmed that U.S. pressure was
mounting, especially on the oil bill, which was endorsed by the Iraqi
Cabinet three months ago but has yet to come to the floor of parliament.

"The Americans are pressuring us to accept the oil law. Their pressure is
very strong. They want to show Congress that they have done something so
they want the law to be adopted this month. This interference is negative
and will have consequences," Othman told The AP.



 


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