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WikiLeaks: In Iraq, a Very Busy Iran

(Wall Street Journal) Sam Dagher - Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables provide new details on how Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps has promoted Tehran's influence in Iraq since 2003. The leadership of the Qods Force - the Guards' paramilitary and espionage arm - "took advantage of the vacuum" in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's fall to send operatives into Iraq when "little attention was focused on Iran," according to an April 2009 dispatch from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Early priorities for the Iranian operatives included assassinating former Iraqi fighter pilots who flew sorties against Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, according to a December 2009 dispatch. As of the end of last year 180 pilots had been killed. But Iran's broader goals have been the establishment of "an economically dependent and politically subservient Iraq." Since 2003, Qods Force commander Brig. Gen. Qasim Soleimani has been "the point man directing the formulation and implementation" of the Iranian government's Iraq policy "with authority second only" to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian commander also "enjoys longstanding close ties" with several top Iraqi officials such as President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. A November 2009 cable says Iran hands out cash payments to "Iraqi surrogates," which include some of the political parties currently in power. Tehran's financial assistance is estimated at $100-200 million a year, with an estimated $70 million going to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) party, which was based in Iran before Hussein's fall.
2010-12-03 07:55:11
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