Iranian Weapons 'Killing Our Troops' in Iraq, U.S. Says

[High_Gravity]

Iranian Weapons 'Killing Our Troops' in Iraq, U.S. Says

WASHINGTON -- The United States is negotiating with Iraq to extend the U.S. military presence, as the number deadly attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq by militiamen trained and armed by Iran is on the rise.

Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian-backed Shiite militias "are killing our troops" in Iraq with sophisticated weapons that include lethal armor-piercing versions of IEDs and rocket-boosted mortars.

Fifty-one American troops have been killed in Iraq since President Obama declared an end to combat operations there last August, and the fighting has wounded 244 U.S. soldiers. Roughly 46,000 troops remain advising and training Iraqi army and police forces, but they are due to be withdrawn by Dec. 31.

The potential extension of the U.S. military presence in Iraq has been bitterly opposed by Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery Iraqi cleric and militia leader. He has repeatedly vowed to "escalate armed resistance" if the Americans stay on. Sadr's militia has long had close ties with Iran.

In a meeting with reporters Thursday, Mullen said Iran is "shipping high-tech weapons in there -- the forensics prove it." He said top Iranian officials "know about it," but he declined to say the anti-U.S campaign was being directed by Iran's leadership.

"Iran is playing an outsize role" in Iraq as the shaky government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki struggles to stem the growing violence, Mullen said. "That has to be dealt with. It's killing our people."

Asked if U.S. forces could go after the Shiite militias, Mullen did not rule out a counter-offensive. "Anything we do would clearly be focused on our inherent right of self-defense," he said.

The U.S. military personnel in Iraq are largely engaged in training Iraq security forces and assisting with capabilities the Iraqis lack: intelligence analysis, logistics, medical care, and air operations assisting in battlefield evacuation, border control and air defense. U.S. Special Operations Forces also are active in the country, working in conjunction with Iraqi commandos on counter-terrorism missions to capture or kill top terrorist leaders.

All American military personnel are to be withdrawn from Iraq by Dec. 31 under the terms of a formal agreement signed by Iraq and the United States during the Bush administration. Senior U.S. officials have said the United States will comply with the agreement unless Iraq formally requests that some forces stay on, and Washington agrees to the extension.

Privately, senior officials have expressed concern that Iraq could slide into civil war as deadly violence among Shiite and Sunni militias grows. Last week, the 82nd Airborne's 1st Brigade rehearsed at Fort Bragg an airborne combat assault into Iraq in case such a mission has to be mounted during a crisis.

"Negotiations are on-going" about extending the U.S. troops beyond December 31, Mullen said, "and they're hard." He said both Iraq and the United States recognize there are "gaps" in the capabilities of Iraq's security forces. "We clearly see some areas" where the United States could help, he said, using the existing forces to continue training and advising Iraq's forces.

Iranian Weapons 'Killing Our Troops' in Iraq, U.S. Says

 

[daveman]

Iran has declared war against us. But we just pretend they're not doing anything.

Disgusting.

 

[High_Gravity]

Iran has declared war against us. But we just pretend they're not doing anything.

Disgusting.

Iran has been in a state of war against us since 1979.

 

[uscitizen]

I predicted this before we even invaded Iraq.
Ironically the thing that guaranteed it to happen was the removal of Sadam.

 

[daveman]

Iran has declared war against us. But we just pretend they're not doing anything.

Disgusting.

Iran has been in a state of war against us since 1979.

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

 

[High_Gravity]

Iran has declared war against us. But we just pretend they're not doing anything.

Disgusting.

Iran has been in a state of war against us since 1979.

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

 

[daveman]

Iran has been in a state of war against us since 1979.

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

Which is what we should have done.

However, there was a Democrat in the White House.

 

[High_Gravity]

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

Which is what we should have done.

However, there was a Democrat in the White House.

We can't go back in time but we really need to address whats going on now, Iranian weapons and personnel are going into Iraq to kill American troops and we are doing squat.

 

[daveman]

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

Which is what we should have done.

However, there was a Democrat in the White House.

We can't go back in time but we really need to address whats going on now, Iranian weapons and personnel are going into Iraq to kill American troops and we are doing squat.

Indeed. But we still lack the political will.

Obama is bombing countries that aren't killing our troops. He's ignoring a country that is.

 

[High_Gravity]

Which is what we should have done.

However, there was a Democrat in the White House.

We can't go back in time but we really need to address whats going on now, Iranian weapons and personnel are going into Iraq to kill American troops and we are doing squat.

Indeed. But we still lack the political will.

Obama is bombing countries that aren't killing our troops. He's ignoring a country that is.

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

 

[daveman]

We can't go back in time but we really need to address whats going on now, Iranian weapons and personnel are going into Iraq to kill American troops and we are doing squat.

