LDT: Proof Iran is providing weapons in Iraq


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Length: 2:26

LOU DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.

Tonight, the clearest evidence so far that the government of Iran is fueling the insurgency in Iraq. A senior U.S. military official says Iran has given insurgents some of Iran's most sophisticated military technology. The officials said those weapons include the same type of missiles and rockets that Iran has supplied Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is firmly rejecting a report by a former Halliburton employee that American soldiers abandoned a civilian convoy while under fire in Iraq. The military says the troops did not leave that scene. The soldiers actually helped save the lives of civilian contractors.

Michael Ware tonight reports from Baghdad on Iran's increasing efforts to destabilize Iraq. Jamie McIntyre reports from the Pentagon on the military's strong defense of its conduct during that convoy attack. And Bill Schneider reports from Washington on a new opinion poll showing a rising number of Americans that now believe the war in Iraq is going badly. We turn first to Michael Ware -- Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, while much attention focuses on Al Qaeda here in Iraq, U.S. military intelligence officials have also pointed to the rising influence -- and interference, they say -- of Iran in Iraq. This is the other great dynamic behind the war.

Many people believe while Al Qaeda may be the front line, it is the U.S. contest behind the scenes with Iran, which will really decide the ultimate fate of Iraq and the U.S. mission. A senior coalition military intelligence official has disclosed further evidence of what he says is Iranian interference with the provision of weapons.

For example, the U.S. military intelligence officials says packages of C-4 explosives that have appeared and been seized here in Iraq can be traced to a fishing vessel that was picked up by the Israeli defense force, en route to Lebanon, delivering what he says was Iranian provided explosives to Hezbollah, some of the same batch showing up here.

Also, again, we hear that Iran has been providing the special requirements for the most lethal roadside bomb here in Iraq. This is all part of an Iranian policy, U.S. intelligence officials say, to increasingly dominate and influence Iraq through the use of surrogate political forces and military forces -- Lou.

DOBBS: Michael Ware reporting tonight from Baghdad.