Bush defends troops’ order to kill Iranian operatives

WASHINGTON – President Bush on Friday defended a Pentagon program to kill or capture Iranian operatives in Iraq, saying U.S. troops would use all necessary measures to protect themselves and civilians. “It makes sense that if somebody’s trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them,” Bush said in response to a question about the program, the details of which were reported in Friday’s Washington Post.

But Bush and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said U.S. troops would not enter Iran under the program, and the president said he is still committed to resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said U.S. troops must defend themselves in Iraq but that the president needed congressional approval for any program that could “escalate this conflict” with Iran.

Last fall, Bush secretly gave the military authorization to kill or capture members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including members of a Guard unit known as the Quds Force, and any Iranian intelligence operatives suspected of arming or supporting Shiite militias in Iraq.

The policy is based on the theory that Tehran will back down from its nuclear ambitions if the United States hits it hard in Iraq and elsewhere, creating a sense of vulnerability among Iranian leaders. But the policy has attracted some influential skeptics inside Bush administration and the intelligence community who are concerned that Iran could respond with escalation. The director of the CIA, Michael Hayden, counseled the president to consider that Iran could undertake its own program to kill or kidnap U.S. personnel in Iraq or neighboring Afghanistan.

On Friday, the director of the U.N. inspection agency that is monitoring Iran’s nuclear program said Tehran plans to expand its nuclear program significantly in the coming months to begin producing large quantities of uranium. Iranian officials say they intend to produce only low enriched uranium suitable for fueling a nuclear energy program. But the same technology can also produce bomb-grade uranium. Bush said Friday that the Iranian government plans to build nuclear weapons, though his administration has never offered proof.

In Tehran, the chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaoddin Boroujerdi, said Bush’s policy amounts to “terrorist” action that violates international law.

“Such a measure illustrates the failure of the U.S.’ new strategy in Iraq, because it has had no effect in quelling unrests and restoring calm and order and has instead roused intensified reactions in Iraq,” Boroujerdi told the Iranian Fars News Agency.

At a Pentagon news conference Friday, Gates told reporters that U.S. troops were not “simply going to stand by and let people bring sophisticated (improvised explosive devices) into the country that can disable an Abrams tank and give them a free pass.” Gates was referring to roadside bombs that U.S. officials have said are built with components brought into Iraq from Iran.

Gates did not discuss the program’s rules of engagement, but said that U.S. military targeting was limited to Iranians who pose a threat to U.S. troops.