Monday, September 10, 2007
Pentagon to build base near Iranian border in Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - The Pentagon is preparing to build a military base near the Iraq-Iran border to try to curtail the flow of advanced Iranian weaponry to Shiite militants across Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday in its online edition.
Quoting Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, the Journal said the Pentagon also plans to build fortified checkpoints on major highways leading from the Iranian border to Baghdad, and install X-ray machines and explosives-detecting sensors at the only formal border crossing between the two countries.
The base will be located about four miles from the Iranian border and will be used for at least two years, according to the report. U.S. officials told the paper it is unclear whether it will be among the small number of facilities that would remain in Iraq after any future large-scale U.S. withdrawal. The report comes on the same day the top U.S. commander in Iraq and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker present a progress report to Congress on the war.
U.S. President George W. Bush, under mounting pressure to change course in Iraq, plans a prime time speech on the war this week. He is unlikely to unveil a major shift in strategy in the 4-year-old war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,700 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Early Monday morning, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington told Reuters he could not comment on the specifics of the report, but said: "Coalition and Iraqi partners will continue to put pressure on the enemy, including disruptions of any supply lines, in an effort to reduce violence and to protect the Iraqi people."
Lynch told the paper, "We've got a major problem with Iranian munitions streaming into Iraq. This Iranian interference is troubling and we have to stop it." U.S. officials accuse Iran of fomenting violence to destabilize Iraq and of seeking to build nuclear weapons under cover of civilian nuclear program, charges Iran denies.
Maj. Toby Logsdon, the U.S. officer overseeing the project, told the Journal that the new outpost will have living quarters for at least 200 soldiers, who could arrive in November. "Iran will know this is here -- they will have to rethink how they do things, and the smugglers will have to rethink how they do things," Logsdon told the Journal.
Quoting Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, the Journal said the Pentagon also plans to build fortified checkpoints on major highways leading from the Iranian border to Baghdad, and install X-ray machines and explosives-detecting sensors at the only formal border crossing between the two countries.
The base will be located about four miles from the Iranian border and will be used for at least two years, according to the report. U.S. officials told the paper it is unclear whether it will be among the small number of facilities that would remain in Iraq after any future large-scale U.S. withdrawal. The report comes on the same day the top U.S. commander in Iraq and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker present a progress report to Congress on the war.
U.S. President George W. Bush, under mounting pressure to change course in Iraq, plans a prime time speech on the war this week. He is unlikely to unveil a major shift in strategy in the 4-year-old war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,700 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Early Monday morning, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington told Reuters he could not comment on the specifics of the report, but said: "Coalition and Iraqi partners will continue to put pressure on the enemy, including disruptions of any supply lines, in an effort to reduce violence and to protect the Iraqi people."
Lynch told the paper, "We've got a major problem with Iranian munitions streaming into Iraq. This Iranian interference is troubling and we have to stop it." U.S. officials accuse Iran of fomenting violence to destabilize Iraq and of seeking to build nuclear weapons under cover of civilian nuclear program, charges Iran denies.
Maj. Toby Logsdon, the U.S. officer overseeing the project, told the Journal that the new outpost will have living quarters for at least 200 soldiers, who could arrive in November. "Iran will know this is here -- they will have to rethink how they do things, and the smugglers will have to rethink how they do things," Logsdon told the Journal.
Labels: Iran-Iraq border, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Maj. Toby Logsdon, Pentagon
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Search continues for missing American soldiers
Security
(AP) -- U.S. soldiers raided suspected safehouses near the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Monday in their search for three captured comrades but found them empty after the militants apparently were tipped off and fled, a military spokesman said. It was the latest in a series of frustrations for exhausted U.S. troops hunting for any sign of the trio missing since a May 12 assault on an outpost by insurgents linked to al-Qaida. Four other Americans and an Iraqi soldier died in the attack.
Maj. Webster Wright, a spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said 27 airborne operations had been staged during the widespread search the last nine days, dropping off soldiers to gain the element of surprise and avoid bomb-studded roads. But he said the insurgents were catching on to U.S. tactics and had fled ahead of raids near the river Monday.
Maj. Webster Wright, a spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said 27 airborne operations had been staged during the widespread search the last nine days, dropping off soldiers to gain the element of surprise and avoid bomb-studded roads. But he said the insurgents were catching on to U.S. tactics and had fled ahead of raids near the river Monday.
