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Length: 4:53
SUZANNE MALVEAUX: U.S.
officials say the arrest of a top Hezbollah special
operations officer has yielded evidence at last of
something they had suspected all along -- a new
foreign terror threat in Iraq.
What does the new information mean for the
coalition's mission in Iraq?
Michael Ware now joining us from Baghdad.
Thank you so much.
Now, we have heard about Al Qaeda in Iraq. We've also
heard about Sunni insurgents and Shia militia.
You have now broken the story that there are
Hezbollah now inside of Iraq.
Tell us about their presence and what kind of
operations are you seeing.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now,
Suzanne, the presence of Lebanese Hezbollah inside
Iraq is unquantifiable. Obviously, this is happening
out there in the hazy ether of the cloak and dagger
world of this war. These are men who are well trained
in the tradecraft of espionage and spying and not
being found.
But what the U.S. military is saying is that based on
what they've learned from their arrest of a senior
Lebanese Hezbollah special operations commander here
in Iraq, is that Hezbollah is doing a number of
things.
Firstly, they're here in an advisory capacity. The
U.S. military says they know for a fact that
Hezbollah is helping train Iraqi paramilitaries
inside Iran. What's long been rumored but never
proven until now, is that they're actually crossing
the border with some of these paramilitaries and
guiding and training and assisting their operations.
Now, those operations are part of a broad program and
include the use of deadly roadside bombs known as the
EFP, or explosively formed projectile that punches
through American battle tanks with ease. Kidnapping
-- just like Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers to
spark the Lebanese war, we can -- the U.S. military
can link this commander to the attempted kidnap of
five American soldiers in January, which
unfortunately ended with their deaths.
So Hezbollah is part of a broad-ranging program run
by Iran focused on these anti-coalition activities.
MALVEAUX: So, Michael, let's talk about the strength
of Hezbollah. You're saying, obviously, they have the
support of the Iranians.
We saw, of course, in Lebanon the fighting taking on
the Israelis, essential beating them in that war.
What do you think that they are capable of doing to
American soldiers in Iraq?
WARE: Well, they're eminently capable of making an
impact, particularly at this crucial time. Now, we
know this fellow has been in and out of Iraq for over
a year -- for about a year before he was captured. So
-- and it's long been said that their presence
predates that.
What we know is that they're small in number, but
these are the masters of guerrilla warfare in this
region -- trained by the Iranians, but hardened in
the fires of battle against the Israelis. They're
experts in this particular type of Iranian roadside
bomb that's having such an impact here. They're
experts in the kind of operations Iran wants its
Iraqi proxy paramilitaries to carry out.
And essentially what Iran is doing is trying to put
the pressure on America. It knows the domestic
timetable. It knows General Petraeus is going to face
Congress in September. So it wants to skew his
figures for that as much as possible. Their foot is
on the accelerator -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And, Michael, let's talk about that
deadline, that assessment in September.
As you know, General Petraeus and others are going to
be looking at that.
From what you can tell, in two months or so, what do
you think that so-called U.S. surge is going to
produce?
WARE: Well, it's really, truly a mixed bag. Certainly
in some areas, the figures are down. For example,
according to the Ministry of Interior here in Iraq,
albeit a less than a reliable source in the past, it
has accounted that civilian deaths this month are the
lowest they've been all year -- 700 down on last
month; just over 1,200 this month, down from 1,900
last month. That's a good figure.
But American deaths, for example, continue to stay
high, hitting triple figures. So we're not seeing any
dip in that.
Now, the Americans would say that's because our boys
are in the field and they're in the line of fire. But
that's also because, according to the second most
powerful general here in Iraq, as Lieutenant General
Odierno said, our enemies are surging, as well. So
they're trying to dilute the results.
At the end of the day, General Petraeus is going to
have a big mix of conflicting data. He's going to
have a host of conflicting opinions coming at him
from everywhere. And when he goes back to tell
America what's possible, he's really going to have to
go on his gut. He's not going to deliver a miracle.
The best he can say is, "We see signs it could work,
give us more time."
MALVEAUX: Okay, Michael Ware, thank you so much, from
Baghdad, joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
WARE: Thanks, Suzanne.