In a series of media briefings this month, the U.S. military has displayed mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb alleged to have been made in Iran. The military has acknowledged there is no direct evidence the Iranian leadership is responsible, and the Bush administration denies it is building a case for attacking Iran as it did with Iraq in 2003.
But skepticism abounds about the origin of the weapons, with critics wondering why those alleged to have been made in Iran had markings in English, not Farsi. And Monday, the New York Times printed a letter from an Iranian diplomat who said dates on some of the weapons shown - including a warhead marked 5-31-2006 - prove the U.S. claims are "preposterous."
"The dates are in the American date format - month first, day second - whereas the rest of the world does not use this format," wrote M.A. Mohammadi, press secretary for Iran's U.N. mission. Iran and most other countries put the day first, followed by month and year.
Judging from photos on the Web site of Defense Industries Organization, which makes weapons for sale as well as for the country's own defense, Iran does use English lettering - such as HE for "high explosives" - on at least some weapons in accord with international standards. However, none of the weapons shown on the company's site appear to be dated.
There are also visible differences between 81mm mortar shells known to be made by Iran and those displayed Feb. 11 by the U.S. military at a Baghdad briefing. The Iranian mortar shell has four horizontal ribs below the lettering and no date; the one shown in Baghdad has three ribs above the lettering and the date 3-2006.
Indeed, as skeptics have pointed out, the mortar shell displayed in Baghdad looks more like a shell that was made in Iraq - not Iran - around the time of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. After the most recent war began in 2003, coalition troops found caches of munitions throughout Iraq but failed to secure many of them. Tons of weapons fell into insurgent hands.
So. Fraud on part of the administration? More lying? Trick by Iran? What? It's important to know.
In a series of media briefings this month, the U.S. military has displayed mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb alleged to have been made in Iran. The military has acknowledged there is no direct evidence the Iranian leadership is responsible, and the Bush administration denies it is building a case for attacking Iran as it did with Iraq in 2003.
But skepticism abounds about the origin of the weapons, with critics wondering why those alleged to have been made in Iran had markings in English, not Farsi. And Monday, the New York Times printed a letter from an Iranian diplomat who said dates on some of the weapons shown - including a warhead marked 5-31-2006 - prove the U.S. claims are "preposterous."
"The dates are in the American date format - month first, day second - whereas the rest of the world does not use this format," wrote M.A. Mohammadi, press secretary for Iran's U.N. mission. Iran and most other countries put the day first, followed by month and year.
Judging from photos on the Web site of Defense Industries Organization, which makes weapons for sale as well as for the country's own defense, Iran does use English lettering - such as HE for "high explosives" - on at least some weapons in accord with international standards. However, none of the weapons shown on the company's site appear to be dated.
There are also visible differences between 81mm mortar shells known to be made by Iran and those displayed Feb. 11 by the U.S. military at a Baghdad briefing. The Iranian mortar shell has four horizontal ribs below the lettering and no date; the one shown in Baghdad has three ribs above the lettering and the date 3-2006.
Indeed, as skeptics have pointed out, the mortar shell displayed in Baghdad looks more like a shell that was made in Iraq - not Iran - around the time of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. After the most recent war began in 2003, coalition troops found caches of munitions throughout Iraq but failed to secure many of them. Tons of weapons fell into insurgent hands.
Here we go again. A deadly and clever enemy dupes the foolish Americans so they can kill them later. President Bush, our Commander and Chief, is NOT the enemy.
Interesting post. Bump for later.
And, we're suppose to believe reports from Iran because????????????????
Rove, you magnifi . . . . . . oopsie, little glitch there!!
/sarc
Clearly, the Iranians think we are as stupid as they are.
This entire article is crap, the St. Pete paper is so far left they've become a kind of jr version of the Slimes. I cannot believe this woman's writings because of her obvious hatred of the administration and our military. She points out, many times, that we are the liars, we are the source of all evil in the ME and we are responsible for the countless numbers of weapons floating around Iraq and the Iranians are simply seeking to protect themselves from the bad guys, us. The left in this Country has become a study in hate, lies and madness.
Longtime CP fronter recently working with the Iraq antiwar movement. His website is on a list of usual suspects recommended as "resources" in Appendix II of John Dean's Worse Than Watergate. Also acknowledged in William Arkin's Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs, and Operations in the 9/11 World.
Pike previously worked for nearly two decades with the Federation of American Scientists, where he directed the Space Policy, Cyberstrategy, Military Analysis, Nuclear Resource and Intelligence Resource projects. Pike developed the Federation's award winning website, and was personally responsible for creating most of the site's online content. He has also been at the forefront of utilizing satellite imagery to monitor worldwide weapons facilities.
Frequently called upon to testify before Congress, Pike in 1983 established the Space Policy Working Group, comprised of Congressional staff and advocacy organizations concerned with missile defense issues. Ten years later, he set up the Military Spending Group, composed of public interest organizations working on alternative security strategies. Pike helped form the National Campaign to Save the ABM Treaty, and served on its Executive Committee. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has served on a variety of non-governmental boards and advisory committees, including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Peace Research and European Security Studies Center, and the Verification Technology Information Centre of London. He has been a consultant to numerous groups, including the United Nations Group of Government Experts on Confidence Building Measures in Outer Space. In 1991 he participated in the NASA International Near-Earth Object (NEO) Detection Panel, and served as a consultant to the NEO Working Group of the International Astronomical Union.
Why does the media think John Pike is a "national security expert"?
Media and GlobalSecurity.org | January 17, 2001
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/610069/posts
By who?