WikiLeaks Reports Detail Iran's Aid for Iraqi Militias

by Michael R. Gordon and Andrew W. Lehren


During the administration of President George W. Bush, critics charged that the White House had exaggerated Iran's role in Iraq. But field reports disclosed by WikiLeaks underscore the seriousness with which Iran's role has been seen by the American military.
The reports recount Iran's role in providing Iraqi militia fighters with rockets, magnetic bombs that can be attached to the underside of cars, "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, which are the most lethal type of roadside bomb in Iraq, and other weapons. Those include powerful .50-caliber rifles and the Misagh-1, an Iranian replica of a portable Chinese surface-to-air missile, which, according to the reports, was fired at American helicopters and downed one in east Baghdad in July 2007. A June 25, 2009, report about an especially bloody EFP attack that wounded 10 American soldiers noted that the militants used tactics "being employed by trained violent extremist members that have returned from Iran."
The reports make it clear that the lethal contest between Iranian-backed militias and American forces continued after President Obama sought to open a diplomatic dialogue with Iran's leaders. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force, under the command of Brig. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, has responsibility for foreign operations and works though surrogates, like Hizbullah. Quds Force objectives include efforts to weaken and shape Iraq's nascent government and to diminish the U.S. role and influence in Iraq. (New York Times)

Michael R. Gordon and Andrew W. Lehren

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