I hated this show the first time around, and it's no better in reruns:
After weeks of internal debate, senior United States military officials today literally put on the table their first public evidence for the contentious assertion that Iran is supplying Shiite extremist groups in Iraq with deadly weaponry, including a roadside bomb that pierces American armor.
Those officials spread out on two small tables during a news briefing an array of mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades with visible serial numbers that the officials said link the weapons directly to Iranian arms factories. But by far the most potent item on display was a squat canister designed to explode and spit out a molten ball of copper that cuts through armor. That bomb is perhaps the most feared weapon faced by American and Iraqi troops here....
Here are the parts of the article I found least encouraging:
The officials... insisted on anonymity as a condition of the briefing.
Why? Are these whistleblowers? In what way? If this is an official US Government revelation, why the anonymity? Is this a viral marketing campaign or a news conference?
The press did, to their credit, wonder about this also:
During the briefing, the senior United States military officials were repeatedly pressed on why they insisted on anonymity in such an important matter affecting the security of American and Iraqi troops. A senior military official said that without anonymity, for example, the military analyst could not have contributed to the briefing.
Oh. That, one might note, is not actually an answer.
More fun tidbits:
Because the elite Qods Force is involved, a senior military analyst said, the American intelligence community believes that the weapons shipments have been approved at “the highest levels of the Iranian government.” Still, no direct evidence was presented of how the intelligence community has made that link.
Oh well. Close enough, bombs away.
In further news, it was reported that the elite Qods Force troops were dressed in Polish Army uniforms and were said to have as their objective the capture of a small radio station.