That's a Very Good Question

Last Sunday's U.S. military briefing in Baghdad on the alleged Iranian weapons assistance to Iraqi Shiite militias has been roundly criticized even in the mainstream media for overstating various claims, and presenting some anomalous physical evidence:

But the documentation remains scant. And considerable doubts continue to surface about the intelligence presented at the Baghdad slide show, including the fact that the writing on the conventional weapons displayed was in English, not Farsi. U.N. Ambassador Zarif also says that the date markings are American-style—that is, the month comes first. "There is every reason to believe that this evidence is fabricated," he said. U.S. officials say the weapons were apparently built for the international market. Asked why the writing on the weapons allegedly made in Iran was in English, one U.S. intelligence official responded: "That's a very good question."