PETRAEUS CLAIMS IRAN IS SUPPLYING WEAPONS BUT WHERE IS THE PROOF?

Now we have the top general himself, David Petraeus, coming out and accusing Iran or meddling in Iraq and killing U.S. soldiers.

Dean Yates of Reuters writes in The Washington Post:

"General David Petraeus, speaking at a U.S. military base about 30 km (20 miles) from the Iranian border on Saturday, said Iran was giving advanced weaponry to militias in Iraq.

""They are responsible for providing the weapons, the training, the funding and in some cases the direction for operations that have indeed killed U.S. soldiers," Petraeus told a small group of reporters when asked if the Iranian government was responsible for killing U.S. troops."

Petraeus said he was sure that Iran was involved:

""There is no question about the connection between Iran and these components, (the) attacks that have killed our soldiers.""

Once again we see and hear these charges from U.S. generals and administration officials, but where is the evidence? Petraeus gives no solid or creditable evidence of Iranian involvement, except to say that Iran is training and arming Iraqi militias.

Writes Dean Yates:

"But Petraeus said he had no doubts about the Qods force.

""There should be no question about the malign, lethal involvement and activities of the Qods force in this country," he said. Petraeus listed the type of weapons he said Iran was supplying to militias in Iraq. He said this comprised advanced rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-fired "Stinger-like" air defense missiles and 240mm rockets. This was in addition to components used to make explosively formed projectiles (EFPs), a particularly deadly roadside bomb that has killed hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq."

Let's examine the "evidence" cited by Bush's man, Petraeus.

First the EFPs that Petraeus says are being supplied by Iran. There must be hundreds of cellars and workshops in Iraq that can make and tool these explosively formed projectiles. Most Iraqis hate the U.S. occupation and sympathize with the insurgency of whatever form. There is no way to say that these EFPs come from Iran and not from within Iraq.

Second, how do we know advanced RPGs come from Iran? Once again, the U.S. military just relies on assertions without any creditable evidence backing up their assertions.

Third, how about the stinger-like air defense missiles and rockets? How do we know they do not come from Saudi Arabia rather than from Iran? The answer is, we don't because the Petraeus has not made his case. Furthermore, if Iran were supplying these weapons, every U.S. helicopter and aircraft in Iraq would be in constant danger of being shot down. It is not clear that this is the case.

Petraeus needs to back up his reckless assertions with proof. So far, he has been reckless on his statements but short on the proof. It would seem once again he is being used by Bush and Cheney to demonize Iran and to make it the enemy in preparation for a U.S. strike. We must not allow this to happen