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Iraq - Major Escalation Underway (January 2020)
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2020-01-07 at 4:19 AM UTC
Originally posted by Octavian Trump has single handedly manage to help unite the 3 main warring sects. This is going to make it much more difficult to operate and put more lives at risk.
he hitchhiked into it based on the advices of his advicers.
the dod presented him with 3 games, tic-tac-toe, rock-scissior-paper, and russian roulette. and hes a fan of russians so ... -
2020-01-07 at 4:22 AM UTC
Originally posted by Octavian Their Iron dome defence system can't keep them safe forever.
IRON DOME is a joke, it managed to stop like 2% of the shitty homemade HAMAS missiles during CAST LEAD, and the only time it's ever worked at all was with a US AEGIS-ONSHORE unit controlling it. It's unlikely to fare well against the spastic number of 'modern' rockets that Iran and Hezbullah have been stockpiling.
Last year or so they invited a Russian diplomat to demo their new DAVID'S SLING ABM system; they tried to intercept missiles that the SAA had launched against ISIS positions near the Golan and failed miserably. -
2020-01-07 at 4:23 AM UTCBesides, those interceptors are based on PATRIOT missiles so I assume they have a similar price tag... of $800k per unit fired.
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2020-01-07 at 11:41 AM UTC
Originally posted by aldra IRON DOME is a joke, it managed to stop like 2% of the shitty homemade HAMAS missiles during CAST LEAD, and the only time it's ever worked at all was with a US AEGIS-ONSHORE unit controlling it. It's unlikely to fare well against the spastic number of 'modern' rockets that Iran and Hezbullah have been stockpiling.
Last year or so they invited a Russian diplomat to demo their new DAVID'S SLING ABM system; they tried to intercept missiles that the SAA had launched against ISIS positions near the Golan and failed miserably.
Hahaha I never knew this. I thought it had a strong hit interception rate?
It won't matter if Iran gets hold of those new supersonic missiles the Ruskies have. -
2020-01-07 at 8:52 PM 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.
aldra
i just read your poast now
can you condense some of your further comments to the op
i dont have time to go 200+ & several threads right now -
2020-01-07 at 9:46 PM UTC
Originally posted by aldra Besides, those interceptors are based on PATRIOT missiles so I assume they have a similar price tag… of $800k per unit fired.
How much of that is amortised R+D cost tho?
And if the Iranians did start hitting Israel heavily, what is to stop Israel just nuking Iranian cities? I mean they were loading their nukes onto planes to hit Arab capital cities back in 1973.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-07 at 9:48 PM UTCWithout reading;
That
Means:C\Short Run -
2020-01-07 at 10:44 PM UTC
Originally posted by aldra IRON DOME is a joke, it managed to stop like 2% of the shitty homemade HAMAS missiles during CAST LEAD, and the only time it's ever worked at all was with a US AEGIS-ONSHORE unit controlling it. It's unlikely to fare well against the spastic number of 'modern' rockets that Iran and Hezbullah have been stockpiling.
Last year or so they invited a Russian diplomat to demo their new DAVID'S SLING ABM system; they tried to intercept missiles that the SAA had launched against ISIS positions near the Golan and failed miserably.
God I love how they keep naming these weapons of medium destruction after biblical things
The people who name them have to gushing wet with ironyThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-07 at 10:46 PM UTC
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2020-01-07 at 11:37 PM UTC/wet smudge
smeet l33n
kewl keith
retard
retardwadog
autiwithapope
euthawithamind -
2020-01-08 at 12:35 AM UTCok but now what aldra
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2020-01-08 at 12:39 AM UTCfuck shit I've been busy at work
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2020-01-08 at 12:41 AM UTC
Originally posted by aldra fuck shit I've been busy at work
What if they had a war and everyone was too busy working to turn up?
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/missile-strike-reportedly-carried-out-against-us-base-iraq -
2020-01-08 at 12:49 AM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-01-08 at 1:32 AM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-01-08 at 5:48 AM UTCSimple saber rattling as always.
*Trump invades Iran, opens Trump tower, McDonalds and stock exchanges* -
2020-01-08 at 5:51 AM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-01-08 at 6:30 AM UTC
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukrainian-boeing-737-180-board-crashes-after-takeoff-iran
Someone seems to have just shot down or blown up an Ukraine International plane departing Tehran. Iran are trying to play it off as a "malfunction", but it looks like the plane was burning and breaking up as it was falling. -
2020-01-08 at 6:40 AM UTCI haven't found any reliable information on the missile strikes' damage yet. The launches started at the exact time Soleimani was killed and ended when his body was buried. Both the US and Iraqi security forces are reporting no casualties so far. The al-Assad base is large and US forces are currently in the process of being moved to 'safer' regions so it's possible only material damage occurred,
It's important to keep a wide view too, this is not just about the US and Iran - Iraqi PMUs have announced their own anti-US operation, and both al-Sadr and several prominent Sunni Imams have made speeches declaring that the Sunni and Shiite should work together to push the US out, politically, militarily or otherwise.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-01-08 at 6:42 AM UTC
Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukrainian-boeing-737-180-board-crashes-after-takeoff-iran
Someone seems to have just shot down or blown up an Ukraine International plane departing Tehran. Iran are trying to play it off as a "malfunction", but it looks like the plane was burning and breaking up as it was falling.
Iranian media says early reports indicate engine failure. Gulf 'news' outlets started claiming it'd been shot down six minutes after it fell.
And yeah it was definitely a plane, it has detailed flight control records available
