User:Ghnexus

Qais Khazali
The name Qais Khazali appears on pagefour and is referenced on pages four and five of the Kyl-Leibeman Amendment, passed by The United States Senate on September 26, 2007.

The Amendment states in lines 15-25 on page 4:

"(9)General David Petraeus stated on September 12, 2007, with respect to evidence of the complicity of Iran in the murder of members of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq that "{t}he evidence is very, very clear. We captured it when we captured Qais Khazali, the Lebanese Hezbollah deputy commander, and others, and it's in black and white ... interrogated these individuals. We have on tape ... Qais Khazali himself. When asked, could have done what you have done without Iranian support, he literally throws up his hands and laughs ..." ,

and in lines 1-24 on page 5:

"... and says, of course not ... So they told us about the amounts of money that they have received. They told us about the training that they received.  They told us about the ammunition and sophisticated weaponry and all of that that they received.". (10)General Petraeus further stated on September 14, 2007, that "{w}hat we have got is evidence. This is not intelligence.  This is evidence, off computers that we captured, documents and so forth ... In one case, a 22-page document that lays out the planning, reconnaissance, rehearsal, conduct, and aftermath of the operation conducted that resulted in the death of five of our soldiers in Karbala back in January". (11)The Department of Defense report to Congress entitled "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" and released on September 18, 2007, consistent with section 9010 of Public Law 109-289, states that "{t}here has been no decrease in Iranian training and funding of illegal Shi'a militias in Iraq that attack Iraqi and Coalition forces and civilians ... Tehran's support for these groups is one of the greatest impediments to progress on reconciliation".

It has been reported on both the Time and CNN websites that in a raid on the Karbala Provincial headquarters(Karbala provincial headquarters raid)  on "January 20, 2007", "nine to twelve fighters wearing U.S.-style military uniforms slipped onto a U.S.-Iraqi base in Karbala, Iraq. driving sport utility vehicles, apparently duping guards at the gate. Once inside, the gunmen opened fire and threw grenades, killing one American soldier before seizing four others and speeding away.".

It has been reported that "Iraqi police (later) found abandoned vehicles and equipment near the Iraqi town of Al-Mahawil. Three soldiers were dead at the scene, and a fourth one died en routed to a hospital.".

The U.S. Military announced the arrests of Qais Khazali and his brother Laith Khazali and several other members of "the Khazali network" in connection with this incident on March 22, 2007.

It has been reported that Qais Khazali had been "a protege of Moqtada al-Sadr in 2005 and 2005".

It has been reported that Qais Khazali "was known as a spokesman for Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement in 2004 in Baghdad's Sadr City.".

It has been reported that "Qais Khazali has not been seen in public since late 2004.".

It has been reported that U.S. Military investigators have been interrogating Qais Khazali since his arrest.

It has been reported that these Investigators say that Qais Khazali has been working closely with the Qods Force.

General Petraeus has been quoted as saying:

"This is the head of the secret cell network.".

"They were provided substantial funding, training on Iranian soil, advance explosive munitions and technologies as well as run-of-the-mill arms and ammunition, in some cases advice, and in some cases even a degree of direction.".

Petraeus has said that "Khazali's cell members kept detailed records of the Karbala attack and other operations, presumably to show Quds financiers and trainers.".

General Petraeus has been quoted as saying:

"There are numerous documents which detailed a number of different attacks on coalition forces, and our sense is that these records were kept so that they could be handed in to whoever it is that is financing them. And there's no question, again, that Iranian financing is taking place through the Quods Force of the Revoltionary Gurads,(or -Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution)

General Petraeus has been quoted as saying:

"This is speculation, but I think it is fairly logical speculation. We think that records are kept so that the individuals that carry out these attacks can demonstrate what they're doing to those who are providing the resources to them, providing the additional funding, training, arms, ammunition, advanced technologies and so forth.".

It has also been reported, however, that:

"The meaning of the evidence uncovered thus far in the Karbala investigation remains unclear. Connecting the dots one way creates a picture of an elite cell of Iraqi militants working cloesly with Iranian intelligence and potentially the Mahdi Army, tapping into a guerilla network of operatives and training camps stretching, in theory, from Baghdad to Tehran.  Arrange the evidence another, and Khazali looks like a rogue militant leader whose ties to Quds Force of the Mahdi Army could be simply transactional business dealings.".

General Petraeus has publically acknowledged that "evidence directly linking the Quds Force to the Karbala attacks is so far inconclusive.".

General Petraeus has also been quoted as saying:

"We just can't confirm it. I can't say it wasn't there either.  But we did not find, if you will, a direct fingerprint to it.".

This CNN article contains a 2004 photo purported to be of Qais Khazali. --Ghnexus 23:45, 17 October 2007 (UTC) --Ghnexus 01:17, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Ghnexus 03:02, 18 October 2007 (UTC)