IRAN: War fears spike after Mullen remarks

The barometer of tensions between Iran and the United States went up a notch or even two today as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen accused Iran of stepping up weapons and training to its surrogates in Iraq despite promises to stop doing so.

Los Angeles Times Pentagon correspondent Julian E. Barnes is following the story from Washington:

...Mullen said there was not a massive infusion of weapons but said over time there had been "a consistent increase" in arms shipments. Speaking at a morning news conference, Mullen said weapons had been intercepted in Iraq that showed evidence of relatively recent manufacture in Iran...

Also today came word of another possible confrontation between U.S. forces and Iranians in the Persian Gulf. According to the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, an American contractor fired approaching speedboats that identified themselves as Iranian vessels. Iranians said no such incident took place.

Insiders say Mullen is no warmonger. They say Mullen is not eager to get America's overstretched military embroiled in a war with a country three times bigger than Iraq.

He insisted in a press conference today that it was Iran, not the U.S. stirring up trouble:

I have no expectation that, you know, that we are going to get into a conflict with Iran and in the immediate future. But I am concerned over time just in these last couple of years, you know, the tensions continue to rise. Iran does not respond. And in fact, they seem to be ratcheting it up in terms of their support for terrorism. And I am concerned about where that goes in the long term.

Mullen underlined the topic by beginning his opening remarks at the press conference with a sternly worded announcement about Iran:

First, on Iran, I've been clear lately that I'm extremely concerned about what I believe to be an increasingly lethal and malign influence by that government and the Qods Force in particular in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. I believe recent events, especially the Basra operation, have revealed just how much and just how far Iran is reaching into Iraq to foment instability. Their support to criminal groups in the form of munitions and training, as well as other assistance they are providing and the attacks they are encouraging, continues to kill coalition and Iraqi personnel. The Iranian government pledged to halt such activities some months ago. It's plainly obvious they have not. Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way.

He said that there would be evidence forthcoming demonstrating Iran's involvement in Iraq: 

MULLEN: I know that General [David] Petraeus is preparing a briefing which, I would expect, he'll give in the next couple of weeks. That would get into the kinds of details that you asked specifically. Some of it has shown me though that some of the weapons are recently not just found but recently manufactured.

QUESTION: What specific evidence though is there on that date issue?

MULLEN: Usually when you manufacture weapons, there's a time/date stamp that's put on. And it's that kind of evidence or that kind of detail that's typically available when you pick up weapons in a cache discovery.

QUESTION: Admiral, there are reports this morning that some of those weapons were stamped with dates of only two months ago. Are you aware of that?

MULLEN: I'm aware that some of the weapons — and again Jim, I haven't been through this in great detail. But I'm aware that some of the weapons found are very recent.   

So is the U.S. planning a war with Iran? Beltway insiders say no. The uniformed military is genuinely concerned by Iran's alleged actions in Iraq.

Mullen himself stressed that the "solution right now still lies in using other levers of national power, including diplomatic, financial and international pressure" to persuade Iran to change its ways.

But ironically, his comments may have helped energy-rich Iran fill its coffers by causing oil prices to shoot up on concern another Middle East conflict will disrupt supply lines and production.

— Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photo: Adm. Michael J. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Credit: Pentagon website

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Comments

[Kish]

Bush ain't out of office yet. 08 election ?, maybe not.

[RJ Earle]

ROA: re: "Who is in charge here?" The liberal, conspiracy-crazy media, that's who. Where do liberals get all their information about anything? The "military industrial complex" is way down the rankings of influence in the US. You are what you eat, and it appears the American public has ingested so much nonsense that they have a severe case of mental indigestion. In time, countries and their cultures are always overcome by other countries and cultures. If you think the US culture is worth preserving, put aside fantasies and support it, if not, please find a better culture, move there, and support it. The US has become neurotic, fighting itself and oblivious to the realities of the world outside of our American Disneyland. The US media just fan the flames, and will still be fiddling their ridicuous viewpoints when Rome burns (i.e., when LA is vaporized by a smuggled Iranian nuke).

[Andy]

@ freedom,

WE (the US) overthrew their democrat elected candidate Mosaddeq, who nationalized Iran's oil, which prevented the British and the US from recieving free or very discounted oil from them. Our CIA plotted his assasination. We also installed a dictator (the Shah) in Iran for our own purpose of cheap oil. When the Shah was thrown out with the Iranian revolution, Saddam took the opportunity of an unstable Iran to attack Iran and capture its oil provinces. This was when US supported Saddam and sold him WMDs including chemical weapons which Saddam used on hundreds of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians. The US also shot down an iranian passenger airliner, Iran Air flight 655 which killed 290 innocent passengers, and we never apologized, claiming we accidently thought it was a fighter plane...

