tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post6270654368553039865..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: A History Of Iranian Weapons Shipments To Iraq, Interview With Arkenstone Blog's Galen WrightJoel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-11455052650036929712013-10-09T17:43:04.637-07:002013-10-09T17:43:04.637-07:00I think there was a lot of knee jerk reactions to ...I think there was a lot of knee jerk reactions to the reports about Iran's role in Iraq by opponents of the war. After the failure to turn up WMD a lot of people just assumed that everything the American government said about Iraq was a lie. Plus there was the assumption that the U.S. wanted to invade Iran next, so all the stories about Iranian backed Special Groups, etc. was rejected. Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-56004678564632993932013-10-09T12:43:10.749-07:002013-10-09T12:43:10.749-07:00This is an excellent piece. I did a lot of weapons...This is an excellent piece. I did a lot of weapons int on the projectiles (107mm, 122mm, 240mm, mortar rounds) back in 2011 but - weirdly - Jane's redacted a bunch of it from the submitted copy. <br /><br />One point that I would slightly push back on: the EFPs were regularly tracked entering Iraq from Iran on small boats and 4x4s, right up to their hides, and then onwards to operational cells. A lot of the data was as close to definitive as you can get but was not released for political and operational security reasons. At some points we did not want to provide smoking gun evidence, partic as nuclear negotiations loomed or as withdrawal from Iraq beckoned. <br /><br /> Interesting to see EFPs still leaking out of hides and being used: one device was used in an intimidation attack the other day in Suq ash-Shuyukh, the old smuggler town in the marshes near Nasiriyah, a notorious den of Badr/AAH/Kataib Hezb EFP distributors and trigger men. <br /><br />I am glad the naysayers from back then have been proven totally wrong. Knowingly exaggerating the risk of WMD in Iraq was wrong: knowingly downplaying the Iranian role in Iraq, partic the EFPs, was also wrong. <br /><br />Michael Knights<br />mknights@washingtoninstitute.orgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-8606606824242356482012-08-11T11:01:13.295-07:002012-08-11T11:01:13.295-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-10752541815464133302012-08-10T23:50:10.714-07:002012-08-10T23:50:10.714-07:00This subject old and obsolete.
What you should wr...This subject old and obsolete.<br /><br />What you should write about A History of Iranian Weapons Shipments to Syrian regime and very close relations isn't more important to you/US today than ever?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com