Still delusional

When the last American helicopter leaves Baghdad, will Bush still be claiming that al Qaeda is behind the violence in Iraq?

"No question it's tough, no question about it," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of these attacks by al-Qaida, causing people to seek reprisal."

Meanwhile, back in Washington an oddly familiar refrain is being heard. Or rather, it's being promoted, primarily through anonymous sources, via the front page of The New York Times.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 — A senior American intelligence official said Monday that the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shiite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr.

The official said that 1,000 to 2,000 fighters from the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias had been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon. A small number of Hezbollah operatives have also visited Iraq to help with training, the official said.

Iran has facilitated the link between Hezbollah and the Shiite militias in Iraq, the official said. Syrian officials have also cooperated, though there is debate about whether it has the blessing of the senior leaders in Syria.

The intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules set by his agency, and discussed Iran’s role in response to questions from a reporter.

[...]

The claim about Hezbollah’s role in training Shiite militias could strengthen the hand of those in the Bush administration who oppose a major new diplomatic involvement with Iran.

The new American account is consistent with a claim made in Iraq this summer by a mid-level Mahdi commander, who said his militia had sent 300 fighters to Lebanon, ostensibly to fight alongside Hezbollah. “They are the best-trained fighters in the Mahdi Army,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

I don't really doubt that Iran is fully engaged in efforts to keep the U.S. bogged down in Iraq, but if I didn't know any better, I'd suspect someone in the administration is trying to head of the Iraq Study Group recommendations at the pass.

And while I have a lot of admiration for the reporting of Dexter Filkins and Michael Gordon, I wonder why, after paragraph after paragraph of ominous fulminating by administration officials speaking "on condition of anonymity" a lone dissenting voice doesn't appear until midway through the story, and well off the front page.

Some Middle East experts were skeptical about the assessment of Hezbollah’s training role.

“That sound to me a little bit strained,” said Flynt Leverett, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and a Middle East expert formerly on the National Security Council staff. “I have a hard time thinking it is a really significant piece of what we are seeing play out on the ground with the various Shiite militia forces.”

But other specialists found the assessment plausible. “I think it is plausible because Hezbollah is the best in the business, and it enhances their position with Iran, Syria and Iraq,” said Judith Kipper, of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Whatever the case, though, I wish someone would tell preznit what is -- and what is not -- going on in Iraq.