Iran Incursion Into Iraq Was Message To Washington
This is an item worth paying attention to. It seems as though many folks have concluded that last week’s incursion by Iranian forces into Iraq, and onto an old oil well, was a minor, meaningless story.
A popular, benign, interpretation is that it was just a few, rogue Iranian forces foolishly hoisting a flag onto a well that wasn’t pumping oil, with absolutely no consequence whatsoever.
Not so say the independent geopolitics analysts at Stratfor.
Multiple sources have reported that Tehran ordered the incident. The Iranian government is aware that Washington has said the end of 2009 was to be the deadline for taking action against Iran over its nuclear program — and that according to a White House source, the United States could extend that deadline to Jan. 15, 2010.
Pakistan Troops and Tribesmen Fire At US Helicopters
September 23, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire on two United States helicopters that crossed from Afghanistan into a north-western tribal region, intelligence officials said yesterday.
The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said.
They said informants in the field told them of the incursion about a mile inside the disputed and poorly demarcated border in the Alwara Mandi area in North Waziristan.
Pakistan’s army and the US military in Afghanistan said they had no information on the reported incursion.
The number of missile attacks by US drone aircraft in the remote tribal areas has multiplied in recent weeks.
A week ago, US helicopters reportedly landed near Angoor Ada, a border village in South Waziristan, but returned towards Afghanistan after troops fired warning shots. The US action prompted General Ashfaq Kayani to issue a statement saying that foreign troops would not be allowed on Pakistani soil and Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be defended at all costs.
The latest alleged incident will add to tensions between Islamabad and Washington
