Why wouldn’t Iran publicly take credit, then? Wouldn’t it serve their interests to do so. Most terrorists take credit for their acts of terror after the fact. It serves as a morale builder and recruiting tool, and demonstrates potency. This is why I have trouble believing flight 800 was brought down by Muslims as opposed to another element - perhaps our own military.
Iran didn’t not want to incite the U.S. to go all Gulf War on them. Remember Iran was in a war with Iraq, a country whom they had a three-to-one population advantage over and was fighting them to a standstill. They knew the U.S. owed them a super-size delivery of whuppass and they didn’t want to get the public riled up so that Clinton would have been forced to take action. Libya never officially claimed responsibility for Pan Am 103, for much the same reason.
Even today, the U.S. has the capability to cut through the Iranian military like a hot knife through butter. The mistake we made in Iraq was nation building. We should have wrecked their military, destroyed their infrastructure so that they’ll be reading by lamp light for the next two generations and drawing water with hand pumps and buckets.
revenge is a dish best served cold
and no, the most professional state sponsored or state affliated terrorists don’t “take credit” for their actions
who says the govt of Iran would ever publicly claim a terrorist act? who even says the “govt” of Iran made the decision? maybe the “moderates” didnt know what the mullahs and Rev Guard were planning, not that they could disclaim it, at least that is what the Clintoons would say to justify taking no action
“hey the Iranian govt/moderates claim they didnt know about this rogue operation and we US interests dont want to jeopardize the Iranian moderates by retaliation would we so let’s call it a draw, we lost a plane full of people, they lost a plane full of people (even though the Iranians were playing chicken with a US warship)... so let’s just call it a mechanical malfunction and we can all agree to get along.... President Bubba”
high level statesmanship
the message was sent
Clinton blinked
“..uble believing flight 800 was brought down by Muslims..”
I agree, having heard this from beginning...........
Iran, as a nation-state, would be insane “to take credit” for terrorist acts. That would be national suicide. That’s why they use proxy groups in the same way the US and USSR did during the Cold War, for plausible deniability.