Friday, February 09, 2007

Bank Shot?

If George Tenet assured Bush that the case of Iraqi WMD was a "slam dunk," (I've read that Tenet and others in the room actually deny that account) this bit from Robert Gates discussing evidence of anti-American actions by Iranians in Iraq looks more like a half-court heave. Check out all the qualifiers and the failure to differentiate between insurgents, militias and other factions [emphasis mine throughout].

Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asserted Friday.

Offering some of the first public details of evidence the military has collected, Gates said, "I think there's some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found," that point to Iran. [...]

Gates, who is attending his first NATO defense ministers meeting, said Iran is "very much involved in providing either the technology or the weapons themselves for these explosively formed projectiles. Now they don't represent a big percentage of the IED attacks but they're extremely lethal."

So let me summarize: certain serial numbers and markings found may be "pretty good" evidence of prior Iranian transfers of technology or weaponry that may have been used in a small percentage of attacks on US soldiers.

By who, for what motive and at the direction of who is not discussed. Which is more than problematic considering all the plausible alternatives.

I remain underwhelmed.

// posted by Eric Martin @ 12:44 PM |


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