New US Covert Operations In Iran

[HuskyCaucasian]

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07...07fa_fact_hersh

 

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country's religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program.

 

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. United States Special Operations Forces have been conducting cross-border operations from southern Iraq, with Presidential authorization, since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of "high-value targets" in the President's war on terror, who may be captured or killed. But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded, according to the current and former officials. Many of these activities are not specified in the new Finding, and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature.

 

Under federal law, a Presidential Finding, which is highly classified, must be issued when a covert intelligence operation gets under way and, at a minimum, must be made known to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and the Senate and to the ranking members of their respective intelligence committees--the so-called Gang of Eight. Money for the operation can then be reprogrammed from previous appropriations, as needed, by the relevant congressional committees, which also can be briefed.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[Balta1701]

Here's my biggest problem with this. Sy Hersch has been, as far as I can tell, saying "we're about to invade Iran" for at least 3+ years, since like 2005. Whether he's kept it from happening or not, he's been wrong for like 3 years in a row. Why should I buy this story now?

[EvilMonkey]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/29/s...w_n_109818.html

I guess it isn't that covert then, is it?

[Gregory Pratt]

Here's my biggest problem with this. Sy Hersch has been, as far as I can tell, saying "we're about to invade Iran" for at least 3+ years, since like 2005. Whether he's kept it from happening or not, he's been wrong for like 3 years in a row. Why should I buy this story now?

 

It's not.

[Reddy]

I guess it isn't that covert then, is it?

my reaction as well... lol

[KipWellsFan]

The article's not really about predicting that the U.S. is going to go to war with Iran. In fact this article seems to argue that it's unclear what the U.S. will be doing. It even says that Robert Gates told Democrats that bombing Iran is the wrong move. The article is more focused on the covert ops in Iran. And it seems pretty convincing that they ARE occuring. Why else would Jack Sheehan say the secrecy of their details was a main reason why William Fallon resigned as Centcom commander?