An Iraqi soldier with the 1st Iraqi Army examines one of more than 160 mortars found during Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra April 19. Some of the markings on the weapons indicate a manufacturing date in 2007. U.S. Army photo.
Posted on 04/21/2008 4:22:50 PM PDT by SandRat
Soldiers from the 1st Iraqi Army discovered the cache during the search phase of Operation Charge of the Knights. The cache consisted of a large number of weaponry with Iranian markings.
The cache included a 240 mm high-explosive war-head and approximately 160 mortars. Some of which were less than 12 months old.
The cache also contained approximately 25 artillery shells, more than 20 complete improvised explosive devices, large quantities of IED components, several explosively formed projectiles and dozens of grenades and fuses. Also included was more than 20 blocks of plastic explosives, homemade anti-personnel mines packed with ball bearings, hundreds of meters of detonation cord, improvised rocket launching rails, and thousands of rounds of small-arms ammunition.
Operation Charge of the Knights is ongoing with the Iraqi Army working in conjunction with the Iraqi Police to maintain pressure on Special Groups and criminal elements by denying them sanctuaries and safe havens through Basra and Iraq.
“Operation Charge of the Knights has been an Iraqi planned and executed operation from the very start,” said Lt. Col. Neil Harper, deputy public affairs officer for Multi-National Corps - Iraq. “The Iraqi Army demonstrated their capability to protect the people of Basra against Special Groups and criminal elements that are ignoring the rule of law.
“The success in finding these large caches was also due in part by numerous tips from concerned local Iraqis. This is another great example of Iraqis dealing with their own issues, and they should be admired for their bravery,” Harper said.
(Multi-National Division - Southeast PAO)
Coolest looking and sounding plane ever. Saw one at Willow Grove about 5 years ago that arrived unannounced. I can imagine that it causes hundreds of UFO reports every year—if I hadn’t seen it at the show, I’m sure I would have thought it was a UFO too.
Sadr threatens to end his cease-fire as Iraqi security forces and US troops press the offensive. Iraqi soldiers and special police respond to an ambush in force and captured 40 members of the Special Groups at a Sadrist office. Twenty-seven Mahdi Army fighters were killed in Baghdad over last 24 hours.
taking out oil refineries is not a great idea since we will need those and the real (not bogus) eco-damage is the sort of thing the bad guys want. As for the nuke sites, most are underground and, frankly, I don’t know what other than another nuke can penetrate. We need regime change through serious covert ops (including assassination) or massive ground forces.
If the latter, the next president will have to bring Europe and Russia and China on board for the biggest land invasion since Normandy, on two fronts which W has presciently provided the platforms for. It was always about Iran, people...always. Question is will Clinton or McCain have the guts to do what it takes. Obama clearly will not.
Iran and North Korea will have no hesistation whatsoever to spread their nukes throughout the world. Only saving grace is that neither has a delivery system that can send a warhead out of the region; but they have a much harder to detect means of delivery—al qaeda is only too happy to sign onto nuclear armageddon, even if it means dealing with their sworn enemies in Iran. I suspect McCain did not really misspeak about Iran’s support of al Qaeda in Iraq; if it isn’t true this moment, it is inevitable. Mark my words, 9/11 is nothing compared to what’s coming if we allow Iran to go nuke.
Pray that Obama does not win in November.
I think what you say is a better description for Pakistan and India’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. For the most part, their intentions are to be part of the “nuclear club” and, as the Defense minister for the BJP in India pointed out some time ago, South Asia was not protected by the nuclear umbrellas of either the US, Russia, or China. So long as Pakistan and India don’t go completely ape-shi*, that should be ok (and India certainly has no intention of antagonizing the rest of the world).
Iran, on the other hand, would fit that model were it not for the fact that they have no industry to speak of, no system of higher education that compares to the better schools of Pakistan and India (who mostly send their better students to the US, which Iran does not), nothing other than oil production which is probably 30 years behind the times and with a distribution system so bad, they still have to ration gasoline in many places.
But nukes give them one thing an obsolete oil industry does not: the ability to ransom the world or, if you happen to be an apocalyptic nutcase like Ahmadinejad, you can fancy yourself to be the return of the hidden Imam and set fire to the world (or at least try to).
Not surprised the least bit....
And Iran claims its nuclear program is for “peaceful” purposes. How stupid do they think we are?
The sad thing is though, many people ARE as stupid as Iran thinks we are.
BUMP!
I would like an explanation from Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush - - why have we not taken out Iran?
Great base.
My home in Pa is nearby and a lot of Apaches fly overhead on a regular basis.
Actually, a stealth bomber passed directly over my business in Stuart, Florida at a very low altitude.
I knew it was coming and I took the staff outside to the parking lot to see it flyover.
Damn thing was eerie, it was so quiet.
I’m in Philadelphia....belly of the beast.
And also a few sorties against their nuke facilities.
And *rhis* is why the support of the Iraqi Army and Rule of Law, by the Grand Ayatollah of all Iraqi Shiites, is such a big deal. Every story you read about the push by the ISF has at least one or two instances, where large weapons caches, or criminal hideouts are found and destroyed, are coming from tips from the Iraqi people.
send em back to Iran, to the dissidents. Bush does too much above board,
Arm them and fire them back at Iran.
Time for some more empty rhetoric from the White House condemning Iran!
I’ve been reading about operation “Eldest Son” from Vietnam, where we took enemy shells and cartridges from caches, fixed the mortar shells so they would explode in the tubes, fixed the ammo so it would explode in the rifles, then put them back. And waited.
Mortar shells (in the soldier’s right hand) each come packed inside their own “tube” (in the soldier’s left hand). The actual “mortar” itself, into which the shell is dropped and fired/launched, is not pictured.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_%28weapon%29
I've often wondered the exact same thing.
If most Iranians hate the regime, why don't they rebel?
It's not much of a life being a serf to a minority of despotic whackos. What's to lose?
It’s just a weird coincidence. But seriously, this is obviously an arms cache that CIA provocateurs bought on the open market and concealed in Iraq to try to frame the kindly, peace-loving Islamic republic.
36 people shot, 9 die, during weekend in Chicago
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/21/chicago.shootings.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Nothing to see here. Just move along.
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