Gareth Porter

The George W. Bush administration recently concluded that the increase in rocket attacks on coalition targets by Shi’ite forces over the summer was a deliberate move by Iran to escalate the war in order to put pressure on the United States to accept Iranian influence in Iraq, according to a senior US government official. The … Continue reading “Have Hawks Won a Round on Iraq Escalation?”

In his prepared statement to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees last week, Gen. David Petraeus claimed that Iran is using the Quds Force to turn Shi’ite militias into a "Hezbollah-like force" to "fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq." But Petraeus then shattered that carefully … Continue reading “Petraeus Helps Destroy Bush’s ‘Proxy War’ Claim”

In sharp contrast to the lionization of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the US Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus’ superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting. … Continue reading “Superior Derided Petraeus as Suck-Up, Opposed the Surge”

Iran’s unexpected agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei to resolve old issues surrounding its nuclear program in less than two months, and the fact that it has installed only two-thirds of the centrifuges previously announced, indicate that Tehran may be positioning itself for another bid for a diplomatic solution. The IAEA … Continue reading “Iran Nuke Moves Hint at Interest in Deal”

Israeli officials warned the George W. Bush administration that an invasion of Iraq would be destabilizing to the region and urged the United States to instead target Iran as the primary enemy, according to former administration official Lawrence Wilkerson. Wilkerson, then a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff and later chief of staff … Continue reading “Source: Israel Told US to Target Iran, Not Iraq”

When a top U.S. commander in Iraq reported last week that attacks by Shi’ite militias with links to Iran had risen to 73 percent of all July attacks that had killed or wounded U.S. forces in Baghdad, he claimed it was because of an effort by Iran to oust the United States from Iraq, referring … Continue reading “US Blames Iran for Casualties from Its Own Attacks”

In hailing what he has called an "almost breathtaking" turnaround in Anbar Province that has weakened al-Qaeda as a triumph for his new military strategy in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus has put a favorable spin on a development which actually challenges the central rationale for continued US military occupation of Iraq. The dramatic change in … Continue reading “Anbar ‘Turnaround’ Undercuts War Rationale”

As US and Iranian diplomats met in Baghdad Tuesday for a second round of talks on Iraq, the domestic US political climate appears decidedly more supportive of an aggressive US posture toward Iran than just a few months ago, reflecting the apparent triumph of the George W. Bush administration’s narrative on Iran’s role in Iraq. … Continue reading “Bush Line Distorts Iran’s Real Interest in Iraq”

The growing crisis over Islamic extremism in Pakistan is drawing attention to the complicity of that country’s military government in the rise of the biggest haven for Islamic terrorism in the world. The issue, which is also linked to the threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan from Taliban bases in Pakistan, is likely to push … Continue reading “Bush’s Shielding of Musharraf at Risk”