This just in from the N.Y. Times (and wouldn't you know it, written by Michael Gordon, fellow neocon to Judith Miller, and dispenser of propaganda and filthy lies during the run-up to the Iraq invasion), U.S. authorities are now claiming they have irrefutable proof that Iran is supplying weapons used to kill Americans in Iraq.
UPDATE: It appears the N.Y. Times has intentionally changed the byline (ie: who wrote the article I will quote). When I originally read the article this evening, it was bylined by Michael Gordon and Richard Oppel. Gordon's name has now been removed, and replaced with James Glanz. What the hell is going on there? Do I have to start taking screen shots when I quote the Times now?
More after the fold:
A raid on a Shiite weapons cache in the southern city of Hilla one week ago is providing what American officials call the best evidence yet that the deadliest roadside bombs in Iraq are manufactured in Iran, but critics contend that the forensic case remains circumstantial and inferential.
OK. Here we go. Apparently the Bush regime knew they failed to convince the world with the dog and pony show they put on week before last, so now they give us this b.s.:
The new evidence includes infrared sensors, electronic triggering devices and information about plastic explosives used in bombs that the Americans say lead back to Iran. The explosive material, triggering devices, other components and the method of assembly all produce weapons with an Iranian signature that has never been found outside Iraq or southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is believed to have used weapons supplied by Iran, the Americans say.
Same shit as the old shit. As least Gordon has chosen to quote some who disagree with the findings, it appears more an attempt to break the will of the media, and to take advantage of "old friends" like Gordon, to further the propaganda meme.
The raid by American and Iraqi forces discovered a fake boulder made of polyurethane and containing three of the deadliest kind of roadside bombs in Iraq. Smeared with dirt and pebbles to give it the color and texture of a rock, the polyurethane blob was resting in the back seat of a Toyota, apparently in preparation for a roadside attack, American officials said in lengthy briefings with two New York Times reporters last week.
The assertion that the latest find greatly bolsters the theory of the Iranian origin of the E.F.P.’s is significant because it could provide the United States with a new justification to take action against Iran.
Still, American military officials appear to be making an attempt to respond to critics who say the evidence is inconclusive. In the course of the detailed briefing on the Hilla discovery, Major Weber said that most of the E.F.P.’s in Iraq use C-4 plastic explosive manufactured in Iran. At the request of the Bush administration, The Times is withholding some specific details about the weapons to protect intelligence sources and methods.
In addition to the Hilla discovery, military officials are expected to disclose at a briefing on Monday details about materials found in a raid in Diyala Province, the mixed Sunni-Shiite battleground north of Baghdad, that, according to one defense official, included enough components to make more than 100 E.F.P.’s. The official asked not to be identified by name because the matter is so sensitive.
Won't be "identified by name" again huh? Fuck you Bush/Cheney. If you people don't have enough guts to stand up and face this nation with your trumped up lies, then fuck you. I have family awaiting word of a possible third deployment. You think we're going to let you get away with this again? Wrong.
Gordon goes on to quote a couple of people who don't agree with the "evidence, but qualifications find their way in:
The new information is more substantial than the limited details disclosed earlier this month in Baghdad, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a research group based in Alexandria, Va.
"That initial briefing was not much to write home about," Mr. Pike said. "The points that they are making here are rather more convincing. Whether they’re true is a completely different question."
Mr. Pike said he was not swayed by arguments that the copper discs could only be made by equipment in Iran. All that is required are machine tools, he said. "You can buy them. I mean, look at all those cylinders people use for L.P.G. cooking gas. Do you think they are all imported from Iran? Probably not. I bet there are guys all over Iraq who make those things for a living."
But he found other details more persuasive. "The two points they are making about the tradecraft of the fuse and the wrappings of the explosives those are pretty good pieces of evidence," he said. "I will say that, totally apart from any of this evidence, I would be astonished if Iran was not providing military support to the Shia militias. It should be self-evident that they are doing that."
Link to entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/...
Well, how many days before Cheney, that bastard, starts the bombing? Interesting to note, that on his way back to the U.S. today, he made an unscheduled stop in Oman (link: http://news.yahoo.com/... just across the straight from Iran, to "discuss Iran's nuclear program, and Iraq". With news that Iran launched an "sub-orbital" missile today (WTF?! Are they stupid?? Why invite trouble?), I say it's a matter of weeks, not months.... Additional Update: Cheney has now flown to Pakistan from Oman for a "surprise visit". Something big is going on. Link: http://www.newsvantage.com/...