West Asia News and Discussions

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UlanBatori
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Kappalandi kadalai time. I believe that 176 ppl died in a plane crash but all else is Maya. Iranian mijjile launch video was Maya, missile strike or whatever smoke and fire images were Maya. Us explanation that QS was planning strikes on yooess was Maya Boeing claim of airliner perfection is Maya, Canadians are spouting Maya, UkbapZis suddenly deleting "engine failure" explanation is Maya. Of course yooess claims of Definite Proof is as Maya as dubyaemdee proof of 2003, and Iranian claim of 'scientific impossibility" is maya. All claims of My Cokewallah with taap jecret clearance whispered 2 me but told me not 2 tell anyone' are Maya. Namo mayaaha.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

And videos and sat images of damage and fires at Al Dubya base are certainly Maya.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Plus by same logic: announcement of QS assasination by deetee was utterly unnecessary, hence also Maya as properly diagnosed by UBCN already. Whole thing was a stunt to blunt donkeystanis' March and help them prove that they are asses. Worked too.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by John »

Please stay on topic rather than spouting off some nonsense can we get some mod clearing the last few posts.

Reportedly Iranians are not securing the scene and scavengers are picking up debris and hauling them off even belongings. This incident has greatly tarnished whatever rep Iran has.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

https://twitter.com/A7_Mirza/status/121 ... 54945?s=20

IWN
@A7_Mirza
·
18h
#Iran #US #AinAlAssad #Iraq
Fifteen minutes after the missile strikes, we started an important electronic warfare operation and cut the US control over all their UAVs above the Ain Al Assad for a while. And we destroyed the communication link and the image link.
/11

^ ^ translation of iranian press briefing
https://twitter.com/i/status/1215408941515071490
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

Since last 2 days no US network has shown pics/video/reported from inside the base. If the missiles were wide off target, they would have made sure thay entire world knew by now. This can only mean one thing.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Vikas »

When Iran makes a claim in EW or cyber warfare, How much is that credible ?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

US drone global hawk was bought down by Iranians intact. It was reported.that Iranians took control over the flight control systems and landed the drone safely in their territory. This happened in 2019.

2011 rq170
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2 ... 0_incident
A Christian Science Monitor article relates an Iranian engineer's assertion that the drone was captured by jamming both satellite and land-originated control signals to the UAV, followed up by a GPS spoofing attack that fed the UAV false GPS data to make it land in Iran at what the drone thought was its home base in Afghanistan
Last edited by habal on 10 Jan 2020 23:36, edited 1 time in total.
UlanBatori
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Johnji:

^^True, thinking using one's own brain and carefully reasoning out stuff from diverse sources and remembering stuff from decades past, rather than just cut-pasting shit and lies from twits, can be very irritating to people who prefer to do the latter. Sorry to strain your eyes reading this.
1) The Iranian govt has asked for clear proof if anyone has it, that the plane was hit with a missile. Do you have it?
2) Have you read and understood the accounts of the "US missile strikes" against Syria?
3) What remains were actually found, of Gen. Suleimani?
4) Why was it necessary to announce - and take credit for- the death of Suleimani, if the purpose was just to eliminate him?
5) Has the US announced strikes by US drones regularly in the past? Say over Pakistan? Such strikes are fundamentally illegal per international law, hence the usual refusal to acknowledge.
6) Why in this case was it thought essential?
7) Someone here posted evidence that the images published by Iran as missile liftoff and missile impact, and explosions, were all from events that occurred elsewhere long ago. Have you considered the implications, why they would have done that? You don't think they actually HAVE missiles? At least they could have launched their SAM-15s, hain?
8 ) Do you hold that this forum is just for parroting stuff from Official Circles?
9) Look at the Poll thread that was started. I posted immediately my prediction of what would happen: DE-ESCALATION. Were you smart enough to figure that out? Since you were not, why shouldn't I look down my nose and sneer back at you? You seem to have zero reasoning ability, after all, which only slightly beats the Pakis'..
If you do not believe that alternative explanations should be considered for "news" appearing on puppet media such as CNN, why waste time here? Why not just be on the CNN forum praising Anthony Cillizza's brilliance?
Last edited by UlanBatori on 10 Jan 2020 23:49, edited 3 times in total.
John
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by John »

