Iran

The Khobar Towers​

From TWSJ 6/23 by Louis J. Freeh, FBI director from 1993-2001.

Ten years ago this Sunday, acting under direct orders from senior Iranian government leaders, the Saudi Hezbollah detonated a 25,000 TNT bomb that killed 19 U.S. airmen in their dormitory at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The blast wave destroyed Building 131 and grievously wounded hundreds of additional Air Force personnel. It also killed an unknown number of Saudi civilians in a nearby park.

The 19 Americans murdered were members of the 4404th Wing, who were risking their lives to enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. This was a U.N. mandated mission after the 1991 Gulf War to stop Saddam Hussein from killing his Shiite people. The Khobar victims, along with the courageous families and friends who will mourn them this weekend in Washington, deserve our respect and honor. More importantly, they must be remembered, because American justice has still been denied.

Although a federal grand jury handed down indictments in June 2001 - days before I left as FBI director and a week before some of the charges against 14 of the terrorists would have lapsed because of the statute of limitations - two of the primary leaders of the attack, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil and Abdel Hussein Mohamed al-Nasser, are living comfortably in Iran with about as much to fear from America as Osama bin Laden had prori to Sept. 11.

It soon became clear that Mr Clinton and his national security adviser, Sandy Berger, had no interest in confronting the fact that Iran had blown up the Towers. This is astounding, considering that the Saudi Security Service had arrested six of the bombers after the attack. As FBI agents sifted through the remains og Building 131 in 115 degree heat, the bombers admitted they had been trained by the Iranian external security service (IRGC) in the Beka Valley, and received their passports at the Iranian Embassy in Damacus, along with $250,000 cash for the operation from IRGC Gen Ahmad Sharifi.

We later learned that senior members of the Iranian government, including Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Intelligence and Security and the Spiritual Leader's office had selected Khobar as their target and commissioned the Saudi Hezbollah to carry out the operation. The Saudi police told us that FBI agents had to interview the bombers in custody in order to make our case. To make this happen, however, the U.S. president would need to personally make a request to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

So for 30 months, I wrote and rewrote the same set of simple talking points for the president, Mr Berger, and others to press the FBE's request to go inside a Saudi prison and interview the Khobar bombers. And for 30 months nothing happened. The Saudis repoeted back to us that the president and Mr Berger would either fail to raise the matter with the crown prince or raise it without making any request. On one such occasion, our commander in chief instead hit up Prince Abdullah for a contribution to his library. Mr. Berger never once, in the course of the five year investigation which coincided wth his tenure, even asked how the investigation was going.

Finally, frustrated in my attempts to execute Mr. Clinton's leave no stone unturned order, I called former President George H.W. Bush. I had learned that he was about to meet Prince Abdullah on another matter. After fully beiefing Mr. Bush on the impasse and faxing him the talking points that I had now been working on for over two years, he personally asked the crown prince to allow FBI agents to interview the detained bombers.

Several weeks later, agents interviewed the co-conspirators. For the first time since the 1996 attack, we obtained direct evidence of Iran's complicity. What Mr. Clinton failed to do for three years was accomplished in minutes by his predecessor. Washington damage control meetings were held out of the fear that Congress, and ordinary Americans, would find out that Iran murdered our soldiers. After those meetings, neither the president, nor anyone else in the administration, was heard from again about Khobar.

Sadly, this fits into a larger pattern of U.S. governments sending the wrong message to Tehran. Almost 13 yeras before Iran committed its terrorist act of war against America at Khobar, it used its surrogates, the Lebanese Hezbollah, to murder 241 Marines in their Beirut barracks. The U.S. response to that 1983 outrage was to pull our military forces out of the region. Such timidity was not lost upon Tehran. As with Beirut, Tehran once again received loud and clear from the U.S. its consistent message that there would be no price to pay for its acts of war against America. As for the 19 dead warriors and their families, their commander in chief had deserted them, leaving only the FBI to carry on the fight.

The moral of this story from the viewpoint of the Birchtree is never ever receive head while on the job. It turns dirtbags into yellow backs with weak knees.

The aftermath of the Khobar bombing is just one example of how successive U.S. governments have mishandled Iran. On June 25, 1996, President Clinton declared that no stone would be left unturned to find the bombers and bring them to justice. Then Clinton and his document theif Berger became obstructionists to the truth. The Clinton administration was set on improving relations with what it mistakenly perceived to be a moderate Iranian president. But it also wanted to accrue the political mileage of proclaiming to the world, and to the 19 survivor families, that America was aggressively pursuing the bombers. This was typical liberal behavior - their commander in chief had actually deserted them. I say never again.
 
Re: Hezbollah is only the Start!

