'Hawkish' US eyeing expansion of covert action 'to thwart Iranian influence in Iraq'

Washington, Sept 6(ANI): American military commanders and intelligence officers are pushing for greater authority to conduct covert operations to thwart Iranian influence in neighbouring Iraq, according to US officials.

The move comes amid growing concern in the Obama administration about Iran's attempts in recent months to expand its influence in Iraq and the broader Middle East, and what it says is Tehran's increased arms smuggling to its allies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Iranian officials have, however, repeatedly denied that they have played any role in arming militants in Iraq or worked to destabilize other Arab nations, and Tehran has claimed that the US has levelled charges of arms smuggling to justify a continued American military presence, the report said.

If the White House approves the request, the authorisation for the covert activity in Iraq likely would take the form of a classified presidential "finding," but unlike the secret order that authorized the Central Intelligence Agency's campaign against al Qaeda in 2001, the current proposal is limited in scope, officials said.

If the presidential finding for an expansion of covert action is approved, and if some special operations forces remain in Iraq, they could be assigned to operate temporarily under the CIA authority, the report said.

Special operations forces would have the ability to carry out risky capture-or-kill missions that the CIA may not be able to conduct on its own, the report added.

The US and Iranian competition for influence in Iraq is part of an attempt by both countries to preserve their interests in the Middle East amid a reordering of interests under the Arab Spring revolutions, Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was quoted as saying.

"From a U.S. viewpoint, containing Iran is critical and our strategic relationship with Iraq is critical. This is one set of moves in a much more complicated chess game," Dr. Cordesman said.

In part, the proposal for new covert operations reflects a more hawkish attitude towards Iran within the Obama administration's reshuffled national security team, the report noted, adding that Leon Panetta, the former CIA director now leading the Pentagon, has pressed Iraq to deal more forcefully with the threat from Iran. (ANI)