The War against America

15 posts / 0 new

Sun, 2020-01-05 19:49

iyraste1313

...hopefully of course this thread will be limited......

From the UK Independent, news suppressed in the US:

(One Hour Ago): Three Americans have been killed in a militant attack on a military base in Kenya.

A member of the US military and two contractors were killed in the attack by Somalia’s al Shabaab militant group on the Manda Bay Airfield in Lamu county, close to the Somali border.

The military’s Africa Command confirmed the deaths and said two Americans who work for the US Department of Defence were also wounded in the attack.

A Kenyan police report seen by Reuters said the Islamist militants also destroyed two planes, two US helicopters, and numerous American military vehicles during their assault.

The Kenyan military said five militants had been killed in the attack. There were no immediate reports of Kenyan casualties.

In a statement earlier on Sunday, al Shabaab claimed it had destroyed seven aircraft and three military vehicles, without providing other details. It also published pictures of masked gunmen standing next to an aircraft in flames.

Mon, 2020-01-06 10:29

iyraste1313

Latest statements by Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haqq movement, a key faction of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Units:

Source: Al-Mayadeen TV

Date: 06/01/2020

Transcript:

– We will take revenge for the two martyrs (Soleimani and al-Muhandis) and their companions and we will not accept anything less than the expulsion of US forces from Iraq

– the Iraqi parliament decision today is one of the most important decisions it has taken throughout its history

– We tell the Americans that Trump is an idiot who will cause nothing but further death and casualties for American soldiers

– The US forces must leave (Iraq) immediately, and if they begin to stall, we will consider them as occupation forces and act towards them based on this

– The Israeli project will never rest until it engulfs Iraq in flames and civil infighting

Tue, 2020-01-07 10:02

iyraste1313

Eric Zuesse

January 7, 2020

On Sunday morning 5 January 2020, the great investigative journalist and geostrategist Bernhard Horstmann headlined “Iraqi Parliament Expels Foreign Militaries From Iraq” and he reported that not only the parliament but also the nation’s Prime Minister (Abdel Mahdi) are demanding departure from Iraq of all foreign military forces, and that Iraq will now — as UAE’s The National puts it — “lodge an official complaint against the U.S. at the UN.” The complaint will “condemn #US airstrikes on #Iraqi soil targeting Iraqi soldiers and both Iraqi and #Iranian military leaders.”

Tue, 2020-01-07 16:54

NDPP

A pity that Iran's Foreign Minister has been refused a US visa to attend that UN Security council in New York on January 9, yet another violation of international law, the UN Charter and agreements by the US to facilitate diplomatic travel of representatives to and from the UN. If Canada was really interested in proving itself worthy of the rotating UNSC seat it so covets, and wasn't as subservient to US and Israeli warcriminal regimes, it might actually join the other representatives correctly making formal complaints on the matter.

Tue, 2020-01-07 17:00

Sean in Ottawa

Isn't this a war against American aggression rather than a war against America? Just asking...

Tue, 2020-01-07 18:50

Pondering

I was about to say what Sean just said. It is America (and sadly Canada) that is waging war. The small attempts at hitting back do not a war make. Even another 9/11 would be nothing compared to what the west is causing or directly doing in the rest of the world. The retaliations are like that of Palestine against Israel.

Tue, 2020-01-07 20:31

kropotkin1951

I love the imperial newspeak in this era. Countries used to hire mercenaries but now they are contractors.

Tue, 2020-01-07 21:00

iyraste1313

30 Iranian guided missiles have so far hit al Asad Air Base in Iraq, home of the United States Air Force and largest base in Iraq. The US deployed multiple batteries of Patriot Missiles to the base in May in case of such at attack....

...re The retaliations are like that of Palestine against Israel. ...

´fraid you haven´t been paying attention...Iran has been preparing for this for some time...their arms are first class!

The reason...I threw out that clip re their nuke rearmaments is because the USA/Israel Alliance cannot compete except their nukes! Note that the USA and Israeli defence missile systems are not effective...waiting to see imminently if Iran´s are any better.....we are into a new era, no doubt...meanwhile can´t help but notice the tanking finances...double whammy, perfect storm!