We have a much bigger worry coming soon… Once Israel is done with Hezbollah and made its border safer they will deal with Iran and Nukes. The US knows this is real issue. Israel wants and needs it’s border safer before these Nuke sites can be taken out.


Hezbollah gave Israel a reason to get the ball rolling … In my opinion the next step is to deal with Iran. With Hezbollah's fighting capabilities reduced from Israel’s Border it will be much easier for Israel and the US to put pressure on Iran. Of course I could be wrong, but Israel and the US will not allow Iran to have a NUKE!!

The US will stand aside for now. Israel is almost done, and the BIG ISSUE will soon come to a head… Iran and it’s hope to be a Nuclear Power.

Think oil is high now? Soon this Hezbollah conflict will be done and the real Issue will get started again... Iran and NUKES!!!!

Stay tuned folks! The problems in the Middle East could get much worse!
 
Robo,

I too believe that the situation with Iran is very grave, and that it will be dealt with soon. I popped back into the I fund after the market fell so much, but placed my request to withdraw on Thursday (with the transaction taking place on Monday). I think the situation with Iran is not being given attention, when in actuality, the "head of the snake", so to speak, dwells there.

Israel would have been smarter to attack Iran, not Lebanon. World Public opinion would have greater -- more understanding -- had they done that. After all, we as Americans can and should act in OUR own interest, not in the interest of other nations, including Israel (whether they are allies or not). It would have been nice for Israel to handle Iran, and welcome. Of course, the truth is Israel's move would likely have sucked us in too :(.

BTW, Achmadenijab (sp?) chose August 23rd as the date to answer re the offer of the West of "goodies" in exchange for cessation of the nuke program. The markets took a deep breath, believing that Iran will "act reasonably". No, Iran will not. Iran chose the date as being the one that coincides with "lights over Jerusalem" (from a Hadith) wherein the angel Gabriel and then the Mahdi (the savoir that comes right before Jesus) comes (shortly thereafter - well I believe from that well in Iran, but you get the idea). In other words, it has an apocalyptic meaning that is also
"confirmed" by astrology. Insanity knows no limits in our day and age.
 
The clock is now ticking! Iran was told today, NO NUKE FOR YOU...


It's Iran's move.... The Security Council has spoken... Now will they do anything about it if Iran does not comply? Trust me, once Israel is done with Hezbollah and made its border safer they will be in a postion to deal with Iran. You see what they did to get ride of missiles on their border. They will not allow a nuke!!! Will Iran now play the Oil Hand to buy more time... I don't lose sleep over these subjects, but we all must keep a eye on this..

The news is not talking about it much, but soon it will be Headlines again if Iran makes some threats. Hmmmm, Iran meeting with Venezuela officials, and Chavez is his new best buddy!!!!! Oh Boy!!!

I also hope we don't get any Big Hurricanes in August headed our way....


I hope it all works out ok, but the pain at the pump could get worse this summer!!! Should be a cease fire this week, and the News will shift back to Iran and Nukes... Korea... Venezuela.... Nigeria... Iraq and the list goes on!!!!!

Watch the price of oil the next few weeks!!!!
 
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I don't think negotiation will work with Iran, just like it didn't work with North Korea. They might accept a deal and then go ahead and develop nuclear technology / nuclear weapons anyway.

The Israelis are certainly watching the situation closely. If they believe Iran is approaching the point of no return with regards to the bomb, they will certainly try something. We can only guess what that something might be - I would surmise that they would try to locate all the Iranian facilities and try to sabotage / blow them up with commando raids if it cannot be done from the air. If those options fail, they could resort to the unthinkable: a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

It seems crazy, and it might be, but considering the fact that Israel is a very small country with just a few cities - which can easily be wiped out by a few nuclear warheads - I don't believe they can afford to allow Iran to get the bomb. The Iranian leader is on record as wanting Israel wiped off the map, and you can bet the Ayatollahs agree with him.
 
I've seen the hidden Imam and he ain't nothing but a hairy faced punk. The sooner we kill them the better off the world will be - I mean that sincerely.
 
Mike said:
I don't think negotiation will work with Iran, just like it didn't work with North Korea. They might accept a deal and then go ahead and develop nuclear technology / nuclear weapons anyway.

The Israelis are certainly watching the situation closely. If they believe Iran is approaching the point of no return with regards to the bomb, they will certainly try something. We can only guess what that something might be - I would surmise that they would try to locate all the Iranian facilities and try to sabotage / blow them up with commando raids if it cannot be done from the air. If those options fail, they could resort to the unthinkable: a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

It seems crazy, and it might be, but considering the fact that Israel is a very small country with just a few cities - which can easily be wiped out by a few nuclear warheads - I don't believe they can afford to allow Iran to get the bomb. The Iranian leader is on record as wanting Israel wiped off the map, and you can bet the Ayatollahs agree with him.

