Red line, huh..?
Baaad Assad, huh..?
Or instead more “UNDER THE RADAR” stuff..?
Where did they GET the stuff? I think I know.
When Reagan paid Khaddafi back for Lockerbie by some coincidence he did hit Benghazi itself, in addition to various locations in and around Tripoli, obviously.
The now-chastened Khaddafi calmed down and knowing the full wrath of US airpower, went on a decades-long MANPADS buying binge.
The US operators were acquiring, appraising, servicing and TRANSFERRING lots of MANPADS, in addition to other gear.