Don't get me wrong, I dislike the radicals, but to suggest that Iran is at fault, when we have done all these things, while we have our Nuclear armed vessels and submarines in the PERSIAN gulf pointed at their lands is ridiculous. How would we feel if China had its nuclear armed submarines and vessels in our waters? Also, howcome we can occupy middle-east lands but we tell Iran not to interfere to its neighboring countries of Iraq and Afghanistan? Wouldn't we interfere if China or Russia from another continent attacked Mexico? Ofcourse, we would, and how would we feel if they accused us of stirring up the pot, when it was them in the first place who started the war? US foreign policy is hypocrisy at its best.

[Shaun]

I say that it's time for Israel and the U.S. to engage in some joint tactical operations against Iran. We don't need an all-out war or an invasion- instead, how about we just destroy their nuclear and weapons production capacity with some high-tech bombing? We can do this every 5-10 years or so, if necessary. The bulk of the expense for the operations should be on Israel- after all, it's their immediate security at stake. However, the U.S. has a definite interest in Israel's success in the region and should therefore assist to the degree necessary to ensure victory- that is, the complete destruction of the weapons Iran is threatening to use to eradicate Israel.

[John]

I find this story to be most disturbing...

-John
http://patrioticactivist.com/2008/02/09/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability/

[David Welsh]

Comments by Freedom show how ignorant he/she is
about U.S. 20th century history. Read, if you know how to read, "The Ruses of War" by John Quigley.

[IHateLeftists]

"Maybe the US should look in the mirror. How many WMD does the US have stockpiled?
Posted by: GK"

GK, if you only knew how f*cking sick of I am of hearing that BS. Ok, using your logic, how is it a police force is only allowed to have assault weapons, and not regular citizens or criminals?? Ohh.... I SEE, in YOUR eyes the US IS the criminal! You must be a leftist!!

LOL

[Concerned American]

The US is planning on attacking a country because it is developing weapons. Does anyone else see the contradiction in this? Why do we have that right in the first place to ask them not to have weapons when we have them? Are our killing machines "moral" while theirs are "evil". We Americans are gullible and morally challenged to buy this logic - we're heading for disaster! We will be killing others - men, women, children if we start a war there. These people bleed red just like you and me. How can we do this to their people?

One question folks -- we all know this war is being organized by the Pentagon for its own purposes (oil, defense spending, Israel, or whatever else it may be). Why then do the American people just watch passively as this unfolds? There is no revolution, no protest, heck, not even discussion in the lunchroom at work about this? What is going on here? Are we all fat, dumb, or drugged up?

[Jim in Indiana]

Ships from Iran (we are told) are fired on by CONTRACTED EMPLOYEES of the Dept. of Defense, NOT by our military! Once again, this smells of Halliburton and Blackwater! This Administration is using non-military personnel for military purposes to provoke a war with another country.

Does anyone remember the Gulf of Tonkin "incident" -- it was made-up by the Johnson Admin. to justify our going to war against North Vietnam. I think this might be another such concoction. And none of our military were even involved! This Admin. badly wants us to go to war with Iran, and under false pretenses -- just like the last time they said we "had" to go to war.

Will this be the beginning of another, even worse, war? All because of CONTRACTED, NON-MILITARY employees of the Admin. ?

[hassan]

it is obvious that there is an announced war between iran and usa for many years,and there is an interesting persian proverb that says,a wise man neve present a sweet for his enemy.
my question is,if usa was in place of iran,it woulld help to promotion of iranian stability in iraq near their territories?

[Greg Britttain]

It is interesting to see the posts by liberal Democrats who are solely concerned with protecting Iran and not one iota concerned with Iran backing terrorists in Iraq that are killing our soldiers and Iraqis. Of course Iran wouldn't do that, and if they did, it must be America's fault.

Why am not surprised?

[Freedom]

Iran has been screwing us for decades, using oil, hostages, and terrorism against us. I personally am sick of it and we need to remove this regime.

[Bill]

"Rock of Ages" does not appreciate that President Eisenhower did not have to concern himself with any nuclear power other than the Soviet Union. He particularly did not anticipate, or even live to see, Islamic extremists, hostile to the U S and to Israel, who were trying to become a nuclear power.

[GK]

The US just seems bound and determined to go to war with another mid eastern country.

I don't believe anything coming out of Washington anymore. How quickly the US population forgets there were no WMD in Iraq and now we are told Iran is the culprit and they are manufacturing WMD. yeah right. whatever.

Maybe the US should look in the mirror. How many WMD does the US have stockpiled?

[wolf]

Nice and very apropos quote, TheRockofAges.

I sure hope, a third war isn't begun before we can get new leadership into the White House. I think, it's blatantly obvious to most Americans and the rest of the world, that our leadership has run amok.

Obama '08

[Eech]

the la times should read the news more often - more specifically the latest NY Times piece...about planting false information/propaganda in public being illegal....
yeah, oh-wise-editors; stop drumming up another war, would ya?

[TheRockofAges]

Dwight Eisenhower said it best and especially holds true in today's world: 'In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of
misplaced power exists and will persist'. Who is in charge here; military generals or the American people? It is not looking good for the later.