Will Iraq Shoot Down Iranian Aircraft at the Behest of the U.S.?

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
September 5, 2012

On Tuesday, the New York Times cited a claim by American officials that Iran is shipping military equipment to Syria over Iraqi airspace.

“Military experts say that the flights have enabled Iran to provide supplies to the Syrian government despite the efforts Syrian rebels have made to seize several border crossings where Iranian aid has been trucked in,” the Times explained.

The CIA and MI6 supported Free Syrian Army is collaborating with al-Qaeda to overthrow Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

In August, Infowars.com reported that the New York Times had scrubbed a passage in a news report which revealed that the CIA was helping funnel arms to rebel groups aligned with al-Qaeda, a terrorist group created by the agency. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was obliged to admit the CIA’s role in creating the terrorist group.

Since at least 2007, the U.S. has covertly supported sectarian extremists with direct ties to al-Qaeda in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The U.S. and NATO also armed, trained, funded, and provided air support for Libya Islamic Fighting Group terrorists that have ties to al-Qaeda.

According to the Times, the Obama administration has talked with the installed Shiite-dominated Iraqi government of Nuri Kamal al-Maliki about the over flights. “The White House has declined to disclose details, but an American official who would not speak on the record said that Mr. Biden had registered his concerns over the flights,” the Times reports. Obama’s vice president is the point man on Iraq policy in the administration.

The Times article claims the “Iranian flights present searching questions for the United States” and that the U.S. “has been reluctant to provide arms to the Syrian rebels or establish a no-fly zone over Syria for fear of being drawn deeper into the Syrian conflict,” a claim contradicted by the real situation on the ground in Syria. It says the flights underscore “the reality” that Iran “has no such hesitancy” in allegedly providing military supplies and advisers to al-Assad while at the same time the U.S. balks.

The United States claims several Iranian airlines are involved. The U.S. Treasury Department claimed last year that Mahan Air had sent men, supplies and money for Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force and Hezbollah.

Iraq could take several steps to stop the flights, Michael R. Gordon writes. It could insist on forcing the Iranian planes flying over Iraqi airspace to land and face inspection in Baghdad. Or it may declare outright that it will not allow Iran to fly over the country.

Enforcing such a ban would be problematic, the Times admits. Iraq does have an air force and al-Maliki fancies himself a mediator between Iran and the Arab world. Although the Times does not elaborate on how Iraq might stop the flights, the only viable option is obvious – the airplanes would need to be taken down with surface-to-air missiles. Statistics reveal that Iraqi currently has no anti-aircraft weaponry, but if al-Maliki signaled his approval for taking out the aircraft the United States would likely provide sufficient military means.

A number of nations have shot down aircraft in their airspace. Most recently, Syria shot down a Turkish jet that had entered its airspace. In 1988, the U.S, military shot down an Iranian civilian a jet airliner as it flew over the Strait of Hormuz, killing 290 people, including 66 children.

There is, however, another option – the Free Syrian Army might take out the planes.

In late July, the corporate media reported that the Syrian rebels had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles. The CIA-MI6 backed rebels probably received the MANPADs, or man-portable air-defense systems, from the United States, Saudi Arabia or Qatar, although the United States has denied being involved in the delivery of missiles to al-Qaeda.

This article was posted: Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 11:50 am

Tags: foreign affairs, technology, terrorism, war

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