thedrifter
01-31-07, 10:08 AM
Iran arming Iraqi militias, general says
By Jim Michaels - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 10:02:58 EST
BAGHDAD — Iran is supplying Iraqi militias with a variety of powerful weapons including Katyusha rockets and a sophisticated type of roadside bomb called the explosively formed projectile, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said Tuesday.
“We have weapons that we know through serial numbers ... that trace back to Iran,” Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said in an interview with USA Today.
His comments come as the Bush administration has been taking an increasingly tough stance against what it alleges is Iranian meddling in sectarian violence in Iraq. Last week, the White House confirmed that the president had authorized U.S. troops to take action against Iranian agents in Iraq who present threats.
On Tuesday, President Bush vowed to crack down on those who supply Iraqi insurgents with arms, though he denied any plans to invade Iran.
“We’ll deal with it by finding their supply chains and their agents and ... arresting them. ... In other words, we’re going to protect our troops,” Bush told ABC News.
Odierno did not provide further details on how weapons were linked to Iran. The Iranian government has denied providing weapons to Iraqi militias.
Most weapons supplied by Iran end up in the hands of Shiite extremists, Odierno said.
He said the weapons include:
* The RPG-29, a rocket-propelled grenade that can fire armor-piercing rounds. It is larger and more sophisticated than the RPG-7 more commonly found in Iraq.
* Katyusha rockets, so large they are generally fired from trucks.
* Powerful roadside bombs, known as explosively formed projectiles, which can pierce armor. The technological know-how and “some of the elements to make them are coming out of Iran,” Odierno said.
Several Iranians have been detained in raids inside Iraq, and some remain in custody. The arrests have provided clues about Iranian operations, Odierno said.
“Every time you pick up individuals, you learn about how they facilitate themselves within a country,” he said.
He did not specify whether the Iranians in custody are cooperating or whether evidence was seized during the arrest.
The rise of the EFP
The EFP is usually made from a pipe filled with explosives and capped by a copper disk. When the explosives detonate, they transform the disk into a molten jet of metal capable of penetrating armor. They perform in the same way that U.S. anti-tank missiles do.
“Properly handled, it goes through armor like a hot knife through butter,” said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a military think tank in Alexandria, Va.
U.S. officials have declined to say exactly how many troops have been killed by EFPs supplied by Iran.
Maj. Anne Edgecomb, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the military wants to limit the information available to insurgents about the effectiveness of their attacks. That’s the same reason the Pentagon says it no longer identifies troops killed by Iraqi snipers.
Last week, the Pentagon announced for the first time that an explosively formed projectile had killed a U.S. soldier. The attack occurred Jan. 22 in Baghdad, according to the Pentagon’s announcement. It killed Spc. Brandon Stout, 23, of Grand Rapids, Mich. The Pentagon later changed the announcement. It removed the reference to an EFP and said only that Stout had died in an attack by an improvised explosive device, the general term used to describe roadside bombs in Iraq.
Since Dec. 4, EFPs have killed four other soldiers, according to published reports and family memorials:
* On Dec. 4, Army Sgt. Jay Gauthreaux was killed by an IED explosion in Baqubah, Iraq, the Pentagon said. A Dec. 20 report in U.S. News & World Report magazine said his Humvee was hit by an EFP.
* On Dec. 25, Army Sgt. John Bubeck, Spc. Aaron Preston and Pfc. Andrew Nelson were killed by an IED in Baghdad, the Pentagon said. A Web site run by Preston’s family said he was killed by an EFP.
USA Today could not independently confirm either the magazine report or the Web site information.
The bombs must be machine-milled to precise specifications in order to work properly, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Armed Services Committee. There are indications that some explosively formed projectiles used in Iraq may have been manufactured in Iran, he said.
“There’s a lot evidence that there’s some Iranian connection in producing or at least disseminating the technology,” Reed said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he believed Iran was involved in supplying advanced IED technology to insurgents.
“My concern is that we’re dealing with a thinking enemy who has adapted his techniques to be more lethal in the area of IEDs,” Graham said.
