What about the Karbala laptop and was this an act of war?
Threats Watch says, " ... the January 20 attack on soldiers from an American Civil Affairs Unit in Karbala, Iraq, was an operation planned and carried out by members of the Iranian Qods Force extraterritorial unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)"
If Iran is guilty, is this an ACT OF WAR against the United States by Iran? If so, how will the United States respond? How will we deal with the traitors who gave intelligence to the terrorists who abducted our American soldiers and proceeded to execute them in cold blood with a bullet to the head?
How the United States reacts to this incident can be seen as a barometer for how the Bush Administration intends to deal with the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism in both the short and intermediate term. This – a test - may have been a significant part of the probable Iranian decision to go forth with the operation, Chizari’s personal satisfaction aside. Threats Watch
In my original story, Something Stinky in Karbala and the Green Zone, I covered the coordinated attack upon Americans by men carrying American weapons, and wearing new U.S. military combat fatigues, driving SUV's that looked similar to U.S. government convoys, spoke English, and even looked American (one having blond hair).
What I missed was the one time mention of a computer, a laptop, that was also taken with the Americans. On Fox News the 'generals' who were commenting on the Karbala attack, also mentioned the laptop in passing conversation. But no news source, internet source, or other source is going into any detail about the computer. What was on the computer? Was the computer the main objective of this mission?
On January 27th, an Associated Press Report included a curious sentence in an overview of the attack:
"The attackers captured four soldiers and fled with them and the computer east toward Mahawil in Babil province, crossing the Euphrates River, the U.S. military officials said." (AP)
No mention of a computer appears anywhere else in the article, yet the article appears to have been written as if it was. While all the media outlets have been describing the attack as a kidnapping, the AP article hints at another possible reason for the raid, a military laptop. Elusive, well financed, supported, and trained attackers took four Americans and a laptop, within hours they killed the Americans. Was the computer the real target? Were the American soldiers kidnapped to provide the password and then killed? (Small War Council via Chris Albon
Other important aspects of this attack:
The attack in Karbala where 5 American soldiers were shot in the head made me wonder if the Iraqi police were involved or at least complicit. Now I wonder if this goes straight to top. One of the vehicles had a license plate registered to Iraq's minister of trade, Abdul Falah al-Sudani, a Shiite who belongs to the Dawa party whose members include Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Sudani lives in the Green Zone and denied that the plate had been stolen. (Macon.com)
Ownership documents were found in two of the vehicles. No one seems to know where the military uniforms or IDs came from, but the SUV's traveled to Karbala along the road leading from Najaf, where anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is headquartered. (more)
Anyone with any sources on the 'laptop', let me know.
Also questioning the importance of the computer:
Islamic Danger
Related:
The Pentagon on Tuesday said it had stopped selling surplus parts for the F-14 fighter jet, saying it was the "right thing to do," given congressional concerns that some parts could land in the hands of Iran.
Labels: Iran, Iraqi, Karbala, military
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Still, the 2001 attacks might have been averted had the Clinton administration launched an effective strike against Bin Laden in the years leading up to them. Clinton has said he made every effort to get Bin Laden during his second term. Yet former CIA agent Michael Scheuer estimates that there were about 10 chances to capture or kill Bin Laden during this period and that the Clinton people failed to capitalize on any of them.
