*****OFFICIAL Iran vs. America and start of WWIII thread*****
- Thread starter THE_DEVIL
- Start date
White House officials were cited in a New York Times piece describing that it's "only a matter of time" before American troops are killed in Iraq or Syria as Iran-linked militant groups continue launching rockets and drones on US bases and positions. The report begins with this: "Another day, another barrage of rockets and another spark that American officials fear could set off a wildfire of violence across the Middle East"—and then transitions to the following astounding and frank admission:
I suppose we shouldn't bother with a separate Somalia thread, let's just tuck that news under here:
The US launched airstrikes in Somalia on January 21, US Africa Command announced on Tuesday, marking the first known US bombing of the country in 2024.
AFRICOM said in a press release that the strikes consisted of two separate engagements against al-Shabaab about 20 miles northeast of Kismaayo, a port city in southern Somalia. The command said the strikes were launched at the request of the US-backed Mogadishu-based government.
The command said its "initial assessment" found three al-Shabaab fighters were killed and claimed no civilians were harmed. But AFRICOM is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties, and US military operations in Somalia are shrouded in secrecy.
The last US airstrikes in Somalia reported by AFRICOM were launched on December 20. The latest US bombing comes as tensions are soaring off the northern Somali coast as the US has launched a new war against Yemen’s Houthis in response to their attacks on Israel-linked commercial shipping that started in protest of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.
US airstrikes in Somalia escalated in 2022 after President Biden ordered the deployment of up to 500 troops to the country, and the US-backed government launched an offensive against al-Shabaab.
When the House debated a resolution to withdraw from Somalia last year, lawmakers said there were 900 troops in the country. US troops on the ground in Somalia provide training for a special fighting force known as the Danab Brigade.
US operations in Somalia under Biden have not gotten as intense as they were during the Trump administration when the US bombed the country at a record pace.
The US military hypes the threat of al-Shabaab due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation, but it’s widely believed the group does not have ambitions outside of Somalia. Al-Shabaab was born out of a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that toppled the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups who briefly held power in Mogadishu after ousting CIA-backed warlords.
Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union. The group’s first recorded attack was in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2012 that al-Shabaab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda after years of fighting the US and its proxies.
The US launched airstrikes in Somalia on January 21, US Africa Command announced on Tuesday, marking the first known US bombing of the country in 2024.
AFRICOM said in a press release that the strikes consisted of two separate engagements against al-Shabaab about 20 miles northeast of Kismaayo, a port city in southern Somalia. The command said the strikes were launched at the request of the US-backed Mogadishu-based government.
The command said its "initial assessment" found three al-Shabaab fighters were killed and claimed no civilians were harmed. But AFRICOM is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties, and US military operations in Somalia are shrouded in secrecy.
The last US airstrikes in Somalia reported by AFRICOM were launched on December 20. The latest US bombing comes as tensions are soaring off the northern Somali coast as the US has launched a new war against Yemen’s Houthis in response to their attacks on Israel-linked commercial shipping that started in protest of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.
US airstrikes in Somalia escalated in 2022 after President Biden ordered the deployment of up to 500 troops to the country, and the US-backed government launched an offensive against al-Shabaab.
When the House debated a resolution to withdraw from Somalia last year, lawmakers said there were 900 troops in the country. US troops on the ground in Somalia provide training for a special fighting force known as the Danab Brigade.
US operations in Somalia under Biden have not gotten as intense as they were during the Trump administration when the US bombed the country at a record pace.
The US military hypes the threat of al-Shabaab due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation, but it’s widely believed the group does not have ambitions outside of Somalia. Al-Shabaab was born out of a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that toppled the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups who briefly held power in Mogadishu after ousting CIA-backed warlords.
Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union. The group’s first recorded attack was in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2012 that al-Shabaab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda after years of fighting the US and its proxies.
Somehow missed this news two weeks ago:
January 13, 2024 1:44 PM
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday has been located east of Iran's Qeshm Island, monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Iran seized the St. Nikolas, loaded with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey, in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its Iranian oil cargo by the United States, Iranian state media reported.
"The Greek-owned, U.K.-insured and Marshall Islands-flagged Suezmax tanker ST NIKOLAS ... laden with 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, has been located today east of Qeshm Island, Iran ... AIS [ship tracking] is offline," TankerTrackers said in its post Saturday.
The U.S. had seized the ship in a sanctions enforcement operation when it sailed under the name Suez Rajan, with Iran warning that the move would "not go unanswered."
The semi-official Fars news agency Thursday cited a navy statement saying that the St. Nikolas tanker was en route to Iranian ports.
The seizure of the St. Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes.
January 13, 2024 1:44 PM
- By Reuters
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday has been located east of Iran's Qeshm Island, monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Iran seized the St. Nikolas, loaded with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey, in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its Iranian oil cargo by the United States, Iranian state media reported.