Reed and Graham did not cite specific evidence.
Ellie
By Jim Michaels - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 10:02:58 EST
BAGHDAD — Iran is supplying Iraqi militias with a variety of powerful weapons including Katyusha rockets and a sophisticated type of roadside bomb called the explosively formed projectile, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said Tuesday.
“We have weapons that we know through serial numbers ... that trace back to Iran,” Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said in an interview with USA Today.
His comments come as the Bush administration has been taking an increasingly tough stance against what it alleges is Iranian meddling in sectarian violence in Iraq. Last week, the White House confirmed that the president had authorized U.S. troops to take action against Iranian agents in Iraq who present threats.
On Tuesday, President Bush vowed to crack down on those who supply Iraqi insurgents with arms, though he denied any plans to invade Iran.
“We’ll deal with it by finding their supply chains and their agents and ... arresting them. ... In other words, we’re going to protect our troops,” Bush told ABC News.
Odierno did not provide further details on how weapons were linked to Iran. The Iranian government has denied providing weapons to Iraqi militias.
Most weapons supplied by Iran end up in the hands of Shiite extremists, Odierno said.
He said the weapons include:
* The RPG-29, a rocket-propelled grenade that can fire armor-piercing rounds. It is larger and more sophisticated than the RPG-7 more commonly found in Iraq.
* Katyusha rockets, so large they are generally fired from trucks.
* Powerful roadside bombs, known as explosively formed projectiles, which can pierce armor. The technological know-how and “some of the elements to make them are coming out of Iran,” Odierno said.
Several Iranians have been detained in raids inside Iraq, and some remain in custody. The arrests have provided clues about Iranian operations, Odierno said.
“Every time you pick up individuals, you learn about how they facilitate themselves within a country,” he said.
He did not specify whether the Iranians in custody are cooperating or whether evidence was seized during the arrest.
The rise of the EFP
The EFP is usually made from a pipe filled with explosives and capped by a copper disk. When the explosives detonate, they transform the disk into a molten jet of metal capable of penetrating armor. They perform in the same way that U.S. anti-tank missiles do.
“Properly handled, it goes through armor like a hot knife through butter,” said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a military think tank in Alexandria, Va.
U.S. officials have declined to say exactly how many troops have been killed by EFPs supplied by Iran.
Maj. Anne Edgecomb, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the military wants to limit the information available to insurgents about the effectiveness of their attacks. That’s the same reason the Pentagon says it no longer identifies troops killed by Iraqi snipers.
Last week, the Pentagon announced for the first time that an explosively formed projectile had killed a U.S. soldier. The attack occurred Jan. 22 in Baghdad, according to the Pentagon’s announcement. It killed Spc. Brandon Stout, 23, of Grand Rapids, Mich. The Pentagon later changed the announcement. It removed the reference to an EFP and said only that Stout had died in an attack by an improvised explosive device, the general term used to describe roadside bombs in Iraq.
Since Dec. 4, EFPs have killed four other soldiers, according to published reports and family memorials:
* On Dec. 4, Army Sgt. Jay Gauthreaux was killed by an IED explosion in Baqubah, Iraq, the Pentagon said. A Dec. 20 report in U.S. News & World Report magazine said his Humvee was hit by an EFP.
* On Dec. 25, Army Sgt. John Bubeck, Spc. Aaron Preston and Pfc. Andrew Nelson were killed by an IED in Baghdad, the Pentagon said. A Web site run by Preston’s family said he was killed by an EFP.
USA Today could not independently confirm either the magazine report or the Web site information.
The bombs must be machine-milled to precise specifications in order to work properly, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Armed Services Committee. There are indications that some explosively formed projectiles used in Iraq may have been manufactured in Iran, he said.
“There’s a lot evidence that there’s some Iranian connection in producing or at least disseminating the technology,” Reed said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he believed Iran was involved in supplying advanced IED technology to insurgents.
“My concern is that we’re dealing with a thinking enemy who has adapted his techniques to be more lethal in the area of IEDs,” Graham said.
Reed and Graham did not cite specific evidence.
Ellie