Update: The recent claim by the Regime that the "explosive penetrating devices" used by Iraqi insurgents to destroy American vehicles are supplied by Iran has taken a hit too. A review of American military command records and reportage show that the US command knew these devices were being manufactured in Iraqi machine shops for years according to the Asia Times. The US also had considerable evidence that Iraqi militants received support from Hezbolah. Hezbolah used very similar devices and techniques against Israeli armor in southern Lebanon. Despite the contrary evidence in it's files the US command began accusing the Iranian Quds (Jerusalem) Force of supplying the weapons. In turn the Regime has used these allegations to mount an aggressive propaganda campaign against Iran to build domestic support for an attack. In November 2006 an American intelligence official told the New York Times that Hezbolah had trained 2000 members of the Mahdi Army, a Shia militia with connections to the Baghdad government. The connection to
Hezbolah would also explain the presence of the Russian made RPG-29, a shoulder fired anti-armor weapon, in the war zone. Syria imported the weapons and gave them to Hezbolah which used them with devastating effect against the Israelis. The first sophisticated armor penetrating (AP) projectiles appeared in Iraq in 2004. By early 2006 the US had forensic evidence that AP devices were being produced locally. Photographs of hits on armored vehicles showed both clean penetrations and splattering of molten metal characteristic of imperfectly shaped charges. US troops began finding the local shops manufacturing the projectiles in late 2006. Although perhaps not as perfectly formed as Hezbolah models, the cottage industry versions are capable of penetrating US armor. Hamas guerrillas have also demonstrated they are capable of producing effective anti-armor weapons. On four separate occasions their projectiles pierced eight inches of Israeli steel armor.