[Smogger]

My question is where are they getting these suddenly very effective surface to air missiles, and how best should we punish the Iranians?

[Albert Barr]

Seems Iran may be doing the same thing we did to the Soviets in Afghanistan. It is well past time to start doing something about Iranian meddling.

Sometimes it seems as if freerepublic is the only place where people "get it."

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

We need to start bombing Iran's border defenses NOW!

[cll]

"how best should we punish the Iranians?"

Easy: sink their Navy, dstroy their air force (if they have one), destroy all their armor, obliterate all their air defenses, MOAB all their nuclear plants, and execute all their agents inside Iraq.

[Wiggins]

Most likely through Iran and Syria with Russian help. They are probably thinking about how much damage the Stingers caused the Russians back in the 80s in Afghanistan and feel they could do the same to us in Iraq with a similar missile.

[jwparkerjr]

I can't for the life of me understand why we have not done more to punish Iran for its involvement in this war. What are we afraid of?

I know we can't launch an all-out war against them but gosh it seems like there would be measures we could take to mess with them and their ability to interject themselves into our efforts in Iraq.

Until we extract a price from them, and one they feel the pain of paying, they are going to go on doing whatever they can to mess with us.

To date they've paid absolutely no price for their three decades of poking us in the eye.

As far as they're concerned they can just go on doing whatever they want and think that we are somehow powerless to respond. No wonder they think of us a paper tigers.

[FreedomNeocon]

We know exactly where they are getting the missiles.

We knew and watch the transfer and sale of the missiles.

At the time we just 'warned' that the sale of them "better not show up in Iraq", because we knew they would be much more effective than what was currently in theater.

Hint... the nation also has no problem overtly selling nuclear technology to rogue nations.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Russia, via Iran.

[Levante]

"...how best should we punish the Iranians?"

Launching massive attacks on their terrorist camps and training centers, and killing several thousand of the bastards is a good start.

[Tommyjo]

Iraq has thousands of MANPADS. Everything from basic SA-7s all the way up to the more sophisticated SA-18. Think of all those stockpiles that went missing before Coalition forces could secure weapons dumps?

[moose2004]

Russia is selling them to Iran and Syria, and Iranian Syraian agents are funneling them to Iraq.

[thinking]

if you want to know where the new missiles are coming from...suggest a review of the Russians in Afghanistan, and their defeat, caused, mainly from heat seeking missiles...so with this in mind, can you think of country that would rejoice, in turning the tables in Iraq?