habal wrote:Since last 2 days no US network has shown pics/video/reported from inside the base. If the missiles were wide off target, they would have made sure thay entire world knew by now. This can only mean one thing.
Probably because they are expecting Iranian militia to strike and do no want any intel to be passed. US general did warn that threat from Iranian proxies still exists.
The Iranian govt has asked for clear proof if anyone has it, that the plane was hit with a missile. Do you have it?
Go look at missile hit videos and pictures of missile parts posted on Twitter, do not tell me everything is fake. Even Iraq intel has acknowledged it was missile hit and likely got that from Iranian officials. If you keep it up people are just gonna ignore you here.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

If you keep it up people are just gonna ignore you here.
Truer words never typed. Wah!
Reminds me of Agint 007:
Keeping (it) the British End up of course!
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

https://www.rt.com/news/477950-iran-cra ... an-boeing/
Claims that "site has been bulldozed" debunked.
The footage appears to counter recent media reports that suggested the site had been "bulldozed" to remove physical evidence, a claim that seems designed to implicate Iran in the demise of the 176 passengers and crew who died when the plane went down early on Wednesday morning.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by John »

UlanBatori wrote:
If you keep it up people are just gonna ignore you here.
Truer words never typed. Wah!
Reminds me of Agint 007:
Keeping (it) the British End up of course!
:rotfl: What are you 12 years old can we please take care of this troll mods?
UlanBatori
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

:rotfl: What are you 12 years old can we please take care of this troll mods?
^ I am a human, don't know about you. Is your user handle a name or a venue?

So you cannot answer any logical question, and as expected, resort to personal attack. Figures.

Oh, yeah, important for the Deep State to ban anyone who dares to think. BAN the TROLLS! Burn the witches! Totally ban thinking. Aren't you perhaps spending your posts on attacking othes? Have you contributed a single original thought to this forum? If so could you kindly direct me to it? Can't be hard, it can't be more than 1 or 2?
Last edited by UlanBatori on 10 Jan 2020 23:56, edited 1 time in total.
UlanBatori
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Sorry I just returned from the dentist. Usual immunity to jeeniuses a bit hampered. Resuming regular programming.
John
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by John »

Posting BS is not contributing thought as I said couple page ago by denying it outright Iran basically escalated the whole incident (almost immediately said it was engine issue when even airline said there was no communication it was engine issue or they were returning to airport). They could admitted it was an accident and they will do their best to investigate it and blamed it on hightened tensions due to US’s actions they would have come out ahead.

Now this coverup is dominating the news cycle all around the world and almost everyone has forgotten about Qassem and Trump not so intelligent tweets. Basically Trump was in tight spot (Dems we’re even picking up Republican support On condemning this and limiting his war powers) and Iran could kept the pressure on him and portrayed itself as a victim.
This exactly how not to handle PR and we can see lack of leadership in Iran.
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West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Peregrine »

Image

Cheers Image
Y. Kanan
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Y. Kanan »

habal wrote:proliferation of S3/400 in middle east.

https://mobile.almasdarnews.com/article ... se-system/

Iraq is negotiating with Russia to acquire the S-300 air defense system
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:00 P.M.)- The head of the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi parliament, Mohammad Reza, confirmed on Thursday the ongoing negotiations between the Iraqi and Russian sides to purchase the S-300 system.

Reza said in a special statement to Sputnik Arabic: “This issue was supposed to take place a long time after Hashd Al-Shaabi was targeted in Baghdad and other provinces several months ago, when this weapon was needed, and the responsible authorities have moved to revive negotiations with the concerning S-300 contract.”

...

