image of Austrian sniper rifle, available by mail order
The US has planted another anonymous story about Iran, this in the British press, and it seems to be bullshit.
The UK Daily Telegraph is one of the outlets running this story about Austrian sniper rifles bought by Iran in 2005 now showing up in large numbers in Iraq, and killing American soldiers. The story has gotten into the WS Journal, the great rightwing noise machine, talk radio and elsewhere that this is more evidence of Iran killing our troops. However, as usual, when this kind of story is scrutinized, it looks to be mostly bullshit:
From Stratfor:
Editor’s Note: In our ongoing investigation of the presence of Steyr HS.50 sniper rifles in Iraq, we have been unable to confirm an initial report that any of the specific weapons referred to in the following analysis have, in fact, turned up in the country. We will continue to examine this issue.
Furthermore, the German press reports:
Franz Holzschuh, Steyr-Mannlicher’s new owner, said he had no evidence that the rifles in question were produced by his company. So far, there had been none of the official inquiries common in such cases, he told the Austrian Press Agency.
Looking carefully at the Wall St. Journal piece, one can note:
It remains to be confirmed whether the serial numbers on the Steyrs found in Iraq match those from the 2004 sale–
c
Here is the Daily Telegraph/plant story, with anonymous sourcing, vague descriptons, and Bush terminology:
Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids. The guns were part of a shipment of 800 rifles that the Austrian company, Steyr-Mannlicher, exported legally to Iran last year.
Also in the story is a link to an audio:
Audio: Revelation makes US action against Iran more likely, says Thomas Harding
Stratfor, whose editorial disclaimer is quoted above, had also published the planted story in form similar to the Daily Telegraph version, including this snip:
The discovery of the sniper rifles will further encourage those in Washington who want to see Iran’s uranium-enriching facilities destroyed before a nuclear weapon is produced.
but then called bullshit, as previously noted.
Where is all this taking us? Iran seems ready to talk, but Bush doesn’t seem inclined to listen. It’s all so eerily reminiscent of the days before the invasion of Iraq, when many of us still thought that perhaps it was all a bluff. I wonder if in fact Bush doesn’t know what he is going to do…that he will just continue to test the waters of world and US opinion, and get a feeling for the reaction of the leading Democrats, before deciding whether or not he can get away with bombing Iran.
The British involvement in the plot may be crucial. Clearly Bush doesn’t want to go it alone or just with Israel. And Tony Blair will be stepping down this summer. This may be Bush’s last chance for official support from the UK.
Bush and Cheney are sick and irresponsible men, who stop at nothing to pursue their adolescent fantasies of world domination. They refuse to take responsiblity for the disaster in Iraq, still trying to blame it on others, while looking for other countries to devastate. The Congress and the leaders of the Democratic Party must stop them.
In the meantime, the press should be more sophisticated and more responsible in evaluating these anonymous stories emanating from the US Department of Defense, who are just “catapulting propaganda,’ in Bush’s jargon. This stuff is likely to lead us into war, just as faulty reporting did in 2002 and 2003.
UPDATED: Juan Cole has info on this story. See Blogroll.
Frank Rich in the NYTimes thinks the saber rattling may be an attempt to distract the American public:
We know what Mr. Bush wants to distract us from this time: Congressional votes against his war policy, the Libby trial, the Pentagon inspector general’s report deploring Douglas Feith’s fictional prewar intelligence, and the new and dire National Intelligence Estimate saying that America is sending troops into the cross-fire of a multifaceted sectarian cataclysm.
That same intelligence estimate also says that Iran is “not likely to be a major driver of violence” in Iraq, but no matter. If the president can now whip up a Feith-style smoke screen of innuendo to imply that Iran is the root of all our woes in the war — and give “the enemy” a single recognizable face (Ahmadinejad as the new Saddam) — then, ipso facto, he is not guilty of sending troops into the middle of a shadowy Sunni-Shiite bloodbath after all.
The U.S. stance on the military capabilities of Iraqis today is the exact opposite of its position four years ago. Then, Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed Iraqis were technically advanced enough to produce long-range missiles and to be close to producing a nuclear device.
Washington is now saying Iraqis are too backward to produce an effective roadside bomb and must seek Iranian help.
Perhaps most telling of all, from Newsweek:
The upshot is that while the American military is blaming the Quds Force and IRGC for all sorts of misdeeds, the highest officials in the U.S.-backed Iraqi government appear to be buying weapons from them and asking for their help on security issues.
It has been known for some time that weapons provided to Iraqi forces often end up in the hands of insurgents.
Oh, where to buy? if you’ve got $4000 we can put you in one, here.
Over the line, Smokey! 
One correction: al-Sadr’s militia is the Mahdi Army. The Badr Brigade is associated with SCIRI.