Iranian Special-ops Unit Flees Iraq to Avoid Capture : The Examiner - Rowan Scarborough

Fearing capture, a special-operations unit that reports directly to Iran's ruling mullahs has fled Iraq, U.S. defense officials say. Tehran's decision to recall the Qods Forces is being hailed inside the U.S. command in Baghdad because it rids Iraq, at least for now, of a particularly lethal group. Qods operatives, who might have numbered in the hundreds inside Iraq, armed and trained Shiite extremists who have killed American troops and Iraqis. Qods is the covert section of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the enforcement arm of the Tehran regime. Qods is the only unit in the Corps that answers to the hard-line mullahs. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, disclosed the Qods Forces' return to Iran in congressional testimony Monday, but did not elaborate. Defense sources told The Examiner on Wednesday that Tehran recalled the Qods Forces out of concern that more Iranian operatives would be captured and disclose valuable information about how Iran is funding, training and arming Iraqi Shiites. From Iranian detainees, for example, the Baghdad command has learned of bases inside Iran where Iraqi Shiites are trained how to ambush American troops. "Iran plays a harmful role in Iraq," Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador in Iraq, told Congress this week. "While claiming to support Iraq in its transition, Iran has actively undermined it by providing lethal capabilities to the enemies of the Iraqi state." Crocker said Iranian officials have not acted in good faith during two meetings in Baghdad in which the U.S. pressed Iran to stop fomenting violence in Iraq. "The impression I came away with after a couple of rounds is that the Iranians were interested simply in the appearance of discussions, of being seen to be at the table with the U.S. as an arbiter of Iraq's present and future, rather than actually doing serious business," Crocker said. Petraeus testified that Iran is trying to create a Hezbollah-type group in Iran as it did in Lebanon in the 1980s. U.S. officials say Iran uses Lebanese Hezbollah as a proxy to attack Israel and disrupt democracy in Lebanon. The Iranian-trained Iraqi extremists, Petraeus said, "have assassinated and kidnapped Iraqi governmental leaders, killed and wounded our soldiers with advanced explosives devices provided by Iran, and indiscriminately rocketed civilians in the international zone and elsewhere." As for the Qods Force, he said, "we believe...those individuals have been pulled out of the country."

U.S. Looks to Sanctions on Iran's Quds Force
September 12, 2007 Reuters : Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is looking at slapping sanctions on a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps but has decided against naming the entire body a terrorist group, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday. With some allies' support fading for tougher U.N. sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, Washington plans more unilateral measures to pressure Iran, including sanctions on the Guards' Quds force, blamed for stoking violence in Iraq. "The important thing is to send a signal that we are even more impatient and more disappointed. That requires stronger language and additional measures," said a senior U.S. official, who declined to be named as the issue is sensitive. Last month, plans were leaked to U.S. media of the Bush administration's intent to label the entire Guard Corps a foreign terrorist group -- the first time the United States would place the armed forces of any sovereign government on its list of terrorist organizations. Such a designation enables Washington to target the Iranian group's finances. U.S. officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was furious over the leak, which one diplomat said was seen as a deliberate attempt by hawks in the administration to push the State Department to take firmer action against Iran. Several senior U.S. officials said a decision had been made not to label the entire Guard Corps a terrorist group, partly because some of Washington's allies disagreed with the move and also because of the legalities involved. The thinking was now to impose strong financial measures against the Quds without calling it a terrorist group. Washington blames the Quds force for inciting violence in Iraq and allowing the flow of weapons to its neighbor. "There is no consideration being given at present to designating the entire (Guard). The issue is the Quds," said a senior U.S. official. Senior State Department official David Satterfield, who declined to give details of future punitive U.S. actions against Iran, said Washington was very concerned about the behavior of the Quds and its parent body, the Guard Corps. "We are intent upon doing what we can to address these behaviors and we will take whatever steps we believe will be appropriate and effective to reduce the ability of these groups to continue these activities," added Satterfield, the State Department's Iraq coordinator. FRUSTRATION WITH ALLIES A Western diplomat said the harder line being taken by Washington reflected frustration not only with Tehran but also with some allies, notably Germany, for a reluctance to move ahead quickly with a third round of U.N. sanctions against Iran. China and Russia also oppose more sanctions. The diplomat said lower-level German officials told the United States during a meeting in Berlin last week, along with other major powers, that it could not support more sanctions. Part of the argument was to see how a deal played out between the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog and Iran, which is aimed at bringing about more transparency to Iran's nuclear program. However, German Embassy spokesman in Washington Ulrich Sante disputed that Germany did not support U.S. plans for another U.N. sanctions resolution against Iran. Major powers, including Germany, are expected to gather in Washington on September 21 to discuss the possible broadening of U.N. sanctions against Iran. "We're confident we're going to be able to move forward, get a new Security Council resolution that includes new sanctions," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Iran experts say war drums appear to be beating louder in the administration for military action against Tehran for refusing to give up its nuclear program. "Even among those who might advocate the military option, I think there are probably very few who believe that dropping a bomb on Iran is going to have a positive outcome," said Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Asked whether serious discussions were taking place for a possible military strike against Iran, McCormack said the United States was still on a "diplomatic course."

