Brief this

By Creature

Two items of note from yesterday's Pentagon press briefing on Iraq. First, and this is big news because such a public portrayal of Iranian influence can only mean one thing... Cheney and Rummy are itchin' for more war.

Iranian support for extremists inside Iraq has shown a "noticeable increase" this year, with Tehran's special forces providing weapons and bomb training to anti-U.S. groups, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday.

Other U.S. officials have complained about Iranian meddling in Iraq, but the criticism of Tehran by Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was the most direct and explicit so far.

And this bit is not news, but it always amazes me that on our Iraq watch, this is allowed to continue.

Casey expressed confidence in the growing strength of the Iraqi army but voiced concern about the state of the Iraqi police, especially in the Baghdad area, where, he said, their operations are influenced by militias. Sunnis often accuse the police, who are controlled by the Ministry of the Interior, of working closely with Shiite death squads.

The emphasis is mine, because WTF? Death squads led by the government we are there to prop up. Again, not news, but how come when Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the terrorist fightin' crew running this war speak of Iraq they don't mention that we support our own version of terror. Shiite death squads. Thanks America, the world really is a safer place.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)