Reza also expressed his belief that Russian armaments and training are more flexible and less expensive than American armaments and handling.
... I'm sure the Iraqi S300 will prove as effective as the Syrian and Iranian versions.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Prem »

Oman's Sultan Qaboos has died, according to state media https://aje.io/vgdt3
UlanBatori
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Though Afghanistan is not exactly West Asia (though Pakis are "Arab"), the defeat in A'Stan being formalized, is relevant to West Asia

Eighteen years, maybe 2000 American lives, maybe 500,000 AFghan lives (+ 120,000 Paki pests), around $1.8 Trllion, later, Afghanistan is where it started in 2001: Taliban-dominated. Except, Taliban is infinitely stronger since neither Russia nor America will dare touch them in future. Is Pakistan great or what?
Another great victory of American foreign policy, starting with attacking the wrong country in 2001 based on a false "dossieh" by the liar Bliar and the dumbass Dubya.
Russian special presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier that Washington and the Taliban had agreed that Russia and several other countries would witness the signing of the agreement.
On December 29, the Taliban’s ruling council agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Afghanistan, providing a window in which a peace agreement with the US can be signed, AP reported.
Humiliation unlimited?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

Iran
@Iran

6h
#BREAKING
According to Fars,
#Iran to announce the cause of #UkrainianPlaneCrash tomorrow, after a meeting with international investigators
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

Image
Turkey, Russia Launch TurkStream Pipeline Carrying Gas to Europe
The presidents of Turkey and Russia on Wednesday formally launched the TurkStream pipeline which will carry Russian natural gas to southern Europe through Turkey, part of Moscow’s efforts to reduce shipments via Ukraine.

The pipeline project, stretching 930 kilometers (580 miles) across the Black Sea, reinforces strong energy ties between Moscow and Ankara, which have also increased defense cooperation after Turkey bought advanced Russian missile defenses last year.

Russia has already started European gas deliveries through the pipeline, gas operator Bulgartransgaz said on Sunday. The pipeline terminal is near the Turkish village of Kiyikoy, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Bulgarian border.

Russia is also doubling the capacity of Nord Stream across the Baltic Sea to Germany as part of plans to bypass Ukraine, which is currently the main route of transit to Europe.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

This is not from RT.com: it's ABCNews
US tried to kill Iranian commander in Yemen, same night as in Iraq
More pointers that Soleimani was collateral damage (the Deep State knew it): what DT ordered was to take out local commanders in Iraq and Yemen.
The strike in Yemen was first reported by the Washington Post.
"Shahla'i was a close confidante of Soleimani, and an operational commander who was responsible for commanders in key countries -- Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon," said Mick Mulroy, an ABC News contributor and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Mideast policy. "Those commanders would then carry out attacks in those countries."
A former counterterrorism official told ABC News Shahla'i was in charge of Iran's operations inside Yemen, particularly the flow of missiles and drones to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have used those weapons to attack Saudi Arabia.
It was Shahlai's activities in Yemen that increased U.S. efforts to locate him, the official added.
Trump offers new Iran account, now says 4 embassies targeted but still gives few specifics
The evolving account raised new questions and sparked congressional criticism.
The drip of details followed days of administration officials facing questions about whether the "imminent attacks" initially cited by the president when he announced the U.S. had killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani were actually "imminent" and what exactly the targets were.
Several U.S. senators have said the information the administration has shared with them has been inadequate -- and that it has not gone even as far as what the president and his advisers have said publicly.
But in the days since, administration officials have insisted the strike was intended to prevent a future attack, as well.
"We don't know exactly which day it would have been executed, but it was very clear Qassem Soleimani himself was plotting a broad, large scale attack against American interests, and those attacks were imminent," Pompeo told reporters at the White House Friday. The day before, Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News that the United States did not "know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real."
Last edited by UlanBatori on 11 Jan 2020 08:36, edited 1 time in total.
habal
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

Russian ship “aggressively” caught up with the US Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea

habal
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

the Iraqi parliament asks US forces to leave their country.

the US hits back claiming we are not leaving anytime soon.
Upholders of democracy or Illegal occupiers ??

Image
ramana
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

Vikas wrote:When Iran makes a claim in EW or cyber warfare, How much is that credible ?

Some people here are finding it credible..
They have lost their comprehension skills since Balakot.
They rush to post bokwas fake news
They find Unfair who writes reports after reading here more credible than IAF fighter pilots.
And post fake OSINT by the new generation NPA.