As of 6:20PM EST, the US acknowledged that 6 Iranian missiles have hit the base and none, thus far, have been successfully intercepted. More to come…

Tue, 2020-01-07 21:02

(Reply to #8) #9

Sean in Ottawa

kropotkin1951 wrote:

I love the imperial newspeak in this era. Countries used to hire mercenaries but now they are contractors.

Perhaps the distintion is that mercenaries are not usually from the country they fight under but the contractors are private soldiers and from the same country?

Tue, 2020-01-07 21:05

(Reply to #9) #10

Sean in Ottawa

iyraste1313 wrote:

30 Iranian guided missiles have so far hit al Asad Air Base in Iraq, home of the United States Air Force and largest base in Iraq. The US deployed multiple batteries of Patriot Missiles to the base in May in case of such at attack....

...re The retaliations are like that of Palestine against Israel. ...

´fraid you haven´t been paying attention...Iran has been preparing for this for some time...their arms are first class!

The reason...I threw out that clip re their nuke rearmaments is because the USA/Israel Alliance cannot compete except their nukes! Note that the USA and Israeli defence missile systems are not effective...waiting to see imminently if Iran´s are any better.....we are into a new era, no doubt...meanwhile can´t help but notice the tanking finances...double whammy, perfect storm!

As of 6:20PM EST, the US acknowledged that 6 Iranian missiles have hit the base and none, thus far, have been successfully intercepted. More to come…

I would not class fighting forces but there is no question that Iran is outgunned. The point is they are capable to doing some serious harm if that is a deterent. Is it for the US? Not sure. The attack on the general was not in the US interest especially in Iraq.

Tue, 2020-01-07 21:09

#11

iyraste1313

The Islamic Republic already demonstrated its air defense capability on June 20, 2019, when forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a U.S. RQ-4A Global Hawk BAMS-D surveillance drone that violated Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says that the Global Hawk was downed with its developed surface-to-air missile (SAM) system Khordad-3.

As a part of its multi-layered air defense, Iran employs a variety of short-, medium- and long-range systems. Earlier, the core of Iran’s air defense was foreign-made systems, including Russian, Chinese, and even US models. Today, Iranian air defense actively employs domestically produced systems. Most of foreign systems were locally modernized. The most capable foreign air defense system acquired by Iran is the Russian-made S-300, the delivery of which was completed in 2016. The most-widely known Iranian indigenous SAMs are the Bavar-373, the Khordad-15 and the Khordad-3.

The Bavar-373 is a multi-channel long-range SAM system created in Iran. According to the Iranian military, the system has a range of up to 200 km and altitude of up to 27 km. It is reportedly capable of hitting stealth air targets, cruise missiles and even warheads of ballistic missiles. Official Teheran says that the Bavar-373 is superior to the Russian S-300 and only slightly inferior to the S-400.

In 2019, Iran unveiled the medium-range SAM system Khordad-15. The system is capable of detecting fighter jets, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in a range of 150km and track them within a range of 120 km. The Sayyad-3 missile, employed by the system, has a range of 200 km. The Khordad-15 reportedly can detect stealth targets in a distance of 85 km and can intercept and destroy them within a range of 45km.

There are more SAM systems of Iranian design: Talash and Raad. Each unit of the Talash system includes three vehicles, a truck carrying Patriot-style missile launchers and two command and control vehicles. The Talash-1 is employed for low and medium altitudes, the Talash-2 – for medium to high altitudes, and the Talash-3 – for high and very high altitudes. The Talash-2 can engage targets at a range of up to 120 km, and an altitude of up to 27km. Some sources say that the Talash concept originates from the Patriot.

The Raad SAM family externally resembles the Russian Buk and Buk M2 systems. According to Iranian sources, it is designed to confront hostile aircraft, cruise missiles, smart bombs, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The system’s Taer-2 missiles can trace and hit targets in ranges up to 50 km and in altitudes of up to 25-27 km. Another missile employed by the SAM is the Sayyad-2. It has a range of 75km and a top altitude of 30. The most modern version of this SAM system is the Khorad-3 employed against the US Global Hawk in June.

