A Deadly U.S.-Iran Firefight

time ^ | Mar. 30, 2007 By MARK KUKIS/BAQUBAH | By MARK KUKIS/BAQUBAH

[Flavius]

The soldiers who were there still talk about the September 7 firefight on the Iran-Iraq border in whispers. At Forward Operating Base Warhorse, the main U.S. military outpost in Iraq's eastern Diyala Province bordering Iran, U.S. troops recount events reluctantly, offering details only on condition that they remain nameless. Everyone seems to sense the possible consequences of revealing that a clash between U.S. and Iranian forces had turned deadly. And although the Pentagon has acknowledged that a firefight took place, it says it cannot say anything more. "For that level of detail, you're going to have to ask the [U.S.] military in Baghdad," says Army Lieut. Col. Mark Ballesteros. "We don't know anything about it."

[Perdogg]

I hoped we wasted a whole bunch of them.

[glorgau]

Just like the firefight that happened when the Iranians tried to sieze some British Marines?

[Flavius]

this is all getting out of hand fast

[Frank_2001]

Oh come on, tell uas all about it- this is Free Republic. we can keep a secret!;)

[Parley Baer]

I have seen references to this incident in the past. Now it is clear they were trying to capture US Troops but we fired back. We need to do some serious patrolling of the border. Any resistance and they will be shot.

[SIDENET]

Here's an idea:

How 'bout we just keep playing footsie with this scum until they capture a bunch of our soldiers and get a nuke?

Geez.

[popdonnelly]

Bombs away!

[denydenydeny]

As U.S. and Iraqi soldiers approached the Iranian officer and began speaking with him, a platoon of Iranian soldiers appeared and moved to surround the coalition patrol, taking up positions on high ground. At that point, according to the Army's statement, the Iranian captain told the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers that if they tried to leave they would be fired on. Fearing abduction by the Iranians, U.S. troops moved to go anyway, and fighting broke out.

Looks like Plan B was the British sailors. Plan A didn't work that well.

[processing please hold]

this is all getting out of hand fast

Good, way past time to lance that boil.

[Pox]

How? This happened over 6 months ago, and it looks like even though some Iraqi's were captured, the Iranians got zero Americans captured or injured for their effort.

Getting out of hand might be scores of dead Iranian soldiers along the Iran/Iraq border, but I've not heard of that up to this point.

[DAC22]

The situation is catch 22, the Mullahs are baiting us for Military action. Their bet is that it will be limited in nature, and will rally the country. Even a Navy embargo will accomplish the same thing.

Their grip on the country is waning as is, what do we do?. Real tough call.

[HardStarboard]

Iran has been out of hand since 1979. I think there is a program afoot that may just bring them back "to hand". Wait a couple of weeks.

[FastCoyote]

"Their grip on the country is waning as is, what do we do?. Real tough call."

Not that tough a call, a gasoline embargo until the soldiers return would be pretty effective.

[Pox]

I'm of the opinion that the scuttlebutt you are referring to is bogus. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

[Humble Servant]

"Not that tough a call, a gasoline embargo until the soldiers return would be pretty effective."

How will Russia and China respond to an embargo? When you say "embargo", I'm not sure where that lies on the spectrum between boycott (choosing not to buy for oneself) and blockade (physically preventing anyone from transporting).

The hardest part of this for me is figuring out the "if We.. the They..." statements. It's like 3-D chess, only with millions of lives. I hope we make the right move, and it's decisive. Just wish I was confident about what it is.

(P.S. Rereading this, I'm reminded of my only favorite New Yorker cartoon, in which the wife stands there with the newspaper in front of her husband, and says, " You took out a full-page ad in the Times to say that you're CONFUSED?")

[Brilliant]

Sounds like a lot of bull to me. It happened 8 months ago and we're just learning of it?

Even if it really happened, then it just proves that the only way to deal with the Iranians is to stand up to them.

[PerConPat]

Iran has been out of hand since 1979.

52 hostages for 444 days, 220 USMC/18 USN/3 USA personnel murdered on one morning and NO significant retaliation have always told the Mullahs all they need to know about American will power- Pub and Dim.

[Pox]

I've been hearing that same line for almost 3 decades now. The hardliners are nowhere near losing their grip on power, IMO.

Say your supposition is correct. The best thing to do outside of our likely interior clandestine operations that I think are already occurring is to embargo, eradicate their naval forces, remove their refinery, and level their reactor along with hammering all of their known nuke facilities. It's way past time to take down their terrorist initiating regime and perhaps some internal attacks in Europe from Iranian led sappers will finally put enough steel into the backbones of Europeans to prod them into acting with us in this endeavor.

Yeah, I know, wishful thinking.

[yldstrk]

It has been out of hand for months while Iran has interfered with the US and Iraq for the past eighteen months or so. Now we are getting ready to interfere with Iran.