Sticking with the claims that the Iranian government is directly responsible for attacks by Shi’ite militias inside Iraq, Admiral Michael Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that the US won’t “sit idly by” and allow such attacks to continue.
At the same time, Mullen reported that attacks from the militias have actually declined recently. Though this was likely a function of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s admonishment to followers not to attack US troops until December, Mullen seemed convinced this was because of threats he and Leon Panetta made in the past.
“They have been warned about continuing it,” Mullen insisted, though since he and the rest of the administration’s leadership are constantly threatening to attack Iran for myriad reasons it is unclear if this actually registered as a warning or simply the usual background noise of US-Iranian relations.
A secondary topic during his remarks to Congress was the prospect of the US actually withdrawing from Iraq, as mandated, at the end of December. Mullen’s comments, characteristic of the administration, were “we just don’t know.”
