Speaking of Diplomacy - Hizbullah launching rocket attacks in Iraq, directed by Iran's IRGC

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi wing of Hizbullah has been responsible for rocket strikes on Iraqi and U.S. military facilities in the Baghdad area.

Officials said the so-called Hizbullah Brigades were operating in the northwestern part of the Iraqi capital.

Officials said Hizbullah has been aided and directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They said Hizbullah was operating in several cities in central and southern Iraq and was focusing on intelligence, reconnaissance and recruitment.

"They have been given advanced equipment by IRGC to monitor Iraqi and U.S. communications," the official said. "They are very disciplined and potentially very dangerous." "These attacks have been sporadic over the last year," an official said.

Iraqi security forces have reported some success in capturing Hizbullah attackers. On Dec. 16, Iraqi police and military units arrested two suspected Hizbullah operatives in Baghdad believed responsible for anti-government operations.

Officials said the target of the Iraqi security operation was the unnamed chief of a Hizbullah cell responsible for the rocket attacks. They said the attacks aimed at security forces and military installations in and around Baghdad.

But the Hizbullah cell leader escaped arrest in an Iraqi and U.S. raid of two buildings in northwestern Baghdad. Iraqi security forces arrested two suspected Hizbullah operatives found in the buildings.

Shi'ite rebels in Yemen armed with advanced foreign rockets, mortars

ABU DHABI -- Saudi military sources said the Iranian-backed Believing Youth has been firing a range of projectiles toward the Yemeni border with the Arab kingdom. They said some of the weapons stemmed from neighboring Somalia as well as Iran.

"They have a large arsenal and are well-trained to use these rockets," a Saudi military source said.

The Shi'ite rebels were also said to have been employing SA-7 surface-to-air missiles, which have downed at least four Yemen Air Force aircraft. The sources said the Believing Youth also received or developed anti-tank missiles as well as mounted machine guns on pick-up trucks.

Saudi F-15 and Tornado fighter-jets have also come under Shi'ite anti-aircraft fire, the sources said. So far, there have not been any reported hits.

Yemeni officials said the Shi'ite rebel movement has acquired a range of equipment from foreign countries. They said Iran has been supplying extended-range mortars in the Shi'ite war against the government of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi sources said the Shi'ite rebels were firing Soviet-origin Katyusha 122 mm rockets at Saudi forces. They said the Believing Youth was also firing a range of mortar shells, rocket-propelled grenades and 7.62 mm machine guns.

In an interview with Egypt's state-owned daily Al Ahram, Ahmed said the Shi'ite Believing Youth has also acquired mines and improvised explosive devices. He did not elaborate.

Yemeni leaders, including Saleh, have identified Iran as a leading supporter of the Believing Youth. Saleh aides said state-sponsored Iranian clerics were raising money for the Shi'ite war against Sanaa while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizbullah were providing training.

"What we are certain is that the aid that has arrived to the rebellion has come from unofficial sources in Iran and people beyond the border and this gives them encouragement," Ahmed said on Oct. 1.

Over the last week, the Yemeni Army has pounded the northern provincial capital of Saada, regarded as a key stronghold of the Believing Youth. Officials said the Shi'ite rebels, called Al Houthis, have responded with sabotage and ambushes of Yemeni ground forces throughout the province.

"They have planted mines on main highways, which make it harder for military units to move," Ahmed said.

Obama spokesman Gibbs said, Rahm Emanuel would form a group to consider a committee to create a quartet with Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Andorra, to being discussions with Iran about a project to form an engagement group to consider discussing this.

Dennis Kucinich, KOS, The Nation, and the Huffington Post were said to object to this belligerent attitude