Shelling Near Iranian Border Is Forcing Iraqi Kurds to Flee
http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2007&m=09&d=13&a=1

Tehran Walks a Tactical Tightrope
Iran and the Revolution's Economic Malaise
We did not make the revolution to lower the price of watermelons”. Ayatollah Khoeimini’s observation was prescient.
Russia Rejects Tougher Stance on IranRussia on Wednesday gave a clear indication that it would not back any immediate toughening in the United Nations' approach to Iran's nuclear programme, in spite of US calls for leading powers to convene for discussions on the issue next week.
گفتگوی بهروز صوراسرافيل و شيرين نشاط در باره بزرگداشت جان باختگان نيرو های مسلح شاهنشاهی ايران
http://alineshat.org/AntiSeparatism.asp

U.S. Officials Begin Crafting Iran Bombing Plan
September 12, 2007 Fox News James Rosen
A recent decision by German officials to withhold support for any new sanctions against Iran has pushed a broad spectrum of officials in Washington to develop potential scenarios for a military attack on the Islamic regime, FOX News confirmed Tuesday. Germany — a pivotal player among three European nations to rein in Iran's nuclear program over the last two-and-a-half years through a mixture of diplomacy and sanctions supported by the United States — notified its allies last week that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel refuses to support the imposition of any further sanctions against Iran that could be imposed by the U.N. Security Council. The announcement was made at a meeting in Berlin that brought German officials together with Iran desk officers from the five member states of the Security Council. It stunned the room, according to one of several Bush administration and foreign government sources who spoke to FOX News, and left most Bush administration principals concluding that sanctions are dead. The Germans voiced concern about the damaging effects any further sanctions on Iran would have on the German economy — and also, according to diplomats from other countries, gave the distinct impression that they would privately welcome, while publicly protesting, an American bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities. [German Embassy spokesman Ulrich Sante told FOX News on Wednesday that Germany fully supports the ongoing U.N. process, saying the meeting in Berlin "was evidence we are seeking further progress…. The issue is being moved ahead."] Germany's withdrawal from the allied diplomatic offensive is the latest consensus across relevant U.S. agencies and offices, including the State Department, the National Security Council and the offices of the president and vice president. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, the most ardent proponent of a diplomatic resolution to the problem of Iran's nuclear ambitions, has had his chance on the Iranian account and come up empty. Political and military officers, as well as weapons of mass destruction specialists at the State Department, are now advising Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the diplomatic approach favored by Burns has failed and the administration must actively prepare for military intervention of some kind. Among those advising Rice along these lines are John Rood, the assistant secretary for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation; and a number of Mideast experts, including Ambassador James Jeffrey, deputy White House national security adviser under Stephen Hadley and formerly the principal deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs. Consequently, according to a well-placed Bush administration source, "everyone in town" is now participating in a broad discussion about the costs and benefits of military action against Iran, with the likely timeframe for any such course of action being over the next eight to 10 months, after the presidential primaries have probably been decided, but well before the November 2008 elections. The discussions are now focused on two basic options: less invasive scenarios under which the U.S. might blockade Iranian imports of gasoline or exports of oil, actions generally thought to exact too high a cost on the Iranian people but not enough on the regime in Tehran; and full-scale aerial bombardment. On the latter course, active consideration is being given as to how long it would take to degrade Iranian air defenses before American air superiority could be established and U.S. fighter jets could then begin a systematic attack on Iran's known nuclear targets. Most relevant parties have concluded such a comprehensive attack plan would require at least a week of sustained bombing runs, and would at best set the Iranian nuclear program back a number of years — but not destroy it forever. Other considerations include the likelihood of Iranian reprisals against Tel Aviv and other Israeli population centers; and the effects on American troops in Iraq. There, officials have concluded that the Iranians are unlikely to do much more damage than they already have been able to inflict through their supply of explosives and training of insurgents in Iraq. The Bush administration "has just about had it with Iran," said one foreign diplomat. "They tried the diplomatic process. China is now obstructing them at the U.N. Security Council and the Russians are tucking themselves behind them. "The Germans are wobbling …There are a number of people in the administration who do not want their legacy to be leaving behind an Iran that is nuclear armed, so they are looking at what are the alternatives? They are looking at other options," the diplomat said. Vice President Cheney and his aides are said to be enjoying a bit of "schadenfreude" at the expense of Burns. A source described Cheney's office as effectively gloating to Burns and Rice, "We told you so. (The Iranians) are not containable diplomatically." The next shoe to drop will be when Rice and President Bush make a final decision about whether to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and/or its lethal subset, the Quds Force, as a terrorist entity or entities. FOX News reported in June that such a move is under consideration. Sources say news leaks about the prospective designation greatly worried European governments and private sector firms, which could theoretically face prosecution in American courts if such measures became law and these entities continued to do business with IRGC and its multiple financial subsidiaries. If the Bush administration moves forward with such a designation, sources said, it would be an indication that Rice agrees that Burns' approach has failed. Designation of such a large Iranian military institution as a terrorist entity would also be seen, sources said, as laying the groundwork for a public justification of American military action.

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Iranian professor discusses politics.