Boy those Israelis are good. Disguising that preemptive tactical nuke strike as an earthquake was pure genius. :)
U.S. Airlifting Disaster Aid into Iran:
First flights since failed hostage-rescue raid in 1980
December 27, 2003
CNN
CNN.com
WASHINGTON -- To offer assistance to Iranian earthquake victims, the United States will send its first military flights into the country since an elite force tried to rescue U.S. hostages in April 1980.
Operation Desert One was a failed, top-secret mission designed to rescue 66 hostages held in the capital, Tehran.
Mechanical problems in Iran's Great Salt Desert caused the mission to be aborted. As one of six helicopters departed, it crashed into a C-130 cargo plane, causing an explosion that killed eight servicemen.
The U.S. did not try a second rescue attempt, and the hostages were eventually released. The United States has no diplomatic ties with Iran, a nation that President Bush has labeled part of the "axis of evil."
The new mission will include more than 200 personnel and more than 150,000 pounds of medical supplies, including blood, to provide emergency assistance for the victims of Friday's earthquake in Bam, Iran, the White House said Saturday.
The earthquake -- with a magnitude of 6.6 -- hit the ancient city before dawn, killing between 5,000 and 20,000 people. As many as 30,000 people are believed to have been injured, the Interior Ministry said.
The flights carrying personnel to assist victims of the earthquake were scheduled to depart three U.S. Air Force bases -- Dover, March and Westover -- on Saturday, a Bush administration official said.
The medical supplies would be sent from U.S. bases in Kuwait, the White House said.
The plans were made after extensive discussions between the U.S. and Iranian governments, the Bush administration official said.
In a statement, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States is working with "Iranian authorities, the United Nations, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent to rapidly deploy humanitarian assistance.
"The United States will deploy civilian teams composed of more than 200 experts in urban search and rescue, emergency surgery, and disaster response coordination," including medical response teams from Boston, Massachusetts, and local disaster response teams from Los Angeles, California, and Fairfax County, Virginia, the statement said.
Disaster response experts will be sent from the United States Agency for International Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
At least one U.S. citizen was killed in the earthquake and another was injured, a State Department official said.
The two Americans -- whose names were not released -- were in Bam to visit the city's 2,000-year-old citadel, the State Department official said.
The injured American has been hospitalized and is receiving medical care for injuries that are serious but not life-threatening, the department official said.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/27/iran.us.aid/index.htmlI love these hilarious posts, alluding that Iran is now Pro Jew/Israel. Where do these lunatics come from. I am starting to believe that FR has been infiltrated by a pro Muslim cabal, here to simply propagandize and promote a pro Muslim agenda.