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If reporters could all stop the heavy breathing for a moment, they might ask the folks at the White House and in the Pentagon to explain why those bombs that they displayed as "evidence" of Iranian perfidy had English words and numbers on them, instead of Persian.
I understand that Iranian manufacturers use English to identify products produced for export, but these devices--if they are Iranian--aren't really part of their general export product list.
That's not to say that Iran is not involved in any of the fighting in Iraq. It would be astounding if they were not, being as they are right next door and have an intense interest in the future of Iraq, a country that fought an eight-year, US-supported war against them not long ago. But I think it raises questions about the quality of the US evidence purporting to prove that Iran is providing bombs that can pierce American armored vehicles.
Of course there are other reasons to doubt the administration too, besides the simple fact that it has shown itself to be seriously truth-challenged. A major problem is that most of the Americans who have died in Iraq, and who are continuing to die in Iraq, are being killed by Sunni fighters, and Iran has been backing the Shia side there, not the Sunnis.
At least until Bush came up with his bright idea of escalating the Iraq War by attacking Moktada al Sadr's forces in Baghdad last month, the Shia forces were leaving American troops alone, and were focused on killing Sunnis and the occasional Brit.
The other thing is that these shaped charges are not all that sophisticated, for all the huffing and puffing over at the Pentagon. Basically it's a matter of making a concave bottom of the blast cannister, which converts into a high-velocity slug in the explosion, becoming an excellent armor penetrator ahead of the explosion.
This is not rocket science, and is easily within the technological capabilities of the insurgent forces in Iraq.
In fact, if you google "Iraq and shaped charges," you discover that the Sunni insurgents have been using shaped charges against U.S. forces for well over a year and a half, to devastating effect. On October 10, 2005, for example, the BBC ran a story by Neil Arun headlined, "Shaped bombs magnify Iraq attacks." It stated, "According to defense sources, basic armor-piercing weapons are easy to manufacture, drawing on principles discovered more than a century ago and in use since World War Two."
It adds that the system uses something called the "Munroe Effect" after an US Navy scientist, Charles Munroe, who invented the technique in--get this--1888.
So clearly there is no need for Iran to be providing such devices to Iraqi insurgents.
Why do mainstream American reporters and editors--like the reporters at ABC and MSNBC--have to repeatedly display such ignorant and willful gullibilty? Why can't they at least check their own clip files or do a 30-second google search before they run with the garbage being spoon-fed to them by by Washington's official war-mongers?
Speaking as a reporter, I have to say I'm embarrassed for them.
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A word of caution on US claims of Iranian weapons killing GIs
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
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a guest
said:
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there's more smoke to this reichstag fire... remember the AP story about the blond, english-speaking soldiers...er...insurgents in US fatigues doing a hit-and-run on a US base in karbala that came out at the end of january? it went through several revisions and retractions before coming out in the following form, but in the end, blame was laid at the doorstep of tehran: "BAGHDAD, Iraq Jan 27, 2007 (AP)— In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death. ... The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad, was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles (the type used by U.S. government convoys), had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English, according to two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials. None of the American or Iraqi officials would allow use of their names because of the sensitive nature of the information. ... Iraqi officials said the approaching convoy of black GMC Suburbans was waved through an Iraqi checkpoint at the edge of the city. The Iraqi soldiers believed it to be American because of the type of vehicles, the distinctive camouflage American uniforms and the fact that they spoke English. One Iraqi official said the leader of the assault team was blond, but no other official confirmed that. A top Iraqi security official for Karbala province told the AP that the Iraqi guards at the checkpoint radioed ahead to the governor's compound to alert their compatriots that the convoy was on its way. ... The attackers captured four soldiers and fled with them and the computer east toward Mahawil in Babil province, crossing the Euphrates River, the U.S. military officials said. The Iraqi officials said the four were captured alive and shot just before the vehicles were abandoned. Police, who became suspicious when the convoy of attackers and their American captives did not stop at a roadblock, chased the vehicles and found the bodies, the gear and the abandoned SUVs. ... The military also said Iraqi police had found five SUVs, U.S. Army-type combat uniforms, boots, radios and a non-U.S. made rifle at the scene. ... Friday's military statement referred to the attackers as "insurgents," which usually suggests Sunnis. Although Karbala province is predominantly Shiite, Babil province is heavily populated by Sunnis in the north, near Baghdad. Babil's central and southern regions are largely Shiite. A senior Iraqi military official said the sophistication of the attack led him to believe it was the work of Iranian intelligence agents in conjunction with Iraq's Shiite Mahdi Army militia, which Iran funds, arms and trains. ..." link: http://abcnews.go.com/Internat...366&page=1 |
a guest
said:
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Another good story to fool the fools I've been to Iran recently. They do admire the American Culture (and way of life), but obviously, they cannot accept the 'Pax Texana' that Bush's Administration is trying to spread throughout the entire planet. I also foud quite intreaguing that the photo had such poor quality on the creatives of the pentagon - obviously the text in plain roman alphabet and Gregorian calendar for dating the bomb is obviously incongruent - next time, write down 'Made In Iran' to make it even more credible... |
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