Posted on 06/20/2019 2:27:05 AM PDT by Jyotishi
Play: U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Bob Brown Watch: More troops to head to Mideast as Iran tensions rise
In a major provocation, Iran shot down an unarmed and unmanned U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone while it was flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz Thursday, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The incident is sure to trigger serious discussions within the Trump administration about how to respond to a direct attack on a U.S. military asset that goes beyond recent attacks in the Middle East that the U.S. has blamed on Iran.
(More: US to send 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East as tensions escalate with Iran)
Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, offered a strongly worded threat to the U.S. after the drone was downed.
"Shooting down the American spy drone had a clear, decisive, firm and accurate message," he said, translated from Farsi. "The message is that the guardians of the borders of Islamic Iran will decisively respond to the violation of any stranger to this land. The only solution for the enemies is to respect the territorial integrity and national interests of Iran."
"We do not intend to engage in war with any country, but we are completely ready for the war. Today's incident is a clear sign of this accurate message," Salami added.
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman photo by Alex Evers
The Triton unmanned aircraft system completes its first flight May 22, 2013 from the Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Palmdale, Calif.
The U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile while the reconnaissance drone was flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, a U.S. official told ABC News.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
It has the wing span of a 737. This ain’t a $400 drone from Sam’s Club. The US will respond....
Nothing?
Not even an Iranian nuke sitting in a nice Bertram yacht tied up at the Capital Yacht Club in DC? Or a similar marina in NYC?
I think that the missile they use to shoot down the drone was either Russian of Russian technology.
I don’t think that Iran is going it alone.
Great catch.
If we stand by as Iran conquers the Gulf kingdoms, we will reap the dividend when Iran’s nuclear warheads flatten our cities.
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Hysterical rambling. When Iran actually invades 1/10th of the foreign territory that the U.S. has over it’s history, then come back and resume this discussion.
If the Iranians even thought of using nuclear weapons against Israel, the Israeli military would destroy their major cities in a few hours. The mullahs would have only accomplished their own destruction and that of Iran.
Everyone thinks they have a plan, until they get punched in the face.
Iran, with the backing of American Democrats, China and Russia, is trying to provoke Trump. This is intended to hurt him in the 2020 election. He must be very careful.
Sleeping giant? Uncle Sam is often drunk on his own pop culture and passed out on the floor. World leaders line up to kick Sam in the nuts until he gets up weaves around and smashes up the bar. Then he feels regretful and empties his wallet on diplomacy buying rounds of drinks until he passes out on the floor again and world leaders line up for another kick.
No need for war, just take out a refinery each week...war would last about a week.
The embattled and desperate US Intel Community and The Establishment —but I repeat myself— has asked for Iran’s assistance in getting rid of Trump by provoking a long and expensive war with Iran.
Iran said okay, since they hate Trump and America, too.
And people here say Iranian chicks are hot, and we owe it to Neda, the girl shot in the head in The Green Revolution. Why, I have no idea, but there it is. And they say Israel is the only democracy in the region, so we owe it to them, too —I read that here.
Say, you notice just how comfortable Americans have gotten to OWING stuff to people...?
We’re going to see if a country already in hoc to the tun of $23 trillion and fighting seven wars can go out and make it EIGHT, a great, big octopus with warring arms all over planet Earth.
Lessay after some years and more body bags that we pull it off:
Will there be any glory to it? How many in Tehran —the Nedas, I mean— we be praising America’s name to the high heavens?
Their gratitude will be less than that of Iraq. We all remember them showering us with thanks, right..? Oh, and all that glory and parades and ticker tape and flower garlands after Baghdad fell, wasn’t it amazing..?
Most importantly:
Will Trump be Prez after all this tilting at windmills...?
I really doubt it. We’ll have Bernie or Buttigieg.
Today the USA is England in 1935.
Yup..!
He had it all wrapped up, it was his to lose.
Now?
It's a whole different ball of wax.
Surely we have capability to covertly exact retribution for this attack on our assets?
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Two can play this game and we have many options for “disrupting” all manner of Iranian assets. All without engaging in a hot war. In other words, quietly.
+1
Using the expression “our allies” is a bit of an oxymoron.
Dems would try to use it as propaganda against pres. Trump, but I think most people would understand that Iran is the aggressor and we just couldn’t let them get away with it, because then they do worse things, potentially even nuke us, the USA.
Shooting down aircraft in international airspace and attaching mines on civilian shipping, you had better be ready for war.
Even with this definitive statement, we have many asshats who will keep twisting reality so they can make us the bad guys here..... Saw some on the earlier thread talking about how it "smelled like smoke" and insinuated we are making excuses even as Iran tries to goad us into military action - they know a LOT of folks will do anything to hurt President Trump and are counting on folks like our own wayward FReepers (hurts to call them other than concern trolls but even that isn't strong enough these days) to flock to their side and start sit ins with the "Peace" signs...
Because of the economic sanctions, Iran was ALREADY sinking.
THAT is why they attacked, because of their desperation.
They want to embroil us in a war, then put pressure on Russia and China to isolate us, maybe get Trump out of office and then get a liberal Prez who will restart Obama’s palaver and servile $upplicating.
All we had to do was wait, at the very least until Trump was safety re-elected, then do as we pleased, at our leisure.
Now?
We are playing the game the desperate Iranians want us to play.
I think I read somewhere that iran does not have 1 refinery.
That same media will criticize Trump for being weak if he backs off and slam him for being reckless if he does Praying Mantis again.
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Precisely right. He’s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t.
The bigger concern however is your point that weakness is provocative. The world only respects one thing: strength. Any sign of hesitancy or shakiness is quickly noticed and is perceived as an invitation to increased aggression. That is the big risk here.
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