And mourn for dead terrorist leaders who were harmful to India.
Are you guys really aware you are on Bharat Rakshak Forum and not Islamist Defence Qabila?
Ramana
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

habal Why so much feeling for the Solemaini?
Iran itself feels relieved that a burden is lifted.
The Pak.ISI contact died in Quetta blast if you read the tea leaves.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

Prem wrote:Oman's Sultan Qaboos has died, according to state media https://aje.io/vgdt3
Om Shanti for s dear friend of India.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

ramana wrote:habal Why so much feeling for the Solemaini?
Iran itself feels relieved that a burden is lifted.
The Pak.ISI contact died in Quetta blast if you read the tea leaves.
ramana ji, isis traveled in state-of-the-art toyota pickup convoys over vast open desert for days to reach Iraq, and the western nato allies could not do jack because they were not fighting isis but were supporting isis. They were waging war against syrian civilian infra, water treatment plants, flour factories and electricity substations.

now allow that to sink in. Did you not see isis, nusra holding chopped heads of small yazidi, christian, alawite children in syria. If not for putin & soleimani ..

do you think putin & soleimani did this purely for geo-strategic gains ?? they came to help of humanity when the west was aponsoring this terror nexus. All countries to east of Iraq/Syria need to be grateful in perpetuity to this duo for their service to humanity.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by brar_w »

The ayatollahs seem to have taken John’s advise

Iran Says It Unintentionally Shot Down Ukrainian Jetliner
Tehran, Iran (AP) -- Iran announced Saturday that its military ‘unintentionally’ shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard.

The statement came Saturday morning and blamed “human error” for the shootdown.

The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces.

Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the U.S. and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believe Iran shot down the aircraft.

The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials.
ramana
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

That chapter is over
Putin is there in this detoxifying West Asia.
.In politics there are only permanent interests.
It's after halahal comes the rest.
Even UB is trying to tell this point.
Right now IN taskforce in Persian Gulf.
Think of the boys.
Rest is water.

Brar_W Iran is moving away from the brink. What other option is there?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

habal, All those ISIS murderers will pay the price.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

From the very outset, Nobel Peace Laureate Barack Obama’s air campaign was NOT directed at ISIS. The evidence confirms that the Islamic State was not the target. Quite the opposite. The air raids were intended to destroy the economic infrastructure of Iraq and Syria.

Look at the following image which describes the Islamic State convoy of pickup trucks entering Iraq fromn Syria and crossing a 200 km span of open desert which separates the two countries.

This convoy entered Iraq in June 2014.

Image


What would have been required from a military standpoint to wipe out an ISIS convoy with no effective anti-aircraft capabilities?

Without an understanding of military issues, common sense prevails.

If they had wanted to eliminate the Islamic State brigades, they could have “carpet” bombed their convoys of Toyota pickup trucks when they crossed the desert from Syria into Iraq in June 2014.

The Syro-Arabian Desert is open territory (see map right). With state of the art jet fighter aircraft (F15, F22 Raptor, F16) it would have been –from a military standpoint– “a piece of cake”, a rapid and expedient surgical operation, which would have decimated the Islamic State convoys in a matter of hours.

But if that had happened, they would not have been able to implement their “Responsibility to Protect” (P2R) bombing campaign over a three year period (2014-2017).

Instead what we witnessed were drawn out relentless air raids and bombings which culminated with the so-called liberation of Mosul (February 2017) and Raqqa (October 2017) by the US led coalition.

And we were led to believe that the Islamic State had the upper hand and could not be defeated by a powerful US led military coalition of 19 countries.

The people of Iraq and Syria were the targets. Obama’s bombing raids were intent upon destroying the civilian infrastructure of Iraq and Syria..

ISIS-Daesh were never the target of US aggression. Quite the opposite. They were protected by the Western military alliance.

US Troop Withdrawal: Yankee Go Home (2020)

While a major US troop withdrawal is unlikely in the foreseeable future, “America’s War on Terrorism” is in jeopardy.




Nobody believes that America is going after the terrorists.

In Iraq and Syria, everybody knows that all Al Qaeda, ISIS-Daesh affiliated entities are supported by US-NATO.

..

In turn, several of America’s former allies including Turkey, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Egypt have normalized their relations with Iran.

