Putting the War on Autopilot

"[H]e replied that Odierno, Petraeus and Fallon 'were all in exactly the same position when it came to their views of Iranian interference inside Iraq.

"'And it is a hard position because what the Iranians are doing was killing American servicemen, and inside Iraq. And so I don't think that there is any difference among them on that issue whatsoever,' he said.

"In testimony to Congress earlier this month, in which he called for an indefinite suspension of a US drawdown of troops when the 2007 surge ends in July, Petraeus highlighted Iran's 'destructive' role in backing armed Shiite 'special groups.'

"'Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq,' he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"Two days later, President George W. Bush declared Al-Qaeda and Iran as 'two of the greatest threats facing America in this new century.'"

Iran Watch

Meanwhile, the anti-Iran public-relations campaign continues apace in Baghdad.

Stephen Farrell and Alissa J. Rubin write in the New York Times: "Nearly three-quarters of the attacks that kill or wound American soldiers in Baghdad are carried out by Iranian-backed Shiite groups, the United States military said Wednesday.

"Senior officers in the American division that secures the capital said that 73 percent of fatal and other harmful attacks on American troops in the past year were caused by roadside bombs planted by so-called 'special groups.'

"The American military uses that term to describe groups trained by Iran that fight alongside the Mahdi Army but do not obey the orders of the militia's figurehead, the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, to observe a cease-fire."

And yet, as I wrote in my April 15 column, Not to Be Trusted: "The Bush administration's latest story line about Iraq -- that Iran is now the primary problem there -- should be greeted with profound skepticism. Not only is it the latest in a series of rationales for U.S. involvement in Iraq, most of which have turned out to be based on flawed intelligence, misrepresentations or outright dishonesty. But there are at least two illegitimate reasons why the White House would want the American public to see Iran as a threat right now."

Hiding the Costs of War

Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post: "Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn't want you to know that.

"The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain. . . .