BansheeOne Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Just wait till AP gets ahold of this recent photo of Suleimani on an Iranian Kilo Class Submarine taken just weeks before the austere scholar's demise Speaking of Clancy movies - irrespective of all this having started with busting JCPOA, I'm agnostic on whether the latest escalation is wise, and certainly don't decry the good general's death. But someone should edit everything under the main title on this cover over with the matching quote of "Congratulations, now you have your own little war." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucklucky Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 So for you the Iranian ayatollahs attacks against US troops started after that...nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Speaking of Clancy movies - irrespective of all this having started with busting JCPOA, Uh, no? IRGC-backed terrorist attacks were happening all over Iraq and the wider Middle East (sometimes even worldwide) long before JCPOA was a thing, and they didn't stop during the time the deal was still on. Edited January 3, 2020 by Der Zeitgeist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Interesting article about how Soleimani eventually became careless and deemed himself untouchable by the US: https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/01/qods-force-commander-soleimanis-carelessness-put-him-in-the-u-s-militarys-crosshairs.php “More than a decade ago, Soleimani wouldn’t have flown into Baghdad International Airport,” another military official said. “He used to be more careful than that.” Soleimani started to become careless after the US withdrew from Iraq, officials said, and particularly when he supported the Popular Mobilization Forces’ war against the Islamic State. The PMF is made up a Iraqi militias but is dominated by those backed by Soleimani and Iran. Muhandis, who was killed along with Soleimani, was the deputy head of the PMF and the leader of Hezbollah Brigades, a US-designated terrorist organization that is a key element of the PMF. After Iraqi security forces collapsed in western, northern and central Iraq during the Islamic State’s onslaught culminating in the June 2014 takeover of Mosul, Soleimani and Iran capitalized on the situation. Soleimani, along with Muhandis and other key militia leaders, organized the PMF and took the fight to the Islamic State. The PMF spearheaded many operations to retake key Iraqi cities. Soleimani became particularly emboldened when the US military ignored his growing influence and instead launched airstrikes against the Islamic State as the PMF and Iraqi forces went on the offensive. The Qods Force leader soon began appearing in public while touring key battlefields. Soleimani would be photographed numerous times while meeting with PMF leaders and encouraging PMF fighters to take the battle to the Islamic State. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Sure there has been a small-scale proxy war between the US and Iran in Iraq since about OIF wound down. But given that last year this time everybody was puzzling why Iran had stopped harrassing the USN in the Gulf, I think the escalation on the fringes of the general protests in Iraq since then is pretty clear. Edited January 3, 2020 by BansheeOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETAC21 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Not at all. If you believe that killing Soleimani changed anything, you are sorely mistaken. All the Quds Force are already 'shaheed'. There is nothing but indignance to this amongst even expatriate Iranians. Killing a smart enemy is good, no matter how you wrap it up. Could it be better? maybe, if he was grabbed off a street or topped in Tehran as the message would be stronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobu Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Escalate and wait for blowback, or escalate and follow up with another strike. Israel, your move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Zeitgeist Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Looks like the rest of 82nd Abn Ready Brigade is currently flying over in chartered commercial airliners from Atlas Air. Edited January 3, 2020 by Der Zeitgeist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Not at all. If you believe that killing Soleimani changed anything, you are sorely mistaken. All the Quds Force are already 'shaheed'. There is nothing but indignance to this amongst even expatriate Iranians. Killing a smart enemy is good, no matter how you wrap it up. Could it be better? maybe, if he was grabbed off a street or topped in Tehran as the message would be stronger.He would have looked so fetching in an orange jumpsuit, breaking rocks in the Cuban sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Alymov Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 trump could always add excitement by muttering ´´accidentally´´ to a microphone something like ´now that we´ve did our part of the deal, now rouhani has to do his ´ ​ Iranians are nation with thousands of years of playing this games, so they could act in advance . Rouhani personally visisting new widow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Alymov Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim the Tank Nut Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 One of President Trump's few misstatements. At the time he couldn't have known how deep into Iran's pocket Obama was.I am surprised at the number of people who feel like Soleimani should've been kept alive.Killing him was a good decision as top tier operators are hard to come by. Now the enemy has one less than they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 So, my hot take is that there's a vast gulf between the sitting on hands response from the Embassy Side facility in Libya vs the response here in Iraq. What was the difference in main? Sand on the president's part? Well, there's also the bit about the state department conducting a covert gun running operation in 2012. Contrast that with the quite public stance that the US has a presence in Iraq as a base of operations against terrorism. You