It had to happen sooner or later – the Mahdi Forces have started to openly admit they are getting support from Iran in their fight against the elected government of Iraq and the US forces supporting it:

Abu Baqr, now a commander in the Mahdi Army militia of cleric Muqtada Sadr, blames Iran for what happened to his friend more than 20 years ago during Iraq’s war with Iran, just as he blames Saddam Hussein for that conflict.

He still hates Iran. But now, he said, he accepts its weapons to fight the U.S. military, figuring he can deal with his distaste for the Iranians later. So he takes bombs that can rip a hole in a U.S. tank and rockets that can pound Baghdad’s Green Zone without apology or regret.

“I think that the Iranians are more dangerous than the Americans. I hate them and I don’t trust them,” he said in an interview over soft drinks. But the militia has limited resources, he said, and “therefore, when somebody gives you or offers help, it’s hard to say no.”

…

Abu Baqr’s attitudes illustrate the pragmatism of a movement under siege. Elements of the Mahdi Army are engaged in an intense conflict with rival Shiite Muslim parties in the Iraqi government that benefit from their own close ties to Iran and, more advantageously, the assistance of America’s superior firepower.

The attitudes of commanders such as Abu Baqr would seem to confirm U.S. accusations of Iranian meddling in Iraq. Although the extent of their relationship remains unclear, the commanders have embraced a hardened stance that may bode ill for the U.S. military.

…

A year ago, in one of a series of interviews with The Times, his voice rose in anger when he talked of Iran’s efforts to co-opt the Mahdi Army movement. He seethed about Tehran’s drive to recruit fighters to bomb U.S. convoys at a time when Sadr was trying to halt such activities. He railed against militia members whom Iran had bought off.

At this time of immense pressure, however, he embraces the breakaway factions.

“Not all Jaish al Mahdi members are angels,” he acknowledged, using the group’s Arabic name. “Some have material interests in mind and they’re greedy, and so Iran was able to hit on this particular angle and put them on its side.”

Emphasis mine. Geez, even when the SurrenderMedia digs up their own clear evidence of Iranian support for the Mahdi fighters in Iraq they cannot face up to the fact, they have to weasel-word the connection as if it is still in doubt. What a crock. The LA Times tries to paint these thugs as fighters in hopeless cause against bad players. But these people oppress their fellow Muslims brutally, while the other side has worked to free the people from oppression and establish a democratic form of government.

This lame propaganda game is only going to work on the gullible. It is the Iraqis who have decided they have had enough of brutality, whether it comes from sadists like Hussein or sadists wrapped up in Islamo Fascism – they know liberation is the preferred outcome. They are not flocking to the Mahdi cause in Iraq, not matter how much the LA Times tries to romanticize a bunch of killers who prey on the innocent and unarmed.

What is clear is now that the SurrenderMedia has shown it has evidence of Iranian involvement from eye witnesses inside the Mahdi command structure, which means there is no doubt the US is correct in its claims against Iran. And it means the US is correct in any decisions it makes to send a signal to Iran to stop arming, training and supporting thugs who want to kill American troops in Iraq.