Here’s a reality check. While U.S. military and intelligence officials have occasionally suggested that Iran might be supporting Sunni militants, including Al Qaeda in Iraq, they have not publicly provided evidence of it. The two top U.S. commanders in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and his deputy, Gen. Ray Odierno, have not repeated such allegations. U.S. officials said last year they had indications that some Iranian munitions intended for Shiite militias might have ended up in Qaeda hands, but they said there was no hard evidence that this help was deliberate. Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9/11 Commission and a former senior adviser (whose portfolio included Iran) to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, told NEWSWEEK that while there was evidence Iran had contacts with Al Qaeda before 9/11, “I don’t recall anyone telling me of significant evidence linking Iran directly to Al Qaeda in Iraq.” And McCain’s comments? The facts, Zelikow said, “might have gotten embedded in his head in the wrong way.”
