Secret War With Washington.(Brief article)

Byline: Mark Hosenball

President George W. Bush said last week that he expects a "bloody" summer in Iraq. What he didn't say is that a growing covert war between the United States and Iran may be one reason why. NEWSWEEK has learned that U.S. intelligence has identified the main group behind Tehran's efforts to support Iraqi insurgents. It is a supersecret unit called Department 9000, which is part of the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence. Department 9000 acts as a liaison between Shia insurgents and the IRGC, Iran's main internal security arm, providing guidance and support. More worrying, says one U.S. official who wouldn't be quoted talking about classified matters, the secret Iranian unit has recently begun to help Iraqi Sunnis, too. "The new developments with Sunni groups are more operational in nature and are more direct in terms of their involvement in groups attacking the Coalition," he said.

Bush, meanwhile, has ...