can argue the merits about both operations, but the response to each attack has to be seen in their respective context.I think the dearth of accountability, irrespective of the caterwauling by the GOP, speaks to the fact that GOP politicians knew about and condoned the gun running operation. Those years of investigations, pure political theater. We're running weapons to the Iraqi's too. We were doing so as well to the Iranians. I'm not sure why that specifically trenches upon the response when the embassy staff are attacked and the QRF is told to sit on it's hands for optics. What are the optics when 'mourners' or 'protestors' are able to take over a US embassy and do what they want with the Embassy staff? Iran and Libya are both examples of how not to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 One of President Trump's few misstatements. At the time he couldn't have known how deep into Iran's pocket Obama was.I am surprised at the number of people who feel like Soleimani should've been kept alive.Killing him was a good decision as top tier operators are hard to come by. Now the enemy has one less than they did.I only wanted him to live to suffer more. And its something of a waste of a perfectly good Hellfire. Though I guess he probably found another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobius Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 trump could always add excitement by muttering ´´accidentally´´ to a microphone something like ´now that we´ve did our part of the deal, now rouhani has to do his ´ ​ Iranians are nation with thousands of years of playing this games, so they could act in advance . Rouhani personally visisting new widow Yet, they lost to the Caliphs in only matter of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Alymov Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 trump could always add excitement by muttering ´´accidentally´´ to a microphone something like ´now that we´ve did our part of the deal, now rouhani has to do his ´ ​ Iranians are nation with thousands of years of playing this games, so they could act in advance . Rouhani personally visisting new widow Yet, they lost to the Caliphs in only matter of years. Where are Caliphs now? And Iran is still major power... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Well, whatever Trump is trying to achieve here, if he wants to get US troops out of the Middle East, the 82nd Airborne is heading in the wrong direction right now. I don't suppose Europe is going to step up to the plate and secure the security of the region? No? You'd rather a Belgian Congo result? Please, tell us how enlightened you are again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Not at all. If you believe that killing Soleimani changed anything, you are sorely mistaken. All the Quds Force are already 'shaheed'. There is nothing but indignance to this amongst even expatriate Iranians.Why would Iranian Expats be unhappy with a Quds Force General being killed? Isn't he the sort that you know, has protestors shot (or worse) out of hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Just wait till AP gets ahold of this recent photo of Suleimani on an Iranian Kilo Class Submarine taken just weeks before the austere scholar's demise Speaking of Clancy movies - irrespective of all this having started with busting JCPOA, I'm agnostic on whether the latest escalation is wise, and certainly don't decry the good general's death. But someone should edit everything under the main title on this cover over with the matching quote of "Congratulations, now you have your own little war." Sorry, this isn't a new war, such a characterization is myopic at best. This war has been burbling and simmering for decades. At least since I was a kid and the Iranians invaded and took over our embassy in Tehran. I still remember when one of the Embassy staff, who lived in my neighborhood came home. A giant fucking crowd showed up at his house to welcome him home. Rather notable in suburban America for such a large crowd to show up.The Shia vs Sunni thing is far older of course. US involvement is not that old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobu Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 There was enough public support at the time for a formal declaration of war on Iran to have been understood. What could have been both saved and gained by keeping Iran onside as an ally from 1980 onward will go down in history as a missed opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKTanker Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 ....At least since I was a kid and the Iranians invaded and took over our embassy in Tehran..1953. Iranian coup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 ....At least since I was a kid and the Iranians invaded and took over our embassy in Tehran..1953. Iranian coup. Yep, stupidly encouraged by the Brits so they could keep their oil concession, and the got us to do the dirty work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Not at all. If you believe that killing Soleimani changed anything, you are sorely mistaken. All the Quds Force are already 'shaheed'. There is nothing but indignance to this amongst even expatriate Iranians.Why would Iranian Expats be unhappy with a Quds Force General being killed? Isn't he the sort that you know, has protestors shot (or worse) out of hand? Typical traitorous left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bd1 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 trump could always add excitement by muttering ´´accidentally´´ to a microphone something like ´now that we´ve did our part of the deal, now rouhani has to do his ´ ​ Iranians are nation with thousands of years of playing this games, so they could act in advance . Rouhani personally visisting new widow true, esp. after reading ´´treacherous alliance´´, esp. how frustrated the iranians are that the USA does not get their signals they´ve been sending since 1979https://www.amazon.com/Treacherous-Alliance-Secret-Dealings-Israel/dp/0300143117 which one is the widow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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