Saturday September 02, 2006
U.S. asserts Iran stirring up trouble in Iraq, but evidence less certain
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) Top U.S. officials have made strong charges in recent weeks that Iran is directly stirring up trouble in Iraq. But inside Iraq, it's hard to see any change and some American officials in Baghdad say privately the evidence is not that clear.
Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero, the deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters on Aug. 23 that there was ``irrefutable'' evidence that Iran was training, funding and equipping Shiite militants in Iraq.
The only specifics Barbero cited were allegations made before that the Iranians were providing insurgents with technology to build more powerful roadside bombs, including armor-piercing ``shaped charges'' developed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.
In background briefings, however, senior U.S. officials in Baghdad have been far less certain about the nature of Iranian involvement. They say that technology to build ``shaped charges'' in roadside bombs is now widely available across the Middle East.
U.S. officials offered similar skeptical comments last October, when British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran not to meddle in Iraq . . .
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http://cbs4boston.com/worldwire/Iraq-IransHand_a_i_-----/resources_news_html