"The Greek-owned, U.K.-insured and Marshall Islands-flagged Suezmax tanker ST NIKOLAS ... laden with 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, has been located today east of Qeshm Island, Iran ... AIS [ship tracking] is offline," TankerTrackers said in its post Saturday.
The U.S. had seized the ship in a sanctions enforcement operation when it sailed under the name Suez Rajan, with Iran warning that the move would "not go unanswered."
The semi-official Fars news agency Thursday cited a navy statement saying that the St. Nikolas tanker was en route to Iranian ports.
The seizure of the St. Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes.
FRIDAY, JAN 26, 2024 - 05:20 PM
The British fuel tanker operated on behalf of trading giant Trafigura, was on fire after it was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea, in the most significant attack yet by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on an oil-carrying vessel.
Yemen's Houthis said on Friday their naval forces carried out an operation targeting "the British oil tanker Marlin Luanda" in the Gulf of Aden causing a fire to break out. They used "a number of appropriate naval missiles, the strike was direct," the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement.
“Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and control the fire caused in one cargo tank on the starboard side,” a Trafigura spokesperson said in a statement. “We remain in contact with the vessel and are monitoring the situation carefully. Military ships in the region are underway to provide assistance.”
The area in question and the southern Red Sea have been the center of multiple attacks on ships by Houthi militants in recent weeks. Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched near daily attacks on vessels transiting the waterway, in an act of solidarity with Palestinians amid the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. The conflict has rerouted trade flows as some shippers avoid the key waterway.
The tanker, headed toward Singapore, was carrying naphtha, which is used to produce gasoline and plastics. Ironically, the naphtha was of Russian origin, Trafigura said.
“The vessel is carrying Russian-origin naphtha purchased below price cap in line with G7 sanctions,” a spokesperson said, however some have voiced questions about how a venerated Swiss merchant procured the Russian commodity.
The attack, the most serious yet since Houthi militants effectively took control of transit in the Red Sea, will raise fresh questions about whether oil tankers will continue to transit the Red Sea. Since joint US and UK airstrikes on the Houthis earlier this month, tanker traffic in the region has declined, but some vessels have continued to pass through, including those hauling oil from Russia and toward China. Other key oil exporters like Saudi Arabia said this week that they were planning to continue using the route.
The British fuel tanker operated on behalf of trading giant Trafigura, was on fire after it was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea, in the most significant attack yet by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on an oil-carrying vessel.
Yemen's Houthis said on Friday their naval forces carried out an operation targeting "the British oil tanker Marlin Luanda" in the Gulf of Aden causing a fire to break out. They used "a number of appropriate naval missiles, the strike was direct," the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement.
“Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and control the fire caused in one cargo tank on the starboard side,” a Trafigura spokesperson said in a statement. “We remain in contact with the vessel and are monitoring the situation carefully. Military ships in the region are underway to provide assistance.”
The area in question and the southern Red Sea have been the center of multiple attacks on ships by Houthi militants in recent weeks. Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched near daily attacks on vessels transiting the waterway, in an act of solidarity with Palestinians amid the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. The conflict has rerouted trade flows as some shippers avoid the key waterway.
The tanker, headed toward Singapore, was carrying naphtha, which is used to produce gasoline and plastics. Ironically, the naphtha was of Russian origin, Trafigura said.
“The vessel is carrying Russian-origin naphtha purchased below price cap in line with G7 sanctions,” a spokesperson said, however some have voiced questions about how a venerated Swiss merchant procured the Russian commodity.
The attack, the most serious yet since Houthi militants effectively took control of transit in the Red Sea, will raise fresh questions about whether oil tankers will continue to transit the Red Sea. Since joint US and UK airstrikes on the Houthis earlier this month, tanker traffic in the region has declined, but some vessels have continued to pass through, including those hauling oil from Russia and toward China. Other key oil exporters like Saudi Arabia said this week that they were planning to continue using the route.
So.... is the White House going to get Congress onboard with this
Yes, what a shame. The crazy thing is that this disaster is going to affect their own country. How stupid is that?
I was on a couple KC135 bases. They have been around since the 1950s sometime.
And I was at Barksdale, the B52 has also been around since the 1950s.
The first flight at Kitty Hawk was Dec 1903.
The B-52s maiden flight was April 1952.
The last one was built in 1962.
The USAF currently plans to use them until the 2050s.
It’s incomprehensible.
I’m not a war monger, but it’s time to bomb the f#ck out of these assholes and make them understand there’s a price for their actions.
SIAP
New IMAGES: First images of the Rubymar ship sinking near Aden after the Yemen attack
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-ship-...k-drifts-north-as-us-navy-offer-help-13082231
New IMAGES: First images of the Rubymar ship sinking near Aden after the Yemen attack
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-ship-...k-drifts-north-as-us-navy-offer-help-13082231
