Saturday, March 31, 2007
Posted by:
Kevin McCullough
at
9:15 AM
Time magazine has released an interesting story about a Sept 7, 2006 firefight between U.S./Iraqi troops and Iranians that had penetrated the Iraq border. Not insurgents but Revolutionary Guard types.
A short Army press release issued on the day of the skirmish offered the following information: U.S. soldiers from the 5th Squadron 73rd Cavalry 82nd Airborne were accompanying Iraqi forces on a routine joint patrol along the border with Iran, about 75 miles east of Baghdad, when they spotted two Iranian soldiers retreating from Iraqi territory back into Iran. A moment later, U.S. and Iraqi forces came upon a third Iranian soldier on the Iraqi side of the border, who stood his ground. As U.S. and Iraqi soldiers approached the Iranian officer and began speaking with him, a platoon of Iranian soldiers appeared and moved to surround the coalition patrol, taking up positions on high ground. At that point, according to the Army's statement, the Iranian captain told the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers that if they tried to leave they would be fired on. Fearing abduction by the Iranians, U.S. troops moved to go anyway, and fighting broke out. Army officials say the Iranian troops fired first with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, and that U.S. troops fell further back into Iraqi territory, while four Iraqi army soldiers, one interpreter and one Iraqi border guard remained in the hands of the Iranians.
The official release says there were no casualties among the Americans, and makes no mention of any on the Iranian side. U.S. soldiers present at the firefight, however, tell TIME that American forces killed at least one Iranian soldier who had been aiming a rocket-propelled grenade at their convoy of Humvees.
Picking firefights with the Iraqis, and Americans... Kidnapping British sailors... Does anyone believe that Iran is NOT at war with us?
I vote we go bomb their only gasoline refinery they have left, and blockade everything they try to send in or out. And I vote we do it NOW!
Add my vote too Kevin's! This could easily be done with cruise missiles, without the loss of one single solitary soldier's life!
Sooner or later we're going to have to confront the lunatics that run that asylum! It'll be a lot easier to fight him when he doesn't have any gasoline to run his tanks and vehicle driven missile launchers!
A side benefit would be that those young America-friendly Iranians that would love to overthrow their repressive government would not have as strong of an adversary in attempting to secure their own freedom from tyranny. It could just be the catalyst that tips the scales in their favor! |
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I think the Brits should give them two hours to return their troops or they will blow up the refinery. Obce they are returned, them we blow it up. |
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They know they can literally get away with murder as long as we're bogged down in Iraq. I'm not advocating that we withdraw from Iraq, but until some mearure of security has been established there, our hands our tied and they know it. |
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