Click
photo to play
Length: 3:54
WOLF BLITZER: In Iraq
today, a carefully coordinated slaughter. Insurgents
attacked Shiite pilgrims as they traveled to the holy
city of Karbala. The attacks began in the morning
with a roadside bomb in a Baghdad neighborhood. Then,
like clockwork, at 15 minute intervals, bombings and
shootings throughout Baghdad and its suicide bombers.
There were more attacks in the afternoon, the worst
at 4:15, when two suicide bombers blew themselves up
among a crowd of pilgrims in the town of Hillah.
That's 25 miles east of Karbala. Ninety-three people
were killed there. About 150 were wounded.
Pilgrims are heading to Karbala on foot for
Saturday's Shiite holy day marking the end of a
traditional mourning period.
A rising toll for American troops in Iraq, as well.
The U.S. military today announced the deaths of at
least nine American soldiers in a pair of bombings
yesterday in areas north of Baghdad. Four others were
wounded.
All this comes amid an apparent setback for U.S.
intelligence efforts in Iraq.
And joining us now in Baghdad, our correspondent,
Michael Ware. Michael, you've been doing some
exclusive reporting on this competition between the
U.S. and Iranian intelligence services in Iraq.
What are you picking up?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what
it's coming down to now is the long-term victory in
terms of intelligence here in Iraq.
What's at stake, Wolf, is the dominance of the Iraqi
intelligence community. What we're seeing now is the
Iraqi government, which U.S. military intelligence
and Western intelligence claims is heavily dominated
by political factions with ties to Iranian
intelligence, trying to reset the landscape.
Just as you have in the United States with the CIA,
the FBI, the DIA, a myriad of intelligence agencies,
so you have here in Iraq. But there's legislation
that's about to go before the Iraqi parliament that
essentially will gut the CIA's influence here within
the Iraqi community.
BLITZER: Who's winning right now, the CIA or the
Iranian intelligence community, in terms of
influencing events in Iraq?
WARE: Right now, you would have to argue that it's a
tie, although politically one would say that Tehran
has much more sway here in Baghdad than Washington
does, among the intelligence community, it's still up
for grabs.
BLITZER: But you're saying the long-term impact for
the U.S. is not good.
It is good, though, for Iran?
WARE: Absolutely, Wolf.
What we're seeing is a complete resetting of the
landscape. And as it stands right now, if these laws
pass through parliament -- a parliament dominated by
Iraqi Shia political factions that Western
intelligence claims are linked to Iranian
intelligence -- then completely Tehran will have the
advantage.
While America invaded Iraq, removed Saddam,
established what it calls a democratic government and
the intelligence apparatus that goes with it, what we
are now witnessing, Wolf, is Tehran swooping in and
taking over, dominating the entire intelligence
landscape under the CIA's watch.
BLITZER: A very disturbing picture you paint.
Thanks very much, Michael, for joining us.
WARE: Thank you, Wolf.