He said planners were looking at targets to the west of the division's area of operations. He wasn't more specific, but that would likely include volatile Anbar province, a vast desert area that stretches to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Anbar is considered a key smuggling route for insurgent groups including factions linked to al-Qaida.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. troops south of Baghdad, said in a CNN interview that 4,000 American soldiers and 2,000 Iraqis were involved in the search. He expressed "cautious optimism" that the three missing men - Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. - were still alive.
"We won't stop until we find our fallen comrades," he said, adding that the military was following up 249 intelligence reports, the majority of which said the three soldiers were still alive. "We're pursuing all leads with a passion, but right now we believe our soldiers are still alive," Lynch said. "Each day that passes when we don't see proof of life, it causes us concern." Lynch said more than 1,000 people had been detained for questioning, and two had confessed to taking part in the May 12 attack. "So they're giving us actual intelligence and we continue to follow through," he said.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. troops south of Baghdad, said in a CNN interview that 4,000 American soldiers and 2,000 Iraqis were involved in the search. He expressed "cautious optimism" that the three missing men - Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. - were still alive.
"We won't stop until we find our fallen comrades," he said, adding that the military was following up 249 intelligence reports, the majority of which said the three soldiers were still alive. "We're pursuing all leads with a passion, but right now we believe our soldiers are still alive," Lynch said. "Each day that passes when we don't see proof of life, it causes us concern." Lynch said more than 1,000 people had been detained for questioning, and two had confessed to taking part in the May 12 attack. "So they're giving us actual intelligence and we continue to follow through," he said.
Labels: Al Anbar, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Missing U.S. troops, Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, Spc. Alex R. Jimenez
Thursday, May 10, 2007
U.S. military blames Iran for arming Sunni insurgents
Security, Iran
(AP) - A U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday that Shiite-dominated Iran is providing support to some Sunni insurgents fighting American forces in Iraq. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military had credible intelligence to support the allegation but did not elaborate. He said the support to Sunni insurgents was limited to select groups, which he did not identify.
"It's not all Sunni insurgents but rather we do know that there is a direct awareness by Iranian intelligence officials that they are providing support to some select Sunni insurgent elements," Caldwell told reporters. On Sunday, a U.S. general also said powerful armor-penetrating roadside bombs believed to be of Iranian origin were turning up in the hands of Sunni insurgents south of Baghdad.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's Task Force Marne, said the presence of "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, in Sunni weapons caches suggests some degree of Iranian influence among Sunni as well as Shiite extremists. But Lynch, whose command covers the southern rim of Baghdad and mostly Shiite areas to the south, said it was unclear whether the Iranians were supplying the weapons directly or whether the Sunnis were buying them on the black market.
Caldwell said the weapons issue was still being investigated, but "we do know that they're providing support in terms of financial support at this point." U.S. military officials have been saying for months that the Iranians were supplying EFPs to Shiite militias, despite strong denials by Tehran. Some Sunni insurgent groups are strongly anti-Iranian, blaming the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government for helping Iran expand its influence here.
"It's not all Sunni insurgents but rather we do know that there is a direct awareness by Iranian intelligence officials that they are providing support to some select Sunni insurgent elements," Caldwell told reporters. On Sunday, a U.S. general also said powerful armor-penetrating roadside bombs believed to be of Iranian origin were turning up in the hands of Sunni insurgents south of Baghdad.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's Task Force Marne, said the presence of "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, in Sunni weapons caches suggests some degree of Iranian influence among Sunni as well as Shiite extremists. But Lynch, whose command covers the southern rim of Baghdad and mostly Shiite areas to the south, said it was unclear whether the Iranians were supplying the weapons directly or whether the Sunnis were buying them on the black market.
Caldwell said the weapons issue was still being investigated, but "we do know that they're providing support in terms of financial support at this point." U.S. military officials have been saying for months that the Iranians were supplying EFPs to Shiite militias, despite strong denials by Tehran. Some Sunni insurgent groups are strongly anti-Iranian, blaming the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government for helping Iran expand its influence here.
Labels: EFPs, explosively formed penetrators, Iran, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Major General William Caldwell, Sunni insurgents
