[JOHN ADAMS]

My impulse is that this is a remarkable failure of will by our country, and that a President who wasn't a coward would have done what needed to be done to get this thing back or destroy it. But I don't have the knowledge or experience to understand precisely what would have been involved in doing that. Comments from FreeRepublic readers gratefully appreciated.

[Blado]

U.S. officials considered conducting a covert mission inside Iran to retrieve or destroy a JIMMY CARTER that crashed late last week, but ultimately concluded such a secret operation wasn’t worth the risk of provoking a more explosive clash with Tehran, a U.S. official said.

[Redleg Duke]

This is Jugears’ “Desert One”.

[G Larry]

At a minimum, they should have blown it up with a Hellfire missile.

Now the Russians will have the technology, as I’m sure they’ve already paid Iran for the wreckage.

Thanks to our Idiot-in-Chief!

[Sooth2222]

I'm not sure how one more mysterious explosion in Iran would cause a deterioration of relations with Tehran. I suspect that the Golfer-In-Chief must have had something to do with quashing this idea.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

They could have commissioned a couple of Israelis to get the job done.

[rightwingextremist1776]

A B-2 with a couple of laser guided 2000 lb bombs would have done the trick with none the wiser. The problem is not with the military’s ability to fulfill the mission but the lack of a nut sack by the “won” calling the shots.

[Diogenesis]

The undocumented one always supports the mullahs
against America.
today, SSDD.
the failure to retrieve is an attempt
by the undocumented impostor for
plausible deniability for the
Obama-planned transfer of USA assets to the mullahs.

[Rummyfan]

What, no self-destruct function?

[DManA]

Ir never crossed anyone’s minds that these things could crash?

[MichaelP]

Obama is an effing COWARD!

Mike

[GoldenPup]

So send in stealth aircraft and blow the damn thing up!! Use nukes, if necessary.

OR...we could send over the "bower and scraper" in chief to grovel to the mullahs and plead and whine for them to give it back!!

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[Melchior]

I oncee thought that this is a set-up to make the Iranian Mullahs even more nervous. However, with the stupid admission that it was ours, and the follow-up that it was a joint military-CIA drone, it is obvious that once again we are dealing with the usual f-up. If the USA was unwilling to deny its provenance and then did not have the guts to retrieve it, they should have destroyed it. And if they didn’t destroy it the Congress (certainly not the feckless Senate) should demand an explanation from both the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House.

[arkady_renko]

Dear John,

Perhaps it didn’t crash? Perhaps it was a gift for a favor to be announced at a future time. After I leave office.

Signed,

BO

[DH]

Political Correctness has turned the once mighty U.S. to a pack of whipped dogs.

November of 2012 is so far away that I can’t even see it.

[USNBandit]

Iranians have been supplying weapons and giving direct support to our enemies in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are worried about making them mad?

[luckybogey]

Sounds like a good decision to me......

//////////////

...”A U.S. satellite quickly pinpointed the downed drone, which apparently sustained significant damage, the senior official said.

“The Iranians have a pile of rubble and are trying to figure what they have and what to do with it,” the senior U.S. official said. The drone crashed solely because its guidance system failed, the official said. Officials confirmed to CNN it was an RQ-170 drone that was lost.

Another U.S. official confirmed that when the drone crashed, the United States briefly considered all potential options for retrieving the aircraft or bombing the wreckage, but those ideas were quickly discarded as impractical...”

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/downed-drone-was-on-cia-mission/

[lwd]

Why are they using drones for recon when spy satellites could do the job?

[ßuddaßudd]

F U B O