Trump’s Punitive Bombings. Will They be Carried Out?

In recent developments, Trump has warned that if Tehran responds to the assassination of General Soleimani, he will “target 52 Iranian sites” intimating that they would be “HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”



Donald Trump wants to hit back. But he has a serious logistical problem on his hands of which he may not even be aware of.

Normally a punitive operation of this nature directed against Iran would be entrusted to USCENTCOM’s forward headquarters in the Middle East located at the Al Udeid Air Force base in Qatar.

“CENTCOM controls US forces based across the Middle East and some of Central Asia – in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s main headquarters are located in Tampa Florida but it runs its daily combat operations from Al-Udeid air base “

With 11,000 US military personnel, the al-Udeid Air Force base close to Doha is “one of the U.S. military’s most enduring and most strategically positioned operations on the planet” (Washington Times). It has led and coordinated several major Middle East war theaters including Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003). It was also involved in Syria.



But there is a problem: The forward base of USCENTCOM at the al-Udeid Air Force base is in Qatar. And since June 2017 Qatar has been “sleeping with the enemy”. Qatar has become a staunch ally of Iran.

What both the media, as well as foreign policy and military analysts fail to acknowledge is that US CENTCOM’s Forward Base headquarters at the al-Udeid military base de facto “lies in enemy territory”. And it would seem that POTUS is totally unaware of this situation.

Barely a few months ago, (October 2019), The Pentagon took the decision NOT to move USCENTCOM’s forward base at Al Udeid to another location in the Middle East.

“Qatar has always been an exceptional partner, and this base from which we are operating is a great base, and CENTCOM has no intention of moving anywhere,” said CENTCOM’s deputy commander, Chance Saltzman.

Sloppy intelligence, flawed military planning? Qatar is not an “exceptional partner”. Since June 2017 Qatar has become a de facto ally of Iran.

More recently, they have been discussing the establishment of Iran-Qatar bilateral military ties.



Having decided that Al Udeid (located in enemy territory) could not be moved to another location in the Middle East, the Pentagon then envisaged a scenario of moving Al Udeid air and space operations to South Carolina: “to 7,000 miles away in South Carolina”. It was a simulation. “The temporary switch” lasted only 24 hours.

Lessons Learnt: You cannot effectively “wage war” in the Middle East without a “Forward Base” in the Middle East. This “South Carolina Test” borders on ridicule.

Are US military planners desperate?

Since May 2017, following the break up of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) the Pentagon has NOT BEEN ABLE TO MOVE USCENTCOM FORWARD BASE (including its air force striking capabilities) OUT OF ENEMY TERRITORY (QATAR) to a “friendly location” (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Israel) in the broader Middle East region.



Military analysts now admit that in the case of a conflict with Iran, Al-Udeid would be an immediate target. “The base’s defence system is said to be ill-equipped to defend itself against the low-flying cruise missiles and drones…”

Mr. President: How on earth can you launch your punitive bombings on Iran from the territory of a close ally of Iran?

From a strategic point of view it does not make sense. And this is but the tip of the iceberg.

While the bombing and missile attacks can be dispatched from other US military bases in the Middle East (see diagram below) as well as from Diego Garcia, US aircraft carriers, submarines, etc, the regional USCENTCOM Forward Base at Al-Udeid, Qatar, plays a key role in the command structure in liaison with USCENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at the Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

While Qatar and the US have a longstanding bilateral cooperation agreement pertaining to the al-Udeid Air Force base, Qatar has military cooperation agreements not only with Iran but also with Hamas and Hezbollah, all of which are “enemies” of the USA:

The challenge for Washington is that while Qatar hosts al-Udeid, it’s also friendly with the Gaza-based Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), it is close to the Hezbollah’s leadership … [Qatar also] has cozy relations with Iran. Indeed, if Qatar didn’t host America’s largest air base in the Middle East, it would be under pressure from the U.S. to cease much of this behavior.”

And to top it off, Qatar is also friends with Russia. A military technical cooperation agreement pertaining to air defense was signed with Moscow, immediately following Qatar’s rift with Saudi Arabia in June 2017.


