Iran increases its proxy war against the US in Iraq

Michael Gordon:

Attacks on American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb said to be supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, according to the American military.

The devices, known as explosively formed penetrators, were used to carry out 99 attacks last month and accounted for a third of the combat deaths suffered by the American-led forces, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said in an interview.

Such bombs, which fire a semi-molten copper slug that can penetrate the armor on a Humvee and are among the deadliest weapons used against American forces, are used almost exclusively by Shiite militants. American intelligence officials have presented evidence that the weapons come from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, although Iran has repeatedly denied providing lethal assistance to Iraqi groups.

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Though explosively formed penetrators account for a small fraction of roadside bomb attacks in Iraq, they cause a disproportionately large number of casualties.

Of the 69 members of the American-led forces killed in action in July, the lowest toll in months, 23 died as a result of attacks with the devices, according to data supplied by General Odierno’s command. Of the 614 allied troops who were wounded that month, 89 were hit in penetrator attacks.

“July was an all-time high,” said General Odierno, referring to strikes with such devices.

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The July figure is roughly double the number for January. The total for July is also 50 percent higher than in April, when there were 65 penetrator attacks, according to American military officials.

Many of the penetrators faced by American forces are difficult to counter. Because they fire from the side of the road, the militants do not need to dig a hole to plant them, making them well suited for urban use. Because they are set off by a passive infrared sensor, they cannot be thwarted by electronic jamming.

General Odierno said Iran was increasing its support to Shiite militants in Iraq to step up the military pressure on the United States at a time when the Congress is debating whether to withdraw American troops.

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No doubt the Iranians are keen to give Democrats talking points for their desperate desire for defeat in Iraq. If you take out the casualties caused by their weapons the casualty rate for July would have been extremely low for US forces. Iranian weapons are not part of some sectarian civil war. They are part of a proxy war that Iran has been waging against the US since 1979. If the Democrats flee this battlefield, they will only find the US facing the same threat where ever our forces are redeployed. We already know that Iraq is supplying weapons to the Taliban. We should give Iran an ultimatum to stop supplying the weapons or we will destroy their manufacturing facilities.