Bush responsible for diplomat kidnapping

Iran is blaming the U.S. for the abduction of one its diplomats in Iraq by men wearing Iraqi army uniforms. With President Bush's recent authorization of the killing of Iranians in Iraq it's not surprising. The question now is was the U.S. involved to escalate matters with Iran, or is Iran involved to discredit the U.S. Stay tuned.--babel What do you have to say about it?

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) — Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms seized an Iranian diplomat as he drove through central Baghdad, officials said Tuesday. Tehran condemned the abduction, blaming U.S. forces in Iraq.

Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad was seized Sunday by gunmen who "operate under the supervision of the American forces in Iraq," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns this aggressive act which is in violation of international law," IRNA quoted Hosseini as saying. "Iran holds American forces in Iraq responsible for the safety and life of the Iranian diplomat."

One Iraqi government official also said the diplomat was detained Sunday by a special Iraqi army unit that reports directly to the U.S. military. But a military spokesman denied any U.S. troops or Iraqis that report to them were involved. "We've checked with our units and it was not an MNF-I (Multi-National Forces — Iraq) unit that participated in that event," military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said, adding he could not confirm the diplomat was seized.

The incident comes as tensions have been rising between Iran and the United States and the Shiite-led Iraqi government has shown increasing impatience with both sides for letting the disagreements spill over the border.

An official with the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said the diplomat was heading to check on the planned opening of an Iranian bank Sunday in the central Karradah neighborhood when he was seized by men wearing Iraqi army uniforms.

The Iraqi government official said Iraqi soldiers in two vehicles intercepted a car carrying the diplomat at 6 p.m. Sunday in the predominantly Shiite area, then placed him in one of their vehicles that sped away.

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