Military officials clarifying Gen. Odierno’s claim about Iran

Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Force -- Iraq, shown addressing the media after assuming command in Baghdad in September, has accused Iran of meddling in U.S.-Iraqi negotiations on a SOFA deal


Military officials clarifying Gen. Odierno’s claim about Iran
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, October 17, 2008

Reacting to criticism by the Iraqi government, U.S. military officials in Baghdad are clarifying a claim by the top U.S. commander in the country that Iran was attempting to bribe Iraqi officials to prevent the passage of a troop-basing agreement.

In an interview with The Washington Post earlier this week, Gen. Ray Odierno was quoted as saying "there are intelligence reports" suggesting Iranians are "coming in to pay off people to vote against" the Status of Forces Agreement being negotiated by Iraq and the U.S.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. command in Baghdad issued a statement titled "Iranians linked to attempt to bribe Iraqi officials."

The statement read, in part, "(Multi-National Force—Iraq) further clarified that this is no way infers that any Iraqi government officials accepted bribes."

It included a quote attributed to MNF-I spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, saying, "the Council of Representatives members work hard to represent and serve the Iraqi people performing an honorable, critical role in building the new Iraq."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58198