Last edited by bobbie solo; 01-07-2020 at 02:52 PM.
two US airbases in Iraq, I believe Iran has taken credit?
Second wave of attacks according to NBC. Third base said to be hit.
This is all so fucking stupid.
This is just bad. Really fucking bad.
Fuck
^^I was literally going to come here and say the exact same thing. Just...just fuck.
If the reports of no US casualties are true seems like an awfully fucking good opportunity to de-escalate. That said it’s shameful that potential opportunity comes at the expense of [reported] Iraqi casualties and missiles fired into their territory.
Jesus Fucking Christ. This is a fucking mess, and my heart just sinks.
this fucking sucks, and I hope that at least one of his advis....never mind, that's not going to happen.
some levity:
This isn't good, I'm sure that they knew this was what Iran was going to do when provoked. This was always the end game, get us into another middle East war and 4 more years of Trump and corporate domination of the US. People are too stupid to realize what the bigger picture is, at least with 911 they TRIED to be subtile.
^ Not going to dignify any analysis that 9/11 was somehow "subtile" with a response.
In Iran this week, dozens of civilians were trampled to death by a stampede in Soleimani's funeral procession, then came the rocket attacks, and just now all 176 passengers and crew traveling in a Ukrainian airliner died when it crashed shortly after taking off this morning in Tehran. Looks like the only ones losing this war right now are civilians.
Last edited by botley; 01-08-2020 at 10:45 AM.
Not disputing your overall point in the least re: civilians being the losers...but has there been any credible evidence this was something more than a crash? I know there has been an awful lot of suggestions of "shrapnel" and the like but nothing I've seen has been anything more than purposeful disinformation.
Very good question. Per NBC two hours ago:
Ukrainian embassy in Iran originally said that the crash was likely caused by an engine problem. It also ruled out terrorism and rocket attack as possible causes. However, it later removed that information from its website and said the cause of the crash was being determined.
So, it could be that new information has come to light, OR they just want to avoid political issues by taking their time to make any announcements instead of immediately saying it was or wasn't potentially attacked. Either way, I think it's way too early to say that it was an attack.
All I've heard so far is an investigation is still underway but it's believed to be mechanical failure and witnesses from the ground had supposedly seen the engine on fire prior to impact. I was wondering if maybe because of the recommendations to GTFO ASAP that there was an oversight before take off? everyone in a bit of a hurry, i have no idea though.
Here are some key points from CBC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-u...hran-1.5418610
The location and timing of the crash seems suspect, but all the credible new sources I'm reading are saying co-incidence. The Iranian government is saying they suspect mechanical failure, and initially Ukraine agreed, but the Ukraine has walked that back now due to the ongoing investigation.
The Canadian government is advising against travel to the area due to a heightened risk of terrorist activity, but no terror groups have claimed responsibility yet.
I'm currently on the side of co-incidence, but I can understand the reasons to suspect it was related.
I hope someone impartial is able to take a look at the black boxes because i wouldn't trust the parties involved (U.S. AND IRAN) to do it without some kind of spin to either save their ass or provoke the other.
Iran doesn't want to hand over the black boxes and under international law the investigation is well within their jurisdiction.
Yeah, the black boxes will be key. Apparently there was no distress call which seems counter to the engine trouble claim. Something else I noticed:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/f...ps752#23732569
Comparing the crashed flight with the two previous flights of the same route...the ascent seems normal until the transponder drops. Admittedly it's a small sample size crashing so close to the airport and it's not entirely clear the time frame between transponder failure and crash. Shrug. Just an observation. I'm still at crash on this until something credible is reported.
A news service in Jordan reported anti-aircraft fire....if true you'd think one of the tens of US spy satellites trained on the country would pick up the signature.
Last edited by allegro; 01-08-2020 at 10:42 AM.
Last edited by allegro; 01-08-2020 at 10:50 AM.
I'm skeptical of this as the attacks were "completed" by the time of the crash, which occurred around 6:15am local time - 9:45pm est.
That said, if somehow true, US spy sats would definitely pick up a ballistic missile in real time. Covering up something like that will not sit well with a whole host of countries, especially Canada having lost a significant number of citizens.
Last edited by cdm; 01-08-2020 at 10:56 AM.
27 of the dead were Iranian-Canadians from the capital city of Edmonton, Alberta, including two professors and their young daughters, and others studying at the University of Alberta. They were traveling home after the holidays. So sad.
Me, too.
I got into it with this snarky asshole on Twitter last night who insisted that there was “NO WAY” anything except a bomb could leave a plane in that condition. I countered with a link to the Chicago American Airlines crash, still the biggest crash in American history, a huge plane loaded with fuel that was completely obliterated. Dickhead countered that THAT crash was an engine failure, “try again.” No, asshole, you ONLY want the “a trigger-happy SAM operator shot it down” theory (ignoring his original assertion that “nothing except a bomb would cause that damage”). I blocked him.
Radar will surely pop up on this if it was shot down. I guess wreckage would determine if a bomb was on board.
Pics with a tiny little red shoe among the wreckage, ugh, so sad. :-(
Last edited by allegro; 01-08-2020 at 10:59 AM.
Sure, it could be a coincidence and freak error, but the plane in question had a good safety record and the timing of this happening is incredibly suspicious. The airline safety consultant in this article says "What happened is consistent with what we would expect to happen if there was a bomb blast or some sort of explosion on the aircraft." But that could just mean the engine exploded, not necessarily a bomb.
I hate to say it (because I simply hate to say anything good about the bastard), but Trump's response to de-escalate at this point was the right thing to do. Also really unexpected considering his Twitter rants. I didn't think his ego could handle backing down. Someone must have spelled it out to him with colorful pictures.
Last edited by Jinsai; 01-08-2020 at 11:30 AM.