The Associated Press, May 23, 2008 (excerpts) – The acting commander of the U.S. Central Command on Thursday compared the Iranian influence being spread throughout the Middle East with the terrorist network of al-Qaida.
Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey said the Iranians have to be dealt with directly in Iraq, where they influence Shiite militias fighting U.S. forces.
But elsewhere in the region, the policy may be one of trying to outspend the Iranians as they provide financial assistance to fledging groups, he said.
Dempsey, the senior U.S. commander of forces in the Middle East, spoke to graduates of the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies the same day the U.S. Senate began confirmation hearings for Gen. David Petraeus, Dempsey’s designated replacement at Centcom.
“We’re dealing with a network of activities. That’s exactly analogous to what we face with al-Qaida,” Dempsey said. “When you confront a network, you have to be a network.”
Dempsey said the United States and its allies must be willing to deal with the Iranians along their network, be it financially or through communications.
He said there were irreconcilable differences with the Iranians, including their hatred of Israel, their pursuit of nuclear power and efforts to turn Iraq into a surrogate.