"Got to find a link with Iran"

Tomorrow's Observer sheds some further light on the rush to war with Iran. American intelligence officials and interrogators in Iraq, interviewed by reporter David Smith, say that they're under "huge pressure" from Washington to find evidence of links between Iran and captured Iraqi insurgents. The pressure is distorting the way interrogations are conducted, with the goal now being not to discover the truth about the insurgents but instead to find some fuel to throw onto the flames of war.

It's impossible to avoid the parallels with the run-up to the attack upon Iraq.

Micah Brose, a privately contracted interrogator working for American forces in Iraq, near the Iranian border, told The Observer that information on Iran is 'gold'...

Brose, 30, who extracts information from detainees in Iraq, said: 'They push a lot for us to establish a link with Iran. They have pre-categories for us to go through, and by the sheer volume of categories there's clearly a lot more for Iran than there is for other stuff. Of all the recent requests I've had, I'd say 60 to 70 per cent are about Iran.

'It feels a lot like, if you get something and Iran's not involved, it's a let down.' He added: 'I've had people say to me, "They're really pushing the Iran thing. It's like, shit, you know." '

Brose said that reports about Washington's increasingly hawkish stance towards Tehran, including possible military action, chimed with his experience. 'My impression is they're just trying to get every little bit of ammunition possible. If we get something here it fits the overall picture. The engine needs impetus and they're looking for us to find the fuel - a particular type of fuel...

He denied ever being asked to fabricate evidence, adding: 'We're not asked to manufacture information, we're asked to find it. But if a detainee wants to tell me what I want to hear so he can get out of jail... you know what I'm saying.'

Other military intelligence officials in Iraq refused to comment, but one said: 'The message is, "Got to find a link with Iran, got to find a link with Iran." It's sickening.'

The Bush administration's desire to find any evidence to link Iran to attacks on US troops is well known. This report suggests that the word has gone down along the chain of command to beat the bushes until something, anything turns up.

Because starting a new war, rather than understanding the current one, has become the primary goal of intelligence gathering in Iraq today.

A fitting tribute on Veteran's Day, a day of reflection. Or, for George Bush and Dick Cheney, yet another occasion for banging the drums of war.

crossposted from unbossed.com