On Iran, EFPs, Diplomacy, and Saber-Rattling

Irritated Vet brings up an excellent point in commenting on this post about Iran providing weapons, money, and training to extremist militias inside Iraq, but we should not advocate a full scale military conflict. I absolutely agree as we should exercise proper diplomacy at all costs to avoid unnecessary loss of life. However, to approach the dialogue surrounding future foreign policy decisions, we need to set the facts straight with some of our fellow bloggers.

Anyone who has spent time in Iraq, particularly the Shiite-dominated areas in the south or in Baghdad, probably knows the fear of traveling on the road waiting for the hot molten slug of an EFP to come tearing through the armor of your vehicle. Many also know the horrifying "low-flying jet" sound of an incoming rocket. Tragically all EFPs and many of the deadliest rockets have been publicly disclosed by the military to be exported straight from Iran. We have lost a lot of brothers and sisters to these attacks. Unfortunately, some folks still seem to think it's some kind of Bush/Cheney conspiracy to drum up support for a full-scale conflict! Ms. Majorie Cohn at Huffingon Post demonstrates in her piece "Preventing War with Iran":

As Bush and Cheney try to whip us into a frenzy about the dangers Iran poses, their argument comes up short... They say Iran is sending deadly weapons into Iraq to kill U.S. troops, but those devices can be manufactured in any Iraqi machine shop.

Ms. Cohn, I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but seized 240mm rockets and EFPs have been displayed to the press in Iraq with distinct Iranian markings. There are a lot of good arguments concerning our strained relations with Iran, but let's keep it honest. I am not "saber rattling", since as a junior officer, I have no place making foreign policy decisions; however, I find it my duty to discuss the reality of the situation at hand. We all know where misused intelligence got us in 2003, let's set the record straight this time around.