Turkey’s Incirlik Air Force Base

“A sleeping with the enemy situation” also prevails with regard to Turkey’s Incirlik Air Force base which was established in the 1950s by the US Air Force. Incirlik has played a strategic role in all US-NATO led operations in the Middle East.

With about five thousand airmen, the US Air Force is now hosted in a country (aka Turkey) which is an ally of both Russia and Iran. Turkey and Iran are neighbouring states with friendly relations. In contrast, US and Turkish supported rebels are fighting one another in Northern Syria.

In mid-December 2019, Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu dropped a bombshell, intimating “that the United States could be barred from using two strategic air bases [Incirlik and Kurecik] in retaliation to possible US sanctions against his country” regarding Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system.

For several reasons, US hegemony in the Middle East has been weakened in part as a result of the evolving structure of military alliances.

America’s command capabilities have been weakened. Two of the region’s largest strategic Air Forces bases, namely Incirlik (Turkey) and Al-Udeid (Qatar) are no longer under the control of the Pentagon.

While war against Iran remains on the drawing board of the Pentagon, under present conditions, an all out Blitzkrieg (conventional theater war) involving the simultaneous deployment of ground, air and naval forces is an impossibility.

While the US does not have the ability to carry out such a project, various forms of “limited warfare” have been contemplated including targeted missile attacks, so-called “bloody nose operations” (including the use of tactical nuclear weapons), as well as acts of political destabilization and color revolutions (which are already ongoing) as well as economic sanctions, manipulations of financial markets and neoliberal macroeconomic reforms (imposed via the IMF and the World Bank(.

The Nuclear Option against Iran

And it is precisely because of US weaknesses in the realm of conventional warfare that a nuclear option could be envisaged. Such an option would inevitably lead to escalation.

Ignorance and stupidity are factors in the decision making process. According to foreign policy analyst Edward Curtin “Crazy people do crazy things”.

Who are the crazy people in key decision-making positions?

Trump foreign policy advisers: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser Robert O’Brien and Brian Hook, (Special Representative for Iran and Advisor to Pompeo), could “advise” President Trump to authorize a “bloody nose operation” against Iran using tactical (B61 bunker buster) nuclear weapons, which the Pentagon has categorized as “harmless to civilians because the explosion is underground”.

The bloody nose operation” as designated by the Pentagon, conveys the idea of a military op (using a low yield “more usable” tactical nuclear weapon) which allegedly “creates minimum damage”. It’s a lie: the tactical nuclear weapon has an explosive capacity between one third and 12 times a Hiroshima bomb.

According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (July 2019):

Tensions between the United States and Iran are spiraling toward a military confrontation that carries a real possibility that the United States will use nuclear weapons. Iran’s assortment of asymmetrical capabilities—all constructed to be effective against the United States—nearly assures such a confrontation. The current US nuclear posture leaves the Trump administration at least open to the use of tactical nuclear weapons in conventional theaters. Some in the current administration may well think it to be in the best interest of the United States to seek a quick and decisive victory in the oil hub of the Persian Gulf—and to do so by using its nuclear arsenal.

We believe there is a heightened possibility of a US-Iran war triggering a US nuclear strike…

Of significance, the use of tactical nukes does not require the authorization of the Commander in Chief. That authorization pertains solely to so-called strategic nuclear weapons.

Despite the warnings of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, present circumstances do not favor the conduct of a US “bloody nose” tactical nuclear weapons’ operation.

The US Air Force’s tactical nuclear weapons arsenal is stored and deployed in five non-nuclear European countries including Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Turkey at military bases under national command.


According to Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 2019 report), the US possesses an estimated 230 tactical nuclear weapons of which 180 are deployed in the five non-nuclear European countries. Some 50 B61 bunker buster bombs with nuclear warheads (gravity bombs) are stored and deployed at the Incirlik air force base which is under Turkey’s jurisdiction. (see table above)

Conclusion:

A US president committed to war crimes.
A failing “War on Terrorism” narrative,
Weakened military command structures,
Failing alliances,
Sleeping with the enemy,
Unpredictable foreign policy analysts,
Deception and mistakes.

