Haaretz
Adar 15, 5766
The top U.S. military officer said on
Tuesday the United States does not have proof that Iran's government is
responsible for Iranians smuggling
weapons and military personnel into
Iraq.
President George W. Bush said on Monday components from Iran
were being used in powerful roadside bombs used in Iraq, and Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week that Iranian Revolutionary Guard
personnel had been inside Iraq.
Asked whether the United States has
proof that Iran's government was behind these developments, Marine Corps
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a
Pentagon briefing, "I do not, sir."
"Unless you physically see it
in a government-sponsored vehicle or with government-sponsored troops, you
can't know it," Rumsfeld said at the same briefing. "All you know is that
you find equipment, weapons, explosives, whatever, in a country that came
from the neighboring country."
"With respect to people, it's very
difficult to tie a thread precisely to the government of Iran," Rumsfeld
added.
Washington's charges about Iranian weapons and personnel in
Iraq have added to tensions between the United States and Iran over
Tehran's nuclear program.
Rumsfeld reiterated that there was
evidence that Revolutionary Guard personnel had been in Iraq, and said,
"It's entirely possible there are rogue elements and they're just there on
their own or they're pilgrims. Not likely."
Bush said on Monday,
referring to improvised explosive devices: "Some of the most powerful IEDs
we're seeing in Iraq today includes components that came from
Iran."