Bush/Cheney Favor Military Action on Iran ?

According to Iran Focus, The Guardian is reporting that:

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo."

The White House claims that Iran, whose influence in the Middle East has increased significantly over the last six years, is intent on building a nuclear weapon and is arming insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The vice-president, Dick Cheney, has long favoured upping the threat of military action against Iran. He is being resisted by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates.

Last year Mr Bush came down in favour of Ms Rice, who along with Britain, France and Germany has been putting a diplomatic squeeze on Iran. But at a meeting of the White House, Pentagon and state department last month, Mr Cheney expressed frustration at the lack of progress and Mr Bush sided with him. "The balance has tilted. There is cause for concern," the source said this week.

Nick Burns, the undersecretary of state responsible for Iran and a career diplomat who is one of the main advocates of negotiation, told the meeting it was likely that diplomatic manoeuvring would still be continuing in January 2009. That assessment went down badly with Mr Cheney and Mr Bush.

"Cheney has limited capital left, but if he wanted to use all his capital on this one issue, he could still have an impact,"

said Patrick Cronin, the director of studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Washington source said Mr Bush and Mr Cheney did not trust any potential successors in the White House, Republican or Democratic, to deal with Iran decisively. They are also reluctant for Israel to carry out any strikes because the US would get the blame in the region anyway.

"The red line is not in Iran. The red line is in Israel. If Israel is adamant it will attack, the US will have to take decisive action," Mr Cronin said. "The choices are: tell Israel no, let Israel do the job, or do the job yourself."

No decision on military action is expected until next year. In the meantime, the state department will continue to pursue the diplomatic route.

Talk Show America 7/16/2007

More Time Needed to Assess Effectiveness of Iraq Surge

More time is needed to gauge the effectiveness of the ongoing military offensive against insurgents in and around Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, the top U.S. general there said.

"I can think of few commanders in history who wouldn't have wanted more troops, more time or more unity among their partners. However, if I could only have one (item) at this point in Iraq, it would be more time,"

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said during a question-and-answer session published in the New York Post today.

Petraeus is overseeing several ongoing operations that are part of an overall offensive against insurgents in Iraq called Operation Phantom Thunder, which began June 15, once all of the surge troops were in place. President Bush directed a deployment of about 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq earlier this year as a surge of forces to assist the Iraqi government in confronting the insurgency.

By July 15, the general and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker are to present an interim report to the president and Congress outlining the surge's progress so far. Another surge report is slated for September.

"This is an exceedingly tough endeavor that faces countless challenges," Petraeus said of current operations directed against al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists as well as Sunni and Shiite insurgents.

Petraeus said he's encouraged that tribal leaders in Anbar province and other areas of Iraq are rejecting al Qaeda terrorists as well as Sunni- and Shiite-backed insurgents.

"We're beginning to see a revolt of the middle against both extremes," Petraeus observed, noting the Anbar tribes' turning against the terrorists is a very heartening development.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq's key weaknesses are an ideology that does not resonate with Iraqis and an indiscriminate brutality that alienates people. Popular sentiment has begun to shift against them," the general said.

However, "the political dimension is the most significant current challenge" in Iraq, Petraeus said. Iraqi lawmakers' bickering is similar to what the United States government went through early in its history, he said.

Unfortunately, Iraqi lawmakers' progress to date "has been less than what all of us -- the Iraqis as well as coalition leaders -- had hoped to see," the general said.

Petraeus praised the performance of Iraq's security forces during current surge operations, noting there are some very good Iraqi units that operate largely independently. Other Iraqi units, he added, require "considerable" coalition help.

Yet, Iraqi soldiers and police have "been willing to fight, especially when their leaders set the example," Petraeus said. Iraqi security forces' losses in June, he noted, were triple the number of coalition casualties that month.

American military forces in Iraq "know they're engaged in a critical endeavor, one that's larger than self," Petraeus said. The mission in Iraq is important not only for Iraqis but it is also critical to America and the world, he said.

"Despite multiple tours and separations from loved ones, not to mention the impatience, frustration and other emotions we all feel at times, our men and women in uniform want to see Iraqis succeed. And, of course, they have a fierce desire not to let down their buddies," Petraeus said. "The bonds of those who have served together in combat are particularly strong."

On the Fourth of July almost 600 U.S. servicemembers in Iraq re-enlisted for further service, Petraeus recalled. In another ceremony that day, he said, 161 soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq took the oath to become U.S. citizens.

Petraeus urged the American people to be patient as surge operations in Iraq continue.

"None of us, Iraqi or American, are anything but impatient and frustrated at where we are," Petraeus said. "But there are no shortcuts. Success in an endeavor like this is the result of steady, unremitting pressure over the long haul.

"It's a test of wills, demanding patience determination and stamina from all involved," the general said.

Talk Show America 7/13/2007

Troops Detain 19 Suspects, Seize Weapons in Iraq

Iraqi and coalition forces detained 19 suspects and captured weapons caches during recent operations in Iraq.

Tips from two Iraqi residents near Dhour, south of Baghdad, helped coalition forces nab seven suspects yesterday, including an al Qaeda network leader, military officials said.

The first tipster called soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's 89th Cavalry Regiment and alerted them to a weapons cache. Soldiers responded, located the buried weapons, and had been digging up the cache for five minutes when they received another phone call.

The second caller claimed he had the 2nd Brigade Combat Team's top high-value target and would deliver him to coalition custody. This tipster arranged a meeting place to hand the detainee over to Army Capt. Adam Sawyer, the Troop C commander.

Soldiers hastily re-buried the cache and departed for the meeting place, where they took custody of the high-value detainee and two other suspects.

During the exchange, some of the soldiers observed the cache from their vantage point, and were surprised to see a civilian pickup truck stop near the cache. As four men began to load the weapons into the truck bed, troops engaged the vehicle with an M-240 machine gun.

Troop C soldiers detained the suspects as they tried to flee, and called an explosive ordnance disposal team to destroy the weapons.

"All of this was possible because of sources we've developed, through local-national engagements and working with the residents of the area," Sawyer said. "It's our work with the people in these areas, our relations with them, paying off."

The high-value target allegedly is responsible for shooting down an AH-64 helicopter in April 2006, abducting two soldiers two months later, and mounting complex attacks against patrol bases, coalition forces and Iraqi civilians, military officials said. Additionally, he is believed to be the leader of an al Qaeda network known for murdering and intimidating those who oppose the terrorist organization.

One of the detainees had been wounded in a previous engagement, and was taken to a coalition hospital for treatment. The other suspects six are being held for further questioning.

During two operations in Baghdad July 8, Iraqi special operations forces detained 12 insurgents linked to the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia. These insurgents allegedly are responsible for attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces, military officials said.

In the first operation, the Iraqi special operations forces and coalition advisors detained 11 targeted individuals believed responsible for attacks using explosively formed penetrators against combined forces in the Hay al Aamel area. EFPs are improvised explosive devices designed to penetrate armor.

In the second operation, combined troops detained the alleged leader of a cell responsible for direct and indirect fire, and improvised explosive devices attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces. His capture will disrupt this cell's ability to carry out death squad activities against innocent civilians, military officials said.

Troops also seized weapons and ammunition, cell phones and assorted documents. No Iraqi or coalition forces were injured during this operation.