Personally I think we should just let them make it and then let it blow up on themselves, taking their technology with it and of course their own populace, in a convenient manner....news would be "Iranians blow themselves up with their toy. All went to see Allah"
 
I hate to say this, but I think it is true. A terrorist that has no value for his own life and only understands retaliation. It's a grim situation when someone will sacrifice his own life for his beliefs. How do you fight an enemy that has no fear of death. Death would make him a martyr and a hero with 75 virgins in the after life. How would Gingiss Caan punish these people for their actions? He would hunt them down and kill everyone in his family, in his town, his friends and acquaintances. We don't have the stomach for this kind of war and if we don't learn we will lose! When it gets tough YOU have to get TOUGH. When you fight the Devil, fight him with FIRE! No I'm not a liberal!:mad: Now I'm not happy!
 
World Affairs - Iran
When TspTalk started this forum he posted: Miscellaneous topics relating to world affairs and how they might affect our TSP accounts. Warning: Political discussions. Enter at your own risk.
What we think of other folks and what they think about us is a big spectrum.
Cartoons give a depiction rather than an editorial of words. Some of the cartoons pro or con for Iran are quite graphic. A google of "iran cartoons" will bring up a barrage of various feelings.
Some of the cartoons are the way people feel i.e., http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000289.html . This is an example of how some people see what Iran is doing.

What can U say!.................:( ..............Spaf
 
Iran has already given the answer that anticipated answer: No, we need nukes, glory to Hezbollah (with whom israel cannot even negociate, I mean what claim if any do they have against Isreal?), death to America and the "Zionists", Europe watch your step of you will get yours. It's the same one that has been repeating from Teheran. The question is, what will Bush do about this? We cannot let Iran have the bomb (or disseminate it), but at the same time, we are so tied down that we cannot take action either.


Poor Bush, I would not want to be him now. Iraq was such folly. Had he not gone in, Iran would be far easier. Still, I hope he is steadfast. Difficult times are ahead.
 
Re: Russia and the Iranian Bomb

On Aug. 23 Frontpagemagazine.com interviewed Regnar Rasmussen, a military expert and interrogation specialist. The interview is of interest because of Rasmussen’s testimony indicating that Iran purchased nuclear warheads from the “former” Soviet Union in autumn 1992. This is a story that confirms a similar claim made by Yossef Bodansky in his book The High Cost of Peace. Bodansky says the Iranians initially intended to use their newly acquired nuclear weapons in a jihad to destroy Israel. The plan involved strategic coordination with Hezbollah, Syria and communist North Korea (which agreed to a simultaneous attack against American forces in the Far East). Tehran asked its terrorist allies “to refrain temporarily from attacking Western objectives in order not to attract attention to the Iranian-sponsored buildup until they were ready to strike out decisively.” Once the necessary forces were in place, Hezbollah was to play a unique role by setting up the pretext for a devastating assault on Israel. According to Bodansky, Hezbollah would provoke Israel into “a major escalation in Lebanon – so that the planned Syrian and Iranian ballistic-missile barrage against Israeli civilian and strategic objectives could be presented as retaliation for Israeli aggression.” Bodansky also says that a simultaneous terrorist offensive would be launched against the United States while Iranian kamikaze-style attacks would be organized against U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.



http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/analysis.htm
 
We don't have the stomach for this kind of war and if we don't learn we will lose! When it gets tough YOU have to get TOUGH.


We do what we have to do, I think we have become desensitized to war and violence.

On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was the target of the first atomic bomb used against civil population in history. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki. In total, about one fourth of a million people were killed by the two bombs.
 
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Some how this quote comes to mind.

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

And this one.

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory."

Patton was a stud! Gotta rent that movie this weekend.:D
 
Patton was a stud! Gotta rent that movie this weekend.:D
Another quote from the movie Patton:

As Patton is driving by a long line of marching soldiers in his Jeep, one grunt says, "there goes Old Blood and Guts." Another grunt replies, "yeah, our blood, his guts." :D
 
Another quote from the movie Patton:


As Patton is driving by a long line of marching soldiers in his Jeep, one grunt says, "there goes Old Blood and Guts." Another grunt replies, "yeah, our blood, his guts." :D

Yea he was a tough bastard, but got it done. Glad I didn't have to fight that war. I still watch the Band of Brothers series every time it comes on with amazement. What a generation. Thanks!:D
 
I just pray to whomever; that the sources the Western nations are using, are not the same ones who said there were WMD in Iraq., OR DID WE ALREADY FORGET ABOUT THAT CLUSTER SCREW UP; WHICH HAS ALREADY COST THE LIVES OF 2600 AMERICAN NOT COUNTING THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
 
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