The development of these systems is the visible demonstration of successes of the Iranian military industrial complex. Pro-Iranian sources say that Iran successfully joined the United States, China and Russia in the club of the countries capable of producing effective long-range SAM systems. However, the tactical and technical data of the latest Iranian SAMs that are presented in the open press is very limited, and there are almost no data on the probability of interception of various types of targets. The degree of protection of Iranian SAMs from electronic warfare also remains a question. Accordingly, their real combat capabilities in the event of an armed conflict with a high-tech enemy cannot be estimated using the existing data. Another question is how successful can Iran’s multi-layered air defense be against combined drone, ballistic and cruise missiles strikes that Saudi Arabia experienced during the past years....from southfront.org

Sun, 2020-01-12 09:42

#12

iyraste1313

Mehdi Bolourian/Fars News Agency/WANA/Reuters

ABUJA, Nigeria—Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a group led by converts to Shia Islam originally inspired by the Iranian Revolution 40 years ago, have vowed to fight to punish Americans, “the tyrants of this century,” for the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last weekThat a group in West Africa would call for vengeance in the name of Quds Force commander Soleimani suggests just how far-flung his influence was, and how hard it will be for anyone, including the Iranian government, to restrain those who might attack American citizens and American interests. And, yes, at the same time it will be hard for the U.S. to pin the blame squarely on Tehran for the actions of such a group.

Iranian “proxies” come in many forms, and may or may not follow Tehran’s orders when they decide to attack Americans, whether to curry favor with Iran or simply to build their own reputation in their home countries.

Ominously, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations told CNN in an interview broadcast Friday that his government cannot be held responsible for what militias or other sympathizers might do. “We can speak on behalf of the Iranian government, we are not responsible for the actions that others might take,” Ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi told John Berman. The question was limited to Iraqi militias, but how much more deniable are the actions of jihadists in Africa, Latin America, or East Asia?

Mon, 2020-01-13 10:03

#13

iyraste1313

Gen. Salami, speaking at a closed session of the Iranian parliament, said: “Our operations against the United States are not over.” Nasrallah: “The response to Soleimani’s killing is not a single operation [the missile attack on two US bases in Iraq] but rather a long course that leads to the ouster of American forces from the region.”
The Hizballah leader, reflecting his Iranian master’s (sic)voice, added that the attacks on the US military in Iraq should be taken by Israel as a serious warning of what lies ahead if attacks on Iranian targets continue.....

This is from Debka....so cannot confirm the exactness of the quotes.....

Mon, 2020-01-13 17:13

(Reply to #13) #14

Sean in Ottawa

iyraste1313 wrote:

Gen. Salami, speaking at a closed session of the Iranian parliament, said: “Our operations against the United States are not over.” Nasrallah: “The response to Soleimani’s killing is not a single operation [the missile attack on two US bases in Iraq] but rather a long course that leads to the ouster of American forces from the region.”
The Hizballah leader, reflecting his Iranian master’s (sic)voice, added that the attacks on the US military in Iraq should be taken by Israel as a serious warning of what lies ahead if attacks on Iranian targets continue.....

This is from Debka....so cannot confirm the exactness of the quotes.....

As I posted previously -- The consequences of the American attack are still not clear and the US is responsible for what flows from that (not to take any responsibility away from anyone else for what others do).

It is clear that such an action by the US on a country with the kind of power structure it has (a dual government power with a Supreme leader and and military proxies operating beside and often in competition to an elected President and assembly) is going to have uncontrollable consequences.

I think I posted this -- and I know I said it when they first said it: -- the US last year when they said they would hold Iran accountable for anything the proxies (read allies) do, is creating an impossible standard that will tilt toward war.

Iran taken collectively influences and has some control over these proxies or allies, but they do not have absolute control. Taken individually this power flows from the IRG and Supreme leader not the President or rest of the government. The Iranian elected government has limited control in Iran itself as the Supreme leader and IRG can and do overrule them and undermine them frequently. This is one of the reason for calls to boycott the election next month. This elected government is set to be replaced in the February 21 elections with hardliners due to widespread boycotts.

