AFP: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ruled out Friday US cross-border raids in Iran or Syria in pursuit of networks smuggling arms and foreign fighters into Iraq.
WASHINGTON, Jan 12, 2007 (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ruled out Friday US cross-border raids in Iran or Syria in pursuit of networks smuggling arms and foreign fighters into Iraq.
Iranians have been captured twice in operations in Iraq over the past couple of weeks, said General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified with Gates before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Gates said President George W. Bush’s vow in a major strategy speech Wednesday to attack networks supplying arms and fighters from Iran and Syria was not referring to cross-border operations.
His speech, he said, “I believe refers strictly to operations inside the territory inside Iraq — not crossing the border.”
Pace concurred.
“From a military standpoint, no need to cross the Iranian border,” he said.
“We can track down, and are tracking down, have added resources to going after the networks in Iraq regardless of where they are coming providing tools to kill our troops,” he said.
