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Lethal-Force Order Justified, Bush Says
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"But as we've said before, we think we can handle this inside the borders of Iraq, he said.
Gates did not discuss the program's rules of engagement but said that U.S. military targeting of Iranians or any foreign fighters is limited to those who pose a threat to U.S. troops, adding that such practice is not new. "Our forces are authorized to go after those who are trying to kill them," he said. "We are trying to uproot these networks that are planting IEDs that are causing 70 percent of our casualties," he said, adding that "if you are in Iraq and are trying to kill our troops, then you should consider yourself a target."
Gates said he thought yesterday's article in The Post contained "a number of inaccuracies," but he declined to offer examples.
Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said yesterday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that U.S. troops had "found some members of the Quds Force operating within Iraq," and, "We have found weapons within Iraq. . . . We found mortars. We have found detonation wire. So, it's clear . . . either through training or providing weapons systems, they are involved here in Iraq."
Two weeks ago, U.S. forces detained five Iranians during a raid on an Iranian government office in Kurdish northern Iraq. Officials said the office was linked to the Revolutionary Guard.
But Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, contended that the Iranians were working in an Iraq-government-approved liaison office and that the office was set up to become a diplomatic consulate. U.S. officials said they planned to release a report in the coming days detailing the activities of the detained Iranians and their ties to the violence in Iraq.
Bush said yesterday that the United States had no quarrel with the Iranian people, just with the leaders who "end up isolating their people and ends up denying the Iranian people their true place in the world."
In New York yesterday, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the Iranian government's official denial of the Holocaust and condemning a conference in Tehran last month that questioned whether Nazis murdered millions of Jews. The resolution was drafted by the Bush administration and co-sponsored by more than 100 U.N. members.
Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
