Article

2005-02-19 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-02-19 3:14:11 PM|| || Front Page|| [11139 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 de Borchgrave, who has a "thing" for the Iranian regime - call it fear - as he did pre-Iraq and even pre-Afghanistan (Those winters, wow, nobody can take those!), sends someone to get a story tailored to his personal agenda and beliefs. Yawn. *golf clap*

I once respected this guy, thought he was pithy, insightful, learned, even wise. That was before I had the slightest inkling I was being manipulated. Now, well, now I think he's just a rather urbane cocktail circuit whore - smoother than the average MSM asshole, but no better or more ethical. Sad.

Posted by .com 2005-02-19 4:03:01 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:03:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 He forgot the cruel Iranian winter...

Posted by True German Ally 2005-02-19 4:05:40 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:05:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Okay, I'll be the straight man, heh:

"How cruel is it?"

Posted by .com 2005-02-19 4:08:05 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:08:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Add Edward Luttwak to that list.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2005-02-19 4:18:26 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:18:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 It is so cruel that the Kurds in Iran have to go without natural gas when the mullahs get cold.
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=6263

Posted by Tom 2005-02-19 4:24:01 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:24:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 How do you get 120,000 elite Revolutionary Guard troops from draftees? Geeze louise! Send over a few drones and satellite and they go bonkers. [Thought I imagine special forces clando ops are sticking in their craws]

Posted by Alaska Paul 2005-02-19 4:32:32 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:32:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 As in Iraq, "elite" there obviously means something entirely different than "elite" here.

Posted by Tom 2005-02-19 4:39:47 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:39:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 I liked the part about the elite Revolutionary Guards... who are mostly comprised of draftees! LOL! Why is it all of these "elite" units aren't as good as the most broke-dick, undermanned, spent all Saturday night at drill drinking hooch, National Guard postal detachment? C'mon Arnaud. Most of us caught on to that one after the second time we crushed the Iraqi Republican Guard.

My guess is that no Basiji unit would even get close to launching a human wave attack. Our UAVs would spot them in their assembly areas and before they could say Allahu Akbar, they'd be clobbered with ICM.

As far as an insurgency, why would we even occupy the Persian heartland where we would be most exposed? Go in there in and take away the nukes, but all we really need to control are the Kurdish and Arab areas (especially the later, where all the oil is). After that, we wouldn't need to worry about a nuclear Iran. Do you think that Putin, AQ Khan, Kimmy and the rest are going to want to sell their technology for dirt, goats, and mountains?

Posted by 11A5S 2005-02-19 4:42:08 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:42:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 I think if an invasion occurs, this time, we'll make sure to wipe out the Iranian military. Every last one of them. But air attacks are much more likely. The regime will stay in place, but its military capabilities will be hobbled. Kind of like Saddam Hussein's before Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Article: "If Iran wanted, it could make Iraq a hell for the United States," Hamid al-Bayati, Iraqâs deputy foreign minister, said in a recent interview.

Somehow, I doubt this - as far as I'm concerned, the Iranians have shot their wad. But now we know whose side this guy is on.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-02-19 4:43:03 PM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-02-19 4:43:03 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 regular troops = old kalashnikov
elite troops = new kalashnikov

Posted by True German Ally 2005-02-19 4:44:14 PM|| 2005-02-19 4:44:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 TGA . . . very, very good . . .I like that one . .

Posted by Jame Retief 2005-02-19 5:58:28 PM|| 2005-02-19 5:58:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Eh, maybe they could make Iraq much more uncomfortable for us.. maybe we'd accept their DoW. I think they'd rather use Syria as a proxy to test what our response is.

Posted by Dishman 2005-02-19 7:38:33 PM|| 2005-02-19 7:38:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 aka "We want Hillary for 2008".

Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-02-19 9:39:19 PM|| [http://n/a] 2005-02-19 9:39:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Human wave attack - I can't believe he even brought that up. Last I heard of that was some years back playing ASL....a replay of the fight for the tractor factory in Stalingrad. All it's good for is tying down a couple of HMGs...and that's only temporary. Stick to what you know Borchgrave - stay with the Sapphire.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2005-02-19 10:23:40 PM|| 2005-02-19 10:23:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Basij, meet Gatling.

Posted by ed 2005-02-19 10:45:44 PM|| 2005-02-19 10:45:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 we oughta be broadcasting to the Basij the admin "human wave" comments along with the previous "success/caualty" rates for the waves against lesser trained and armed forces, along with video - I'm thinking a music video

Posted by Frank G 2005-02-19 10:50:46 PM|| 2005-02-19 10:50:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 The Revolutionary Guards are paramilitary police, not a military force. Otherwise, the Mullahs are looking down the road and see they are going to lose Kurdistan and Khuzestan and they will go back to being the world's biggest exporter of pistachios.

Posted by phil_b 2005-02-19 11:00:56 PM|| 2005-02-19 11:00:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Didn't Iraq also prepare for a possible American invasion in early 2003? That worked really well for them, and Iran fought Saddam's army to a standstill.... Still, I suppose it gives them something to do while they wait, and it makes it easier for us to find their weapons when the time comes.

Posted by trailing wife 2005-02-19 11:20:23 PM|| 2005-02-19 11:20:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Keep busy is all they can do - doesn't make a difference. The average recruit knows that we cut through Saddam's Iraq $h!t through a goose. That leaves only the fanatic, and that's just another term for fodder. The only real variable is how we decide to proceed.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2005-02-19 11:41:38 PM|| 2005-02-19 11:41:38 PM|| Front Page Top

15:15 HALLOWEEN
15:15 HALLOWEEN
15:14 Andrea
15:14 Andrea
15:10 Andrea
15:10 Andrea
23:50 Rex Mundi
23:41 Rex Mundi
23:38 Alaska Paul
23:23 trailing wife
23:20 trailing wife
23:10 Dixonh2
23:08 JosephMendiola
23:02 Dixonh2
23:00 phil_b
22:50 Frank G
22:46 badanov
22:45 ed
22:44 JosephMendiola
22:39 Frank G
22:35 Sock Puppet of Doom
22:23 Rex Mundi
22:14 Classical_Liberal
22:02 Eric Jablow