Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

The central government in Iran is training and equipping much of the Shiite insurgency, a senior U.S. general said Wednesday, adding that it is still too soon to tell if the latest security crackdown in Baghdad has been successful.

Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero drew one of the most direct links to date by the Pentagon between Iran’s government and the extremist Shiite militias. He said it is a “policy of the central government in Iran” to destabilize Iraq and increase the violence there.

“I think it’s irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and equipping some of these (Shiite) extremist groups and also providing advanced IED technology to them,” Barbero said, referring to the improvised explosive devices — or roadside bombs — that have caused so much death and destruction in Iraq.

Barbero, who is deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be inappropriate to specify when, where and how many Iranians have been training Iraqi insurgents.

Other senior Pentagon leaders, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, have talked about Iranian funding for the Iraq insurgency, but generally have been reluctant to directly blame the Tehran government.

Barbero said there continue to be problems policing the borders, particularly the one between Iraq and Syria, as Iraqis construct forts and slowly build up their own border patrol forces.

While some incidents of violence have declined a bit in Baghdad, it’s too early to tell if U.S. and Iraqi forces are winning the war there, he said.

“After several weeks, we’re not ready to make an assessment,” he said.

Despite a recent buildup, Barbero said the Pentagon still intends to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, as conditions improve and the Iraqis take over more control of their country’s security.

Critics this week continued to question whether the U.S. military has a plan to win the peace in Iraq, pointing to recent announcements increasing the number of American troops there — more than three years after the war was launched.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has increased the number of troops there from a low of about 125,000 in June, to the current level of 138,000 — all part of an effort to stem the escalating violence in Baghdad.

On Tuesday the Marines announced they will involuntarily recall thousands of Marines to active duty to fill positions largely in Iraq and Afghanistan. No more than 2,500 would be brought back at any one time.

The recent moves will make it difficult for the military to meet its previously stated goal of decreasing the number of troops in Iraq to about 100,000 by the end of the year.

The latest call-up, is “a warning that valuable resources are being misspent on the conflict in Iraq rather than being sent to the front lines in the war on terrorism,” said Rep. Ike Skelton, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.