Indeed. But we still lack the political will.

Obama is bombing countries that aren't killing our troops. He's ignoring a country that is.

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

 

[High_Gravity]

Indeed. But we still lack the political will.

Obama is bombing countries that aren't killing our troops. He's ignoring a country that is.

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Yeah the Arabs wanted the US and Israel to destroy Irans nuclear facilities, under the table of course. The opportunity for that is gone.

 

[daveman]

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Yeah the Arabs wanted the US and Israel to destroy Irans nuclear facilities, under the table of course. The opportunity for that is gone.

It was gone as soon as the reactors were fueled. Bombing them then would have been an environmental nightmare.

 

[High_Gravity]

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Yeah the Arabs wanted the US and Israel to destroy Irans nuclear facilities, under the table of course. The opportunity for that is gone.

It was gone as soon as the reactors were fueled. Bombing them then would have been an environmental nightmare.

Iran is going to have nukes soon and they will be untouchable, this regime knows that as soon as they get them nobody is going to attack Iran.

 

[Ropey]

Indeed. But we still lack the political will.

Obama is bombing countries that aren't killing our troops. He's ignoring a country that is.

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Not political will. Obama intends on this path. Do not think an intelligent man such as Obama is lacking in the political will in this case. There's enough information to let out and he's keeping it in.

I say this is intentional, and on the back of his ME policies.

 

[Ropey]

Iran has been in a state of war against us since 1979.

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

QFT

Remember the Ambassadors taken hostage in Lebanon?

Imad Mughniyah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lebanon hostage crisis refers to the systematic kidnapping in Lebanon of 96 foreign hostages of 21 national origins – mostly American and western European – between 1982 and 1992. At least 8 hostages perished in captivity: some murdered, while others died from lack of adequate medical attention to illnesses.[1]

What happened after this:

The hostage crisis ended with the need for Western aid and investment by Syria and Iran following the end of the Iran-Iraq war and collapse of the Soviet Union, and with promises to Hezbollah that it could remain armed following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and that France and America would not seek revenge against it.

We gave them money.

Russia took revenge and since then, there have not been Russian statesmen taken hostage by Arabs. Russia came back after gathering information for a few years and murdered the hostage takers and their male family lines.

 

[High_Gravity]

And ignoring it has worked SOOO well.

When they took American Hostages from the Embassy in 1979 that was a declaration of war, if they pulled that shit with Russia or China they would have gotten their asses kicked.

QFT

Remember the Ambassadors taken hostage in Lebanon?

Imad Mughniyah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lebanon hostage crisis refers to the systematic kidnapping in Lebanon of 96 foreign hostages of 21 national origins – mostly American and western European – between 1982 and 1992. At least 8 hostages perished in captivity: some murdered, while others died from lack of adequate medical attention to illnesses.[1]

What happened after this:

The hostage crisis ended with the need for Western aid and investment by Syria and Iran following the end of the Iran-Iraq war and collapse of the Soviet Union, and with promises to Hezbollah that it could remain armed following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and that France and America would not seek revenge against it.

We gave them money.

Russia took revenge and since then, there have not been Russian statesmen taken hostage by Arabs. Russia came back after gathering information for a few years and murdered the hostage takers and their male family lines.

Wow I knew they were taking hostages in Lebanon but I didn't know they were taking diplomats and Ambassadors, we should learn by now that handing out money to people that hate us DOES NOT HELP, Pakistan can be a recent example.

 

[daveman]

Yeah the Arabs wanted the US and Israel to destroy Irans nuclear facilities, under the table of course. The opportunity for that is gone.

It was gone as soon as the reactors were fueled. Bombing them then would have been an environmental nightmare.

Iran is going to have nukes soon and they will be untouchable, this regime knows that as soon as they get them nobody is going to attack Iran.

Only an utter fool believes that Iran isn't working towards their own warheads.

 

[daveman]

Yes and once they get nuclear weapons, nobody will touch them because no one wants to be responsible for setting off a nuclear war, Iran will be untouchable like North Korea.

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Not political will. Obama intends on this path. Do not think an intelligent man such as Obama is lacking in the political will in this case. There's enough information to let out and he's keeping it in.

I say this is intentional, and on the back of his ME policies.

God help us.

 

[Ropey]

Yup. We missed our chance to destroy their nuclear facilities. Hell, Saudi Arabia was even going to allow Israel overflight rights to make the strikes.

Not political will. Obama intends on this path. Do not think an intelligent man such as Obama is lacking in the political will in this case. There's enough information to let out and he's keeping it in.

I say this is intentional, and on the back of his ME policies.

God help us.

Well, 2012 is when we find out which way the American political wind will blow. If he wins again and gains back the house then he will cement many his policies with concurrent policies attached and this will take quite some time for the Republicans to regurgitate.