Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander says its troops in Syria

reuters ^ | 9-16-12 | Marcus George

[dynachrome]

Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are providing non-military assistance in Syria and Iran may get involved militarily if its closest ally comes under attack, commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Sunday.

Jafari's statement is the first official acknowledgement that Iran has a military presence on the ground in Syria where an 18-month-old uprising has left tens of thousands dead.

Western countries and Syrian opposition groups have long suspected Iran has troops in Syria. Iran has denied this.

"A number of members of the Qods force are present in Syria but this does not constitute a military presence," Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Jafari as saying at a news conference.

[dynachrome]

'non-military assistance'

yeah, right/s

[GeronL]

Just advisors like JFK and LBJ in Vietnam

sure

[DIRTYSECRET]

I say find a way to take them out-just the Iranians.

[GeronL]

I would not oppose it

[PJBankard]

Iran is obviously putting troop in Syria to make it easier to invade Israel or sneak in a Nuke and detonate it on the ground. Israel is going to make a move on Iran very soon.

[Irenic]

They want to smooth things over with the Sunnis, they screwed up in Syria and ticked off the Sunnis. Mahdism— Syria is very important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPvRtrswA3c&feature=related

http://hnn.us/articles/mahdism-and-sectarianism-and-superstition-rises-islamic-world

[tbw2]

Aside from the wars against Israel and the Iran-Iraq war, and the 2 Gulf Wars have there been any major Middle East wars since WW2 between Muslim nations?

[af_vet_rr]

This makes it even easier for Obama and his cronies to attack the two major Shiite-led countries.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

This presents a golden opportunity to target al-Quds and take out a bunch. Critically, in Iran, al-Quds is filled with draftees who stay in their barracks, and only a minority are continually on the go putting down opposition.

So every one of these “reliables” that gets taken out, hurts the regime a lot more then it appears.

[cranked]

Admitting nothing new here. =.=

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks dynachrome. From the FRchives:

• Iran said to supply Syria with elite force
• Iran Sends 15,000 Troops to Syria to Assist in Crackdown on Syrian Civilians
• Iran Quds marching into Syria to ail Assad
• Report: Iranian Special Forces Are Marching Into Syria
• Report: Iran Quds Forces March into Syria
• Report: Hizbullah Fighters Lately Entered Syria to Back Assad Troops
• US official: Russia sends troops to Syria as peace hopes fade
• Russian Anti-Terror Troops Arrive in Syria
• ABC Reports Russian Troops Have Arrived In Syria, Russia Denies
• Russian Anti-Terror Troops Arrive in Syria

[gotribe]

Lay the blinding flash on damascus and be done with it.

[SunkenCiv]

The major dust-up was the Yemeni civil war (which has returned during the so-called Arab Spring); Nasser’s Egypt backed a socialist faction, and the Saudis backed some jihadists. Egypt used gas warfare against Saudi troops/proxies in that war, the only time since WWI I can think of that poison gas has been used on a battlefield, other than Saddam’s use of it against the Kurds.

In 1970, Syria conducted a short-lived invasion of Jordan in support of the attempted PLO overthrow of King Hussein. Israel flew sorties to buzz the tanks, and the Syrians turned tail. That may have paid dividends in 1973, when King Hussein passed the exact date of the upcoming Arab war against Israel — unfortunately the information was ignored. Anyway, in 1970 the Jordanian army kicked the living crap out of the PLO, such that PLO “soldiers” fled to the border and surrendered themselves to the Israelis just to get away.

Syria also invaded Lebanon and proceeded to occupy it for decades; Lebanon has been in civil war off and on since the 1950s, but the latest mess began thanks to the PLO’s entering Lebanon, setting up armed camps, and destabilizing the gov’t.

The self-identified “Mahdi” organized a takeover of the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia, resulting in a lot of dead Muzzies on both sides. After the Saudis finally gathered the firepower, manpower, and internal political support to storm the place (the Wahhab clerics weren’t going to give their okay to the dynasts, and extracted some concessions from them) they killed many of the followers of that nutbag. Interestingly, some of the survivors were US citizens, and were held for a little while, then deported here, i.e., repatriated.

Anyway, sorry if this reply is duplicative, I started it, had unexpected company, then headed for the store, and wound up taking a walk, was gone a few hours between the above and this.

[JerseyanExile]

Egypt used gas warfare against Saudi troops/proxies in that war, the only time since WWI I can think of that poison gas has been used on a battlefield, other than Saddam’s use of it against the Kurds.

The Japanese used it in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Iraqis used it in the war against Iran.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks JerseyanExile.

[JerseyanExile]

No problem. There was one more I forgot - the Italians used it against the Ethiopians in the second invasion of that nation.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks again.