U.S. Troops Stage Second Secret Raid at Iraq Airport (ABC)

[underpants]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2788262&page=1
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2007 — U.S. troops staged two secret raids in northern Iraq today, ABC News has learned, capturing as many as six Iranians and only narrowly avoiding a gun battle with local security forces, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry and local officials in northern Iraq's Kurdish region.

The Iranian government has made an official complaint to the government in Baghdad, which the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has relayed to the U.S. Embassy.

In the first raid, the U.S. troops stormed a building that houses the Iranian liaison office in the northern city of Irbil at 3 a.m. local time, where they detained at least five Iranians and also confiscated computers and documents.

In the second raid, staged later in the day, U.S. troops attempted to abduct more people from inside the perimeter of Irbil airport, but were surrounded by Kurdish peshmerga troops.

[AndyA]

1. Anyone still doubt that Bush is itchin' for a war expansion?

He wants to get Iran involved, and he's going to do it in any manner he can. Why intentionally agitate a country in an area that is already so troubled? There's only one reason.

HE MUST BE STOPPED!

[MGD]

7. Was there ever any doubt? I called this one years ago. We have Iran completely surrounded

for a reason and; furthermore, the Iraq thing never made any sense unless you accept that Iraq is but one phase in a larger planned offensive against Iran who most people would agree, is a much bigger threat to America than Iraq or Afghanistan. I anticipate a massive air offensive spearheaded by the F-22 Raptor which has recently been deemed combat ready and has also recently been deployed overseas for the first time. The mobilization of the Eisenhower Aircraft Carrier Group is further evidence of the inevitability of this course of action. It's going to happen. Iran should have listened to the UN.
edit spelling

[coalition_unwilling]

10. Actually, Iran has us completely surrounded in Iraq, if the

Shiaa population there rises up against the U.S. occupation. Are you ready for 140,000+ U.S. POW's???

Iran's army has 1 million troops. It has 40,000 trained suicide bombers ready to deploy. And very up-to-date SAM and Surface to Surface missiles.

[MGD]

11. Iran is surrounded by US air bases and aircraft carriers.

They can be hit simultaneously from all sides indefinitely and they have a very limited means of massing and projecting their own offensive power against us. What's more, I'm not at all convinced that a large scale "Shia uprising" in Iraq is probable. From globalsecurity.org: "the Shia community has never unified behind a Shia cause. A variety of views about politics and religion contradicts the image of a monolithic, radical, and pro-Iranian Shia community. Although there are strong cultural and familial links between Iraqi and Iranian Shia, Arab identity and national sentiment remain powerful influences within the community."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-shia1.htm



"Iran's army has 1 million troops"
They won't do them very much good in an airwar. They can try deploying them to Iraq but that would be a turkey shoot for us.

"It has 40,000 trained suicide bombers ready to deploy"
Deploy where? More importantly, how?

"And very up-to-date SAM ..."
Which can't lock onto the F-22 or the F-117 or the B-2. They can scan for us but they'll just give their positions away.

"and Surface to Surface missiles"
Will they fire them into Iraq? That would not engender much support for them from the Iraqi on the street.

[coalition_unwilling]

12. You are absolutely right about that portion of the attack from the

air. However, what good would a bombing campaign do us or anyone strategically or even tactically? (About as much good as our strategic bombing campaigns against DPRKorea ca. 1951-52 and North Vietnam ca 1965-69 did.

The air war would have to be followed by boots on the ground to accomplish any lasting strategic or tactical gain, at which point we would suffer the same type of ignominious stalemate\defeat we suffered in Korea and Vietnam.

[Zhade]

2. More stories about Iranian this and Iranian that today.

Didn't the media learn its lesson last time?

NO! Stop this!

[maddezmom]

3. K&R see this thread for more info

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2684139

[jsamuel]

4. "U.S. troops ATTEMPTED to abduct more people"

but failed? hmmm....

[lyonn]

5. The plot is thickening.... EOM

[Supersedeas]

6. when escalation means expansion and not a surge

[superconnected]

8. Guess he really wants the troops for iran.

[rodeodance]

9. It is unclear where the U.S. troops came from —

Both sides were heavily armed, and shooting very nearly broke out. "There weren't any casualties, but it was a split second really for a disaster to happen. This has created a great deal of anxiety," said Zebari.


'Delicate Situation'

It is unclear where the U.S. troops came from — even local U.S. officials contacted by the Kurdish authorities had no knowledge of the armed men.

The American military later issued a statement saying it had detained six people in a raid in Irbil, but did not specify their nationality or give any other information about the raids.


The raids came within hours of President Bush's speech about future U.S. policy in Iraq, which included a pledge to "interrupt the flow of support from Iran" for anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.