Iranian Fingerprints: U.S. Finds Major Weapons Cache in Iraq
Take the tune to the Beach Boys Barbara Anne and substitute the lyrics to Bomb Iran, and you have the logical direction U.S. foreign policy ought to take. It has become abundantly clear that Iran has turned into a malevolent cancer in the region, not only is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime extremely oppressive at home, it has thumbed its nose at the rest of the world, hellbent on acquiring nuclear weapons with the intent on threatening to use or even using them against its enemies, and last but not least, engaging in a proxy war against the USA and Iraq.
It’s no longer a question of if, it’s a question of when. Do we wait until the first nukes are detonated anywhere within Iran’s striking distance (to include suitcase bombs smuggled into the US or elsewhere?). Do we wait until production of nuclear-tipped SCUDs are being loaded onto ships and vended to every Third World regime, terrorist organization, or even money-rich drug cartels? Keep in mind, the Iranians have already acquired three Soviet submarines and other advanced technology, thanks to a deal cut by the Clinton Administration.
At the very least, we should pursue ASOW or, Actions Short of War, meaning, lend military assistance to those domestic Iranian citizens seeking regime change. That is, assist guerilla elements within Iran itself.
They can dish it out. Lets see how they can take it.
By KIM GAMEL - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)—U.S. officers said Monday they had discovered a factory for assembling sophisticated roadside bombs from Iranian-made components _ the first such facility uncovered in a religiously mixed province north of Baghdad.
The officers, who displayed weapons for reporters at a U.S. base in the capital, said the find provides more evidence that the Iranians are providing weapons used to kill Americans. They include EFPs _ explosively formed projectiles _ that fire a slug of molten metal capable of penetrating armored vehicles and have been blamed for killing more than 170 U.S. and coalition soldiers since 2004.
The display was the latest in a series presented by the U.S. military to bolster its allegation that Iranian weapons are being supplied to Shiite militias. Iran has denied the charge, and some private defense analysts say Iranian weaponry is widely available on international arms markets. U.S. ordnance experts maintain that the workmanship on component parts is uniquely Iranian and too high in quality to have been copied by Iraqi extremists without access to advanced machinery.
Military officials said the cache _ buried in two freezers and a water container, with some of the rockets covered by tarps _ was the largest of its kind to be found north of Baghdad.
“This is a significant amount,” said Capt. Clayton Combs, the commander of the company that found the cache in the volatile Diyala province. “Before we have found one or two EFPs at the most and those are usually at the site of deployment. This is the first cache ... that has actually been found as far as a production facility.”
Among the parts found during a raid Saturday after a tip from an Iraqi informant were 120 mm mortars and 122 mm rockets that the military said were made in Iran. Markings indicated they were made after the U.S.-led invasion nearly four years ago, which would rule out that they were leftovers from the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.
The cache also included artillery, anti-personnel mines, as well as more than 150 metal discs, detonation cords, electronic triggering mechanisms and C-4 plastic explosives _ all laid out in piles for a press conference at the main U.S. military base on the western edge of Baghdad. The military said some smaller munitions had been destroyed at the site.
Proof
FlyOnTheWall:
Wow. That was unexpected. Thanks. (I don't do gatorade, though.)...
Colin Henshaw
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