Article

2012-01-22 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran: Motorcyclists kill military officer

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 tipper 2012-01-22 09:14|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 we'll can't the Iranian police pick out the yarmulke over the helmet?

Posted by jack salami 2012-01-22 09:58|| 2012-01-22 09:58|| Front Page Top

#2 I call these Larry, Moe and Curly Joe assassinations. Two or three men on two motorcycles.

It's a pretty good technique, because most people cannot tell one motorcycle from another, helmets make good masks, they split up and go in opposite directions after the hit. They move quickly through traffic, are often faster and more maneuverable in cities, and can easily go off-road if pursued.

Posted by Anonymoose 2012-01-22 10:35|| 2012-01-22 10:35|| Front Page Top

#3 Don't discount a little Night of the Long Knives gaming going on either.

Posted by Procopius2k 2012-01-22 11:40|| 2012-01-22 11:40|| Front Page Top

#4 I understand whacking the scientists. I wouldn't think that random hits on the military would have an effect worth the risk of having the operative get caught.

Degrading the Iranian military readiness by assassinating their officer corps kind of assumes that they had good officers.

Posted by Super Hose 2012-01-22 13:18|| 2012-01-22 13:18|| Front Page Top

#5 It's the instability that it creates. Even in Iran with the Mad Mullahs and Revolutionary Guard calling all the shots, if you start to thin the officer corps they'll have to call up a bunch of Number Threes as replacements. That can't be helpful.

Posted by Steve White 2012-01-22 14:03|| 2012-01-22 14:03|| Front Page Top

#6 There is also the possibility that it was an attack by a Lorestan-nationalist movement (the province used to be independent).

Posted by Pappy 2012-01-22 14:33|| 2012-01-22 14:33|| Front Page Top

#7 The IRG are in a perpetual power struggle with the conventional military. This does not surprise me. There is likely a power struggle going on between the IRG and the regular military services.

Posted by crosspatch 2012-01-22 15:23|| 2012-01-22 15:23|| Front Page Top

#8 How close is to the Kurdish areas?

Posted by Eric Jablow 2012-01-22 15:36|| 2012-01-22 15:36|| Front Page Top

#9 Just goes to show how dangerous motorcycles are...

Posted by ansky26 2012-01-22 16:59|| 2012-01-22 16:59|| Front Page Top

#10 Simply the best FAST motorcycle video you will ever see. Watch it all the way, if you can (no crash).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihQeZpwqpE

Posted by Ducatisti 2012-01-22 17:12|| 2012-01-22 17:12|| Front Page Top

#11 Comment previous to mine is a spam, please delete it and mine, thanks!

Posted by gromky 2012-01-22 17:15|| 2012-01-22 17:15|| Front Page Top

#12 Dude, it is NOT spam; it is exactly what I said it was.

Posted by Ducatisti 2012-01-22 17:18|| 2012-01-22 17:18|| Front Page Top

#13 It's real, gromky. The title of the YouTube video is "Black Devil - Moscow Ride on R1". I got 40 seconds into it before I had to give up...but roller coasters scare me and motorcycles terrify me, so that is not a measure of whether it's as good as Ducatisti claims.

Also, he and ansky26 appear to be different people, and both new posters. Welcome to the conversation, both of you! :-)

Posted by trailing wife 2012-01-22 17:41|| 2012-01-22 17:41|| Front Page Top

#14 After a few seconds of riding like that, a police car wouldn't stand a chance of catching them.

Posted by gorb 2012-01-22 18:15|| 2012-01-22 18:15|| Front Page Top

#15 no tally of the wrecks he caused in opposing traffic. Asshat

Posted by Frank G 2012-01-22 18:22|| 2012-01-22 18:22|| Front Page Top

#16 How close is to the Kurdish areas?

About 125 miles. The ethnicity of the region is Lur; they're closer to Persian than Kurdish though.

Posted by Pappy 2012-01-22 18:26|| 2012-01-22 18:26|| Front Page Top

#17 There is also the possibility that it was an attack by a Lorestan-nationalist movement (the province used to be independent).

There's a saying that victory begets victory. It's a lot like how a snowball gets bigger as it turns into an avalanche. If these things aren't stamped out quickly, it's an indication that the regime is weak, and more political entrepreneurs will either strike out on their own or cast their lot with the opposition. If dozens of these events start happening on a daily basis, revolution is on the way. The Iranian opposition appears to be much more skilful and determined than the Syrian opposition, given the fact that senior Iranian government figures are targeted on a routine basis.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2012-01-22 19:06|| 2012-01-22 19:06|| Front Page Top

#18 no tally of the wrecks he caused in opposing traffic. Asshat

Yep. Way too much trust in other people to behave as expected. If just one person had opened their door to yak => no more than bug guts on a windshield.

Posted by RandomJD 2012-01-22 22:45|| 2012-01-22 22:45|| Front Page Top

23:49 crosspatch
23:23 crosspatch
23:22 Super Hose
23:11 Broadhead6
23:00 Eric Jablow
22:45 RandomJD
22:20 Nimble Spemble
21:50 Frank G
21:13 crosspatch
21:10 JosephMendiola
20:54 Bunyip
20:36 CrazyFool
20:08 Pappy
20:08 Frank G
20:05 Barbara
20:04 Pappy
19:55 lotp
19:53 trailing wife
19:49 Frank G
19:38 lotp
19:27 Frank G
19:12 JosephMendiola
19:06 Zhang Fei
18:52 badanov