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Iraq - Major Escalation Underway (January 2020)
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2020-01-04 at 12:33 AM UTC
Originally posted by Technologist Don’t quote me on this, but they were saying that Soleimani was making plans that was going to put us in eminent danger. Can’t say what trump is talking about for sure.
Originally posted by Erekshun Iran asked for this, Trump is giving them what they asked for.
Yeah how dare he actually bulldoze ISIS instead of just shuffling them around. -
2020-01-04 at 12:34 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 12:35 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 12:39 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 12:44 AM UTCI don’t take anything he says as gospel, ever! I’m just telling you guys (Aldra), what is being said on trumps side.
I think he was a dumbass to do this. -
2020-01-04 at 12:58 AM UTC
Originally posted by aldra As it turned out, the initial missile barrage was used as a distraction to mask a targeted drone strike against that car, which killed at least two high-ranking Iraqi PMU officials as well as Qassam Soleimani, the Iranian head of the Al-Quds force and IRGC (which was only very recently confirmed).
https://www.facebook.com/Tactic.cell/photos/pcb.2576827812640196/2576827579306886/?type=3&theater
AGM-114 HELLFIRE confirmedThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-04 at 12:58 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 1:05 AM UTC
This is weird, as I had internally taken to calling them that myself. -
2020-01-04 at 1:06 AM UTC
Apparently there is a Twitter purge underway. Cohencidence, you see. -
2020-01-04 at 1:09 AM UTC
Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
This is weird, as I had internally taken to calling them that myself.
LOL. first time I've heard this
Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Apparently there is a Twitter purge underway. Cohencidence, you see.
it's a slow rolling pogrom, so to speak -
2020-01-04 at 1:18 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 1:27 AM UTCThe Ol Wes Clark 7
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2020-01-04 at 3:13 AM UTC
Originally posted by aldra We're starting the New Year with a bang, apparently - Iraq appears to be going up in flames, and it's quite likely to spread all across the Middle East.
This current episode starts with a rocket attack (MLRS rocket artillery) on the Iraqi K1 Airbase on the 27/12/19, killing one US contractor, two Iraqi military and injuring several Iraqi and US soldiers. The US immediately blamed an Iraqi PMU, 'Khataib Hezbullah', for the attack and launched airstrikes against five installations that it characterised as 'KH bases'. The airstrikes killed 32 and injured 40+, among the dead and wounded both members of PMUs (which are now officially part of the Iraqi military) and Iraqi military regulars in the Missile Brigades. Following this attack hundreds of protesters attempted to enter the US Embassy in Baghdad (following on from mass-funerals held for the killed soldiers), overwhelming Iraqi security forces and pushing into the 'Green Zone'. In response the US military deployed around 100 marines to defend the embassy, using tear gas and less-lethal munitions to deter the protesters. The majority of them were eventually dispersed at the request of the Iraqi government and PMU leadership. On the 3/01/2020, a new attack was launched against Baghdad International Airport, ostensibly with the same 107mm rockets that'd been used previously. The rockets did little material damage to the airport but started fires, forcing it to be temporarily shut down, and destroyed the vehicle of Mohammed Redha Al-Jabri, a high-ranking official with the PMUs. Two others traveling with him were also killed, though their names have not yet been released - at the moment, one is thought to be Qassam Soleimani.
There's a lot to unpack here, so let's start from the beginning - the facts of the original K1 attack.
The Iraqi K1 airbase is known to be a hub for US PMC (Private Military Companies such as Blackwater/Academi etc.) activity, though it's also manned by Iraqi and US regular military. The attack was a barrage of ~30 107mm KAYTUSHA-style rocket artillery and killed one US contracter, two Iraqi soldiers and injured several others. The US immediately placed the blame on the Khata'ib Hezbullah PMU (Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Units are paramailitary groups that were raised to fight ISIS and were later officially folded into the Iraqi military) without providing any evidence or explanation as to why they would have targeted an Iraqi military installation rather than US forces directly. Iraqi Special Forces found what was thought to be the launch site, a makeshift MLRS rack welded into the bed of a truck, and took several photos:
There are some interesting points here:
1. Missiles do not appear to have been fired from here. Blowback would've blackened the entire enclosure, not just the actual racks.
2. Racks are at much too low an angle for rocket artillery and do not appear to be adjustable.
3. Four unfired missiles were left in the rack, likely to prove an 'Iranian link'.
3. The missiles, Iranian-made KATYUSHA clones, are of the very same batch that have been recovered from (US-backed and armed) SDF/YPG bunkers in Syria (http://archive.is/wip/r8Asr).
