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ANDERSON COOPER: Well, it appears Iran is not just
building up its nuclear program and its military
muscle as we just talked about in the last segment.
One British military commander now says that Iran is
also playing a major role behind the scenes in the
sectarian violence in Iraq, supplying some of the
weapons that are being used against security forces
in Iraq and killing Americans.
CNN's Michael Ware joins us live from Baghdad.
Michael, good to see you. So, British Lieutenant
General Sir Robert Fry said today that there is a
quote, "very clear Iranian role in stoking up
violence inside Iraq." Where is that most evident,
Michael?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, I
mean, really, this is not a new development. I mean,
U.S. military intelligence has been talking about
this for well over a year and a half. I mean, this
very much is a competition in Baghdad for influence
between the United States and Iran. I mean, this is
where the rivalry that you see played out in the
security council over nuclear weapons comes down to
the ground.
I mean, Iranian training, Iranian weaponry, and
technology has been killing British and American
troops here for almost two years. In fact, it was
Iranian Revolutionary Guard that helped develop a
relationship between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
and very particular Shia militia groups here in Iraq,
to introduce the most sophisticated IED or roadside
bomb to Iraq. This is the shaped-charge bomb that
punches through the American tanks.
So we've also seen the Iranians, according to Western
intelligence, play a hand in the sectarian violence,
adding weapons, fueling some of the violence directed
against the Sunnis. Don't forget, too, we see Iranian
intelligence here trying to compete with American
intelligence here. For quite some time there has been
parallel Iraqi intelligence agencies in operation,
one U.S.-backed, and one Iranian-backed.
We now see the Americans through some of its allies
within the Iraqi government, trying to dampen the
Iranian influence in the intelligence field. I mean,
this is the front line in the rivalry in the great
contest, the power play between America and Iran --
Anderson.
COOPER: You know, it's interesting, you've been there
really from the beginning of all of this. How are
things now, today, this week, this month, compared to
last year, two years ago, three years ago? Is it --
you know, from the pictures, from all the reports, it
just seems like it's getting worse. Is that a fair
assessment?
WARE: Well, yes, it is. I mean, there are increasing
levels of violence and there's increasing pressures
on the ordinary Iraqi who is trying to eek out a
life. But also, a lot of this, a lot of these
patterns have been under way for a long time. It's
only now that we're hearing it from the Bush
administration, or that we're only now hearing it
from some of the top generals. They're just
elucidating what a lot of their field commanders have
been saying for a long time.
Essentially, Anderson, we are seeing a great
catastrophe of U.S. foreign policy unfolding.
COOPER: Michael Ware, appreciate you joining us, stay
safe. Michael, Thanks.
The war in Iraq, the war on terror, both political
parties trying to frame these important issues to
their own advantage.