At this juncture: The US’ most powerful weapon remains dollarization, neoliberal economic reforms and the ability to manipulate financial markets.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/america-a ... st/5699693
John
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by John »

brar_w wrote:The ayatollahs seem to have taken John’s advise
Haha I am not surprised how the heck can you do a cover up when your populace is busy tweeting pics of missile parts and missile hit.
habal
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

all the actors behind isis are still alive, only the tier-iv/disposables have faced casualties. We injuns are afflicted with the raat gayi baat gayi syndrome. We do not realize even we are being prepped with same masala.

If putin gave the aircover and spetznaz then soleimani gave the grunts, the footsoldiers to take on isis. It may have been a sectarian thing, but his battlefield moves resulted in lot of syrian/iraqi minorities saved.
brar_w
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by brar_w »

John wrote:
brar_w wrote:The ayatollahs seem to have taken John’s advise
Haha I am not surprised how the heck can you do a cover up when your populace is busy tweeting pics of missile parts and missile hit.
The cat was out of the bag and there was no use trying to cover it up as it would have been harder and harder to convincingly lie besides those who are always going to side with their side of the story (no matter how ridiculous it kept on getting). Not only was there technical intelligence which was probably being shared with the Ukrainians, Canadians, Germans, and the Brits they had no way of knowing how much "media" content was produced by their own citizens and later circulated or likely to show up over time (and possibly already in possession with intel agencies of those countries above). I guess they thought that they could shoot down a B-2 (if it ever makes it off the runway given the EW and jamming) over Tehran without the need to shut down civilian traffic ;). I wonder why they didn't bother scrambling fighters if they had an unknown radar track..
Last edited by brar_w on 11 Jan 2020 10:45, edited 4 times in total.
ldev
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by ldev »

How the US and Iran stepped back from the brink. From the WSJ:
BERN, Switzerland—Hours after a U.S. strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration sent an urgent back channel message to Tehran: Don’t escalate.

The encrypted fax was sent via the Swiss Embassy in Iran, one of the few means of direct, confidential communication between the two sides, U.S. officials said.

In the days that followed, the White House and Iranian leaders exchanged further messages, which officials in both countries described as far more measured than the fiery rhetoric traded publicly by politicians.

A week later, and after a retaliatory Iranian missile attack on two military bases hosting American troops that inflicted no casualties, Washington and Tehran seemed to be stepping back from the brink of open hostilities—for now.

“We don’t communicate with the Iranians that much, but when we do the Swiss have played a critical role to convey messages and avoid miscalculation,” a senior U.S. official said.

A spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the exchanges but said “we appreciate [the Swiss] for any efforts they make to provide an efficient channel to exchange letters when and if necessary.”
And hence these back channel communications also helped that when the plane was shot down the message from Trump emphasized from the get go that it was probably un-intentional.
tandav
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by tandav »

As I predicted this ill thought out poorly executed brazen assassination of a head of state in contravention of all norms of international diplomacy by the USA will precipitate its exit back home which is what DT wants anyway. Post American withdrawal India should play a much bigger role (potentially the largest role) ensuring ME security. Endless American wars are destabilizing the Indian near periphery.
Mukesh.Kumar
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

ramana wrote:
Prem wrote:Oman's Sultan Qaboos has died, according to state media https://aje.io/vgdt3
Om Shanti for s dear friend of India.

Spent a decade in the country. He was a visionary leader. A factor for regional stability and a fear friend if India.

What happens next is a question as path to succession is not clear.

Dated insider view from a local blog.
habal
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

tandav this is what happens when fate has written on wall. In the spur of moment they had to make a decision and pompeo or somebody took the call. And as fate would so have it, soleimani trooped in with muhandis. May be they were not targeting soleimani, but who knows, US doesn't value life if it belongs to east european, asian or african so it's not as if soleimani or even an ayatollah hold any special significance to trump and his white supremacist colleagues. But it was a bad decision since it put them in a spot. If even Saudi, uae & Israel wash their hands off a strike, then it means there is something amiss here.

Now it seems apart from using tactical nukes, US has no conventional response to Iran. Why the US base air defence system didnt shoot down the missiles esp since they had three hour notice via Iraq of impending strike. So many questions no answers.
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