So we have an indiscriminate attack that happens to kill a US contractor and what is likely a staged launch site meant to point the finger at Iran. The US immediately blames an Iraqi PMU called 'Khataib Hezbullah' on the basis that it regards Hezbullah as a terrorist group, even though KH is not officially affiliated with it and does not fall under its command. Hezbullah literally translates to 'Party/Group of God' and is not an uncommon name among fighting units in general. KH in particular has fully Iraqi leadership and reports directly into the military chain of command.
It's also worth noting that the name of the contractor killed has not been released, which is strange as the US media usually plays up deaths and the loss felt by their families to generate emotional support for a military response. It is possible that the contractor death was entirely fabricated.
Next - in response to the attack, the US launched airstrikes against 5 installations it claimed to be 'Khataib Hezbullah bases'. First and foremost, KH is an Iraqi PMU and does not operate alone. The bases attacked were combined PMU/Military (PMUs are now officially part of the Iraqi military, so these attacks were directed in whole against the Iraqi military), and there were significant casualties among both the PMUs and Missile Brigades. I'll leave this one at a few notes because much more pressing issues have come up.
1. None of the bases were within 300km or so of K1, meaning none of the people killed could've been directly involved in the initial attack.
2. All of the targets were either part of or in the region of the Al-Qaim border crossing, which has long been a point of contention. It's the only border checkpoint between Iraq and Syria currently open, and it was opened by the Iraqi government to incessant protests from the US and israel. Since its opening it's been regularly attacked by israeli assets operating out of US bases. Essentially, the US wants to be the only party able to control transit into and out of Syria.
Finally, there was a barrage of assumed-KATYUSHA missiles against the Damascus International Airport. The airport itself wasn't significantly damaged, but it was temporarily shut down due to fires and it was initially reported that a car was struck in front of the airport, killing its occupants.
This was immediately treated as suspicious because the road in question is a highway with almost no traffic, meaning that the car struck was not parked and likely would've been traveling at 80+km/h, making a random strike unlikely. As it turned out, the initial missile barrage was used as a distraction to mask a targeted drone strike against that car, which killed at least two high-ranking Iraqi PMU officials as well as Qassam Soleimani, the Iranian head of the Al-Quds force and IRGC (which was only very recently confirmed).
As it stands, there are more questions that answers. It seems to me that the initial attack was staged in order to enact a pre-planned 'response', but several of the steps still do not make sense. This leads me to believe that parts are still in motion. Will post more later.
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2020-01-04 at 3:21 AM UTC
The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-04 at 4:12 AM UTCThis seems like a really poor time to start throwing your dick around but what do I know?
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2020-01-04 at 6:38 AM UTC
Originally posted by aldra Another strike on a PMU convoy in Nineveh province, six killed. PMU claims a medical unit was struck, no official list of victims yet.
US denies it was them that conducted this strike.
http://archive.is/p6yMG -
2020-01-04 at 9:45 AM UTC
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2020-01-04 at 10:03 AM UTCI love how everyone is shouting about ww3 and how the us is fucked now because of what happened with the insurgencies in other me countries, insurgents and regulars are different things entirely.
Look how fast Iraq folded, it was quick as a blink, only then it was occupied and the insurgency started.
But there is no doubt the us can fuck any and all me countries, just worry about other countries aiding them, but any country that's strong enough to do so won't get in directly because nukes are a thing.
The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-04 at 10:11 AM UTCRadio War Nerd EP #142* [REPOST] — Iran War Scenarios
https://www.patreon.com/posts/radio-war-nerd-26939754
I'll just leave this here."Go War!" Bush the Yale cheerleader
And it won't be just young, fit men fighting us. Thanks to the invention of the suicide car bomb, guerrilla commanders will have someplace to send 70 year old volunteers: down to the garage to pick up a Plymouth packed full of fertilizer bomb. You don't have to be young to put the pedal to the metal…
…imagine what the Iranians, the original Islamic suicide squads, will do when we invade. There'll be traffic jams, ten-mile backups, outside every US base, thousands of car bombers honking and changing lanes trying to get to the front of the line and make that final commute to Paradise. It'll be like the San Diego freeway on a Monday morning, except the fenderbenders will be a little more serious.
The Iranians, unlike the Iraqis, have always been willing to die for their country. In the Iran-Iraq War (1980-89) thousands of Iranians volunteered to charge across Iraqi minefields, knowing they were going to die. It scared the Hell out of the Iraqis. They threw everything at those crazy Persian suicide charges, even poison gas. And the Iranians just kept coming. -
2020-01-04 at 10:14 AM UTC
