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WOLF BLITZER: Iran's Revolutionary Guards became
targets today. A car packed with explosives blew up
near a bus carrying members of that elite force.
State media say 11 people were killed, 31 were
wounded. The attack took place in a lawless area near
the Pakistani border.
A militant group tied to al Qaeda reportedly claimed
responsibility. Government officials blame insurgents
and drug traffickers for that attack.
Iraq's neighbors are upping the ante in a high stakes
effort to shape the future of the region.
But are they fighting a war by proxy?
And joining us now, our correspondent in Baghdad,
Michael Ware -- Michael, we've heard a lot about
Iranian influence in Iraq.
But what about the Saudis? What are they up to?
There have been reports the Saudis are shipping
truckloads of cash into the Al-Anbar Province, to
funnel some of that money to the Sunnis.
What's going on?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as the
Iraqi prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, himself
pointed out, essentially everyone in this region has
a stake in the game that is called the war in Iraq.
And that includes Saudi Arabia.
Now, Saudi Arabia, like most of the Sunni Arab
states, which just so happen to be America's allies,
warned before the invasion and in the immediate
aftermath and at every possible opportunity since
about the rise of Iranian-backed expansion.
Now, we've come to see that come to pass.
So what we're now seeing is the Saudi government in a
difficult position. It needs to protect its interests
without betraying the American alliance.
We're seeing it fund Sunni tribes because, don't
forget, there is a massive land border that Saudi
Arabia shares. And these tribal allegiances cross
that border, which to them mean nothing.
Don't forget, also, there's a lot of Gulf Oil money
-- not coming from the governments, but from rich
donors -- that is going to al Qaeda. Much of the
money that went to Osama bin Laden now goes to Al
Qaeda In Iraq.
These donors want to see their money at work and they
believe they see that in the Jihad here in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia hosts the Baath Party, essentially. It
launders and filters their money through its
financial system.
So there's all sorts of money pouring in here, not
just Iranian.
BLITZER: Is some of that money, the end result of it
being the death of American troops?
WARE: Well, by and large that's the point of it,
Wolf. I mean some of the money that's being outlayed
-- and, of course, I stress as far as we're aware,
none of it is official. This is not governments
acting overtly. This is all private and behind the
scenes.
But some of it is strategic. It's to shore up
friendly sheikhs. It's to secure power bases. It's to
maintain alliances. But then again, a lot of it is to
arm the fight.
Now, that fight used to be solely against the
American forces and, to a lesser degree, the Brits.
But now it also includes funding the civil war. And
I've got to tell you, nationalists, Baathists,
Jihadi, al Qaeda -- it's hard for me to find a Sunni
insurgent group that is short of cash. Certainly none
of them are short of weapons -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Button up for us, Michael, the Muqtada
al-Sadr story. U.S. officials insist he's now in
Iran, that he's left Iraq. You've covered this guy
for a long time.
Is it your sense he's afraid of the United States
right now and that's why he may have headed over to
Iran?
WARE: I think it's impossible to tell, Wolf.
But Muqtada is not a fellow who has shown any great
fear of the U.S. military. Don't forget, his forces
engaged the might of the U.S. Army at least three
times in 2004. And at best, you've got to say it came
out a draw. It certainly made him into the, you know,
folkloric superhero that he is today.
And there's a lot of buffers between him and the U.S.
military. And, of course, he's got a lot of Iranian
friends. We've heard President Bush talk about the
Quds force. Well, the Quds force have their talons
into Muqtada, as well, not quite as much as they have
into other groups, but Muqtada receives Iranian
support as much as anyone else.
The fact that, is he in the country or out of the
country?
Honestly, we can't answer that. Muqtada himself will
have to answer that when he finally pops up.
But he's gone to Iran many, many times. It doesn't
mean that he's taken flight. And, indeed, if he has
taken flight, most likely it's to get away from
internal Shia militia rivals.
BLITZER: Michael Ware reporting for us from Baghdad.
Michael, thanks.
WARE: Thank you, Wolf.