Teheran Agents Smuggled In Missile That Shot Down RAF Helicopter In Iraq

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 3-3-2007 | Sean Rayment

[Jet Jaguar]

Bump!

[b4its2late]

No retaliation though, I'm afraid.

[GATOR NAVY]

The Lynx Mark 7 was travelling low over central Basra on a sortie to familiarise Wg Cdr Coxen with the dangers that his pilots might face.

Wonder if there was some intel that got to the insurgents that they decided this weapon was worth using to get a high value target. What's a wing commander equivalent to, a colonel?

[Eagles6]

"British troops found discarded missile parts in a nearby building after the incident."

That's enough for me.

[ducdriver]

Clearly, an act of war.

[Jet Jaguar]

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Iraqi extremists trained in Iran: US intelligence

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791873/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791873/posts

[Red Badger]

In the "Old Days" that would be a Caussus Belli.......

[SittinYonder]

If you've tied your own hands and already announced there will be no response, what's the point of an inquiry?

[Army Air Corps]

It is equivalent to a Lt. Col.

[Cicero]

The Foreign Office is expected to use the findings to step up diplomatic pressure on the Iranian government, which has been asked to crack down on units within its defence and security services believed to be supplying weapons and bomb-making technology to insurgents in Iraq.

Which is to say that they are following the same line as General Peter Pace: We don't know if the Iranian government is responsible, or "rogue elements." A good way out if you don't want to fight back. And nice ammunition for the peaceniks.

[doc1019]

WWI, we kicked the Kaiser’s ass. WWII, we whipped the Japanese and Germans. After that we became “sensitive” to the wiles of world consensus. Since than we have “lost” in Korea, “lost” in VN. And will probably lose in “ROPistan”.

[Grut]

In the "Old Days" that would be a Caussus Belli.......

In the Old Days, the Soviets did it to us in Vietnam and we did it to them in Afghanistan. No war.

[holden]

What evidence is there of "rogue element" activity elsewhere in the recent past from Iran? Assuming for a moment there is some such evidence, would it be more comparable to the CIA black ops than to French Foreign Legionnaires?

That is in part to ask, are Iranian military elements with access and wherewithal to carry out the missile shoot-down of a low-flying, five-person British Wing Commander's helicopter over Basrah likely to be "rogue" or likely "undocumented foreign fighters?"

(Can one find truly "rogue element" activity from the US military since "Kelly's Heroes," outside the CIA?)

HF

[Cicero]

Presumably General Pace said what he was cleared to say, I agree. Whoever actually coordinated these responses really screwed up, since it allowed the news media to say, first you tell us one thing and then you tell us another. So they were able to imply that the first responses were lies.

[Cicero]

I don't know how you would absolutely rule out any sort of independent action at lower levels, but it doesn't seem terribly likely.

I think this is just a bit of diplomatic hedging.

[Chgogal]

Ping

[forYourChildrenVote4Bush]

You are correct, the difference with all is the MSM wants to see you fail, the ratings of bad news is more important than national pride and national security.

[holden]

To the degree a military maintains training and discipline would be the degree it would be unlikely there would be rogue elements. As Iran's Global Firepower rating is 16th in the world, i.e., fairly high, I would think it unlikely there be rogue elements, to the point that one would have to quickly and publicly say to the Iranian Government, "Please show the world the paper trail of these armaments (including 100+ sniper rifles, IEDs, shaped projectiles, etc.), how they were long ago reported stolen, and how their delivery to Iraq could have been done by anyone other than by Iranian troops, over whom we understand you to have complete control--if anyone is to believe they weren't officially ordered to Iraq by you."

HF