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Politics

Bush accuses Iran, denies push for war

The president says weapons used against U.S. troops came from Iran, but stops short of saying the Iranian government is involved.

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - Questioned on the accuracy of U.S. intelligence, President Bush said Wednesday there is no doubt the Iranian government is providing armor-piercing weapons to kill American soldiers in Iraq. But he stopped short of saying the top echelon of Iran's government was responsible.

As the House entered its second day of debate over the Iraq war, the president dismissed claims that he was heading down the same road with Iran that he did with Iraq four years ago.

At his first news conference since announcing plans to send more troops to Iraq, Bush said he sees fresh progress in Baghdad and warned Congress not to cut off money or set timetables for withdrawal.

The president spent much of the hourlong televised session in the East Room addressing questions regarding Iran and the possibility of a widening regional conflict.

"The idea that somehow we're manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing (explosives) is preposterous," Bush said.

Repeating a reporter's question, he said: "Does this mean you're trying to have a pretext for war? No. It means I'm trying to protect our troops."

There have been mixed signals in the administration about Iran's involvement in supplying Shiite groups in Iraq with a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb known as explosively formed penetrators.

Three senior U.S. military officials, at a weekend briefing in Baghdad, said the highest levels of the Iranian government had ordered the weapons smuggled into Iraq. They based their statements on the belief the weapons are moving into Iraq through the Iran's Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force.

But Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said later he was not ready to conclude that Iran's top leaders were behind the attacks. Some lawmakers also have questioned the administration's statements.

Wading into the debate, Bush said the Quds Force was instrumental in supplying the weapons - "we know that," he said - and that the Quds Force was part of the Iranian government. "That's a known," he said. "What we don't know is whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Quds Force to do what they did."

Pressed again on the subject, Bush displayed irritation and said, "Whether (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad ordered the Quds Force to do this, I don't think we know. But we do know that they're there and I intend to do something about it. And I've asked our commanders to do something about it. And we're going to protect our troops."

Ahmadinejad has denied Iran was behind the attacks.

The administration has long said Iran has been fomenting trouble in Iraq, but the issue has taken on new urgency in recent weeks as Bush dispatched an additional aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf and confirmed orders to capture or kill Iranian agents caught in Iraq. Democrats have said Bush is exaggerating the situation to justify new military action.

Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee emerged from a classified briefing Wednesday saying they wanted more information about Iran.

The committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, said it was unclear to him what the administration knows about the Tehran government's ties to the weapons found in Iraq.

"There seems to be some disarray," said Levin, D-Mich. He said he eventually hopes to see some declassified information on the subject.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., the early Democratic presidential front-runner, went to the Senate floor after Bush's news conference to insist that he ask Congress for permission before attacking Iran. "It would be a mistake of historical proportion if the administration thought that the 2002 resolution authorizing force against Iraq was a blank check for the use of force against Iran without further congressional authorization," she said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., urged colleagues to block the troop increase.

"This stubborn refusal to face reality has led this administration into blunder after blunder in Iraq and is now behind the president's misguided plan to send American troops into the crossfire," he said.

Bush came into Wednesday's news conference after receiving a briefing from Baghdad by Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Bush said that he talked with Petraeus about coordination between Iraqi and coalition forces and that while it seemed to be good, more work was needed on developing an efficient command-and-control structure.

Bush responded carefully when asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin's accusations Saturday that the United States was undermining global security and provoking a nuclear arms race. The depth of Putin's criticism surprised U.S. officials.

Bush said Putin was "the same strong-willed person" he has known since 2001 and there is a "complicated relationship" between Washington and Moscow.

On other matters, Bush said:

-The agreement announced Tuesday to shut down North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for fuel assistance was "a good first step." He said he strongly disagreed with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton that it was a bad deal.

-He will not comment on the 2008 presidential race. "I will resist all temptation to become the pundit-in-chief."

-He will not comment on whether he authorized members of his administration to leak the identity of Valerie Plame, a one-time CIA officer whose husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, criticized the administration's case for the Iraq war. Bush declined to say whether he might pardon I. Lewis "Scooter Libby, the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Information from the Washington Post, New York Times and Associated Press was used in this report.

"I believe an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be very dangerous for world peace. ... The message to the Iranian people is that: Your leaders are making decisions that are isolating you in the world, thereby denying you a brighter future."

"Does this mean you're trying to have a pretext for war? No. It means I'm trying to protect our troops. That's what that means. And that's what the family members of our soldiers expect the commander in chief and those responsible for - responsible for our troops on the ground.

And we'll continue to do so."

[Last modified February 15, 2007, 01:32:31]