US KEEPS CHANGING RATIONALE FOR FIGHTING IRAQ WAR

US keeps changing rationale for Iraq war. First ousting Saddam, then countering Al-Qaeda militants, now Iran motivates US war in Iraq. What will it be next week or next month? And nobody ever talks about the elusive WMDs or weapons of mass destruction.

By Laurent Lozano - CRAWFORD, Texas
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25375

The rationale for war in Iraq has morphed from ousting strongman Saddam Hussein to countering Al-Qaeda militants to its latest incarnation - facing down what officials in the administration of President George W. Bush call the Iranian "threat."

"Iraq is the convergence point for two of the greatest threats to America in this new century: Al-Qaeda and Iran," Bush said last week, renewing accusations that the Islamic republic is backing Iraqi militias hostile to US forces and covertly seeking nuclear weapons.

"If we succeed in Iraq after all that Al-Qaeda and Iran have invested there, it would be a historic blow to the global terrorist movement and a severe setback for Iran," he said.

With Saddam dead and Al-Qaeda weakened, according to Bush, Iranian-financed extremists, which top US commander in Iraq David Petraeus has called "special groups," have emerged as a key reason for maintaining US troop levels in Iraq.

"Unchecked, the 'special groups' pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus said last week as he told US lawmakers of military strategy in Iraq for the coming months.

However, exactly what steps the United States may take to counter this "threat" remain unclear, and depend largely on Bush's decisions in his remaining nine months in the White House.

Bush told ABC News that he had no intention of attacking Iran, but vowed to protect US interests and refused to rule out the use of force altogether.

"The message to the Iranians is: we will bring you to justice if you continue to try to infiltrate, send your agents or send surrogates to bring harm to our troops and/or the Iraqi citizens," Bush said.

Asked to elaborate on this "justice," Bush replied: "It means capture or kill, is what that means."
Bush repeated that "all options need to be on the table, but my first effort is to solve this issue diplomatically," and added that he was amused by unfounded rumors of an impending attack.

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