[THS] Andrew Cockburn: Democrats Okay Funds for Covert Ops

[Peter Webster]

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19858.htm

Democrats Okay Funds for Covert Ops
Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran

By Andrew Cockburn

02/05/08 "Counterpunch" -- - Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a
secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that,
according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope."

Bush’s secret directive covers actions across a huge geographic area – from
Lebanon to Afghanistan – but is also far more sweeping in the type of
actions permitted under its guidelines – up to and including the
assassination of targeted officials.  This widened scope clears the way, for
example, for full support for the military arm of Mujahedin-e Khalq, the
cultish Iranian opposition group, despite its enduring position on the State
Department's list of terrorist groups.

Similarly, covert funds can now flow without restriction to Jundullah, or
"army of god," the militant Sunni group in Iranian Baluchistan – just across
the Afghan border -- whose leader was featured not long ago on Dan
Rather Reports cutting his brother in law's throat.

Other elements that will benefit from U.S. largesse and advice include
Iranian Kurdish nationalists, as well the Ahwazi arabs of south west Iran.
Further afield, operations against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon will be
stepped up, along with efforts to destabilize the Syrian regime.

All this costs money, which in turn must be authorized by Congress, or at
least a by few witting members of the intelligence committees.  That has
not proved a problem.  An initial outlay of $300 million to finance
implementation of the finding has been swiftly approved with bipartisan
support, apparently regardless of the unpopularity of the current war and
the perilous condition of the U.S. economy.

Until recently, the administration faced a serious obstacle to action against
Iran in the form of Centcom commander Admiral William Fallon, who made
no secret of his contempt for official determination to take us to war.  In a
widely publicized incident last January, Iranian patrol boats approached a
U.S. ship in what the Pentagon described as a "taunting" manner.
According to Centcom staff officers, the American commander on the spot
was about to open fire. At that point, the U.S. was close to war.   He
desisted only when Fallon personally and explicitly ordered him not to shoot.
The White House, according to the staff officers, was "absolutely furious"
with Fallon for defusing the incident.

Fallon has since departed.  His abrupt resignation in early March followed
the publication of his unvarnished views on our policy of confrontation with
Iran, something that is unlikely to happen to his replacement, George
Bush's favorite general, David Petraeus.

Though Petraeus is not due to take formal command at Centcom until late
summer,  there are abundant signs that something may happen before
then.  A Marine amphibious force, originally due to leave San Diego for the
Persian Gulf in mid June, has had its sailing date abruptly moved up to May
4.  A scheduled meeting in Europe between French diplomats acting as
intermediaries for the U.S. and Iranian representatives has been abruptly
cancelled in the last two weeks.  Petraeus is said to be at work on a master
briefing for congress to demonstrate conclusively that the Iranians are the
source of our current troubles in Iraq, thanks to their support for the Shia
militia currently under attack by U.S. forces in Baghdad.

Interestingly, despite the bellicose complaints, Petraeus has made little
effort to seal the Iran-Iraq border, and in any case two thirds of U.S.
casualties still come from Sunni insurgents.  "The Shia account for less than
one third," a recently returned member of the command staff in Baghdad
familiar with the relevant intelligence  told me, "but if you want a war you
have to sell it."

Even without the covert initiatives described above, the huge and growing
armada currently on station in the Gulf is an impressive symbol of American
power.

Armed Might of US Marred By Begging Bowl to Arabs

Sometime in the next two weeks, fleet radar operator may notice a blip on
their screens that represents something rather more profound: America's
growing financial weakness. The blip will be former Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin's plane commencing its descent into Abu Dhabi.  Rubin's
responsibility these days is to help keep Citigroup afloat despite a balance
sheet still waterlogged, despite frantic bail out efforts by the Federal
Reserve and others, by staggering losses in mortgage bonds.  The Abu
Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund injected $7.5 billion last November (albeit at
a sub-prime interest rate of eleven percent,) but the bank's urgent need for
fresh capital persists, and Abu Dhabi is where the money is.

Even if those radar operators pay no attention to Mr. Rubin's flight, and the
ironic contrast it illustrates between American military power and financial
weakness, others will, and not just in Tehran.  There's not much a finding
can do about that.

Andrew Cockburn is a regular CounterPunch contributor. He lives in
Washington DC. His most recent book is  Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall and
Catastrophic Legacy.