Reply With QuoteWASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has ordered US soldiers in Iraq to "go after" Iranian operatives providing weapons or other aid to insurgents there, a senior US official said.
The official spoke after the Washington Post, citing top US counter-terrorism sources, reported that US forces had been authorized to kill or capture Iranian intelligence officers and members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe stopped just short of confirming the report, saying that Bush had "made a policy decision that our troops should be able to protect themselves."
A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the outlines of the Post report and stressed: "The most important job is to protect US troops on the ground and prevent Iran from meddling in Iraqi affairs."
"If we get information about Iranian agents or networks operating inside of Iraq and actively providing weapons or support to insurgents, we are going to go after them," the official said.
"Over the fall, we were receiving additional information indicating Iranians were becoming more and more involved," the official added.
But the official dismissed as "not accurate" the Post's report that for more than a year US forces have been secretly holding dozens of suspected Iranian agents for up to four days in a "catch and release" policy.
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I'm assuming our soldiers will have weapons..but will confirm later.
CC
What about the saudis??