These so-called proxy organizations have interests and may have some loyalty to supporters but they are not strictly controlled. As the Regime suffers, they could take action to preserve their position, utility, power and resources. This would include action not in the interests of the Iranian people. To make the Iranian people and elected government responsible for any action taken by the proxies is to misunderstand the realities.

There is also corruption. The ability to buy a leader of one of these proxies to perform even a false flag attack is not completely impossible just as it is not impossible that they would want to take action either to press the Iranian Regime or becuase they disagreed with it. Let me put this more clearly: it is not much of a conspiracy theory to point out that the US could engineer a proxy attack without any participation from the Iranian government should they want to. They could also engineer a completely false flag operation with their own people and more easily conceal it than if they had to pretend it was regualr Iranian forces. This standard demanded by the US of Iran is one that the US can ensure is broken.

That said it is also natural that the the US may not have to engineer such an attack since any one of the proxies could decide for their own reasons, without the will of the Iranian government to go it alone. These organizations do not have any interest in Iranian government compliance even if the Iranian government comes to the conclusion that it is in its interest.

The US demand is at once self defeating and impossible.

There are indications that Iran is in a power struggle that may be more than the normal ongoing one. The US has loaded the dice to make sure the hardliners win. Trump wants this as he has from the start. The original Nuclear aggreement was a victory for the elected government which is more moderate. Trump's actions has destroyed that government which will be gone in weeks and he has ensured that the unelected hardliners will have a win. This is for his political purpose.

The consequences to the people are dire. As well, for any people in the US wanting to avoid war, the dice are loaded in favour of it. The American people will lose lives and only Trump's political goals may gain but the Iranian people will lose civilian lives. Trump probably imagines that he can steal the oil from the South west of the country.

One byproduct of this may be the exposure of some Democratic Party war hawks and we will see how that turns out.

All this said, the if attacks from the US continue -- you can bet any treasure you have that Trump will see that they do.

Wed, 2020-01-15 11:30

#15

iyraste1313

Alastair Crooke}

January 15, 2020

Iran is not done. General Hajizadeh, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, said in a briefing yesterday that the strike “was the starting point of a great operation”. He also underlined that “the strikes were not meant to cause fatalities: We intended [rather] to deliver a blow to the enemy’s military machine”. And the Pentagon is saying, too, that Iran intentionally missed US troops at the bases. This is tantamount to the Pentagon admitting that Iran can land missiles with extreme accuracy over a distance of several hundred miles – and further, this occurred with not one missile being intercepted by the US forces. To completely avoid targeting soldiers at a large military base is no mean feat – it suggests an accuracy within a meter or two – not ten meters – for Iranian missiles.Isn’t this the point? It suggests that advances in Iran’s guidance systems can land missiles with extreme precision. Haven’t we seen something similar happen recently in Saudi Arabia (Abqaiq)? And was it not clear from Abqaiq that highly expensive US air defence systems do not work? The IRGC satisfactorily have demonstrated that they and their allies can penetrate US manufactured air defence systems, using domestically produced ‘smart’ missiles, and by using their electronic warfare systems.The US bases around the region – in short – now represent vulnerable US infrastructure – and not strength. Ditto for those expensive carrier battle fleets. The Iranian message was clear and very pertinent to those who understand (or want to understand). To others, less strategically aware, it might seem that Iran pulled its military punch, and showed weakness. Actually, when you have just demonstrated the ability to upend the military status quo, there is no need for a hail of trumpets. The landing of the message itself is the ‘blow’ to a ‘military machine’. Neatly calibrated: it avoided head to head-on war. Trump stood down (and claimed success).

Iranian leaders have been very explicit: The ‘slap’ of the strike at the Ain al-Assad base is not the pay-back for General Soleimani’s targeted assassination. Rather, it is the campaign consisting of the amorphous, quasi-political, quasi-military, asymmetrical war on America’s presence in the Middle East that has been dedicated as fitting to his memory.

Iran – wisely – has eschewed direct, state-to-state military conflict, for a more subtle, and pernicious war on the US presence in the Middle East – a war, which if successful, will re-cast the region.