22 years ago in these days happened http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655 during Iran Iraq war USA supported Sadam mainly and when this incident happen most of people thought American Army desired onset war with Iran.
Pretty much the same thing happened when the Libya's downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, except that one Libyan also got some jail time. Obama is the best friend the Iranian mullah's ever had in Washington. There's no way he's going to cause them serious trouble just for downing a civilian airliner.
The sailors were probably celebrating an early independence day. What is more sad is that all of them walked free after 300 murders caused by carelessness. @Will: US being a rich country paid 60 million while Libya being an impoverished nation gave 2700 million. Nice.
Libya isn't poor, only Libyans are poor. The Libyan government and the Gaddafi family is quite wealthy. Whoever voted "USA declare war against Iran" should really stop to remember that the USA didn't declare war on Libya after they downed Pan Am Flight 103.
lol! Good point. Beside Libyan who done Lockerbie got life sentence award and for American navys see what mentioned in Wikipedia? Just that! No any attack to Libya soil? I guess most of people know about Pan American airline crash but how much that Iranian plane shown in media? We are talking about humans not governments. Anyway I guess most of American governments were friend of Mullahs! lol Iranian people don't hate USA and other western countries and their people but just see what you done for democracy in Iran. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Shah%27s_Men
Hey may have got a life sentence, but he was set free in exchange for a Libyan oil contract with BP. Looks like the one doctor who predicted he had 3 months to live 10 months ago got it wrong. He now says the guy may live as long as 10 years, or longer. The guy was greeted as a hero on his return to Libya. Nope. Some pretty crazy shit in done in the name of oil security, no doubt. When I read the article on the deal done for the freedom of the Libyan bomber, my knee jerk reaction was to say, "Screw BP. Lets take their money to clean up this mess and sell off their assets to other oil exploration companies". Specifically regarding the poll you've posted Babak, I don't find it's wording exactly fair. I do believe the downing of an airliner by a direct agent of the Iranian government could and would be used as justification to go to war, but with several caveats. 1) We would already have to be at odds with the government over something like: Their Nuclear Weapons program Their funding of terrorist organizations world wide 2) Such an attack would have had to have happened after Bush doctrine became part of American foreign policy. 3) The US commercial airliner would have to have not been flying over an active combat zone 4) The US airliner would have had to have responded to being hailed on commercial and military frequencies repetitively.
This is an old issue. At the time, I w as working for a defense contractor that was involved in the investigation. From what I remember, it was determined that the Iranian air flight 655 was transmitting the transponder codes of an F-14 fighter jet. The jet was sent up, Iran was hoping the Airbus would be shot down as a PR move. All independent investigations came to the same conclusions. As for the poll, it's silly - the USA would not send an airliner full of civilians to their death the way Iran did. Although, if Iran did shoot down an U.S. airliner today, most probably President Obama would do nothing. Well, not nothing - maybe some meaningless sanctions against Iran.
American attacked Libvya but mainly for the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. pardon for my mistake! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Libya
what was the point and what Iranian government achieved? It even didn't impressed Medias. On that time Iran was fully involved in war with Iraq and USA and other powers fully supported Iraq. Saddam never paid back what Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, USA and some other countries invested in that war. In my thought people who died on that plane were human same as any people in the world. Maybe you were right, Iranian governments send them to slaughterhouse but they were inhuman regime and dictator, then why American navy who had democratic government that was leader of free world had to done that and even got award!? They had done it in Iranian water and sky! I think this was a terrible mistake and US Navy didn't do it deliberately but policies were particular I think. When I see you guys posts and reactions in this mater, thinking why have to anticipate Muslim ponder about Islam? If something is wrong is wrong and if it's right is right, should we justify things as desire?
The point was for Iran to claim the USA shot down an Iranian civilian airliner. Iran used this to fuel anti-American racial hatred, AND to score diplomatic points, AND to demand money from the US for the downed airliner, AND to manipulate liberals in the USA to side against the United States. It wasn't a mistake that the Iranian flight was deliberately sending an F-14 transponder signal. It was trying to get shot down for the above reasons.
surly you are right!! no any doubt!! guess it's pilot was kamikaze! our insane government hadn't any media to illustrate it so all they done went in vain I guess, so stupid action it was. as I heard USA just pied compensate to victims family not our government, that was right action I think (this one is seriously!)
good example I guess. don't want to justify such cruelty by Soviet but that plane immerged to Russian territory. I guess USA and other countries punished Soviet as they could and beside onset a war with Soviet was insane I think. I remember it was top news for long period and many airliners boycotted Soviet on that time.
Seriously though, whether deliberate or accidental, these things are very sad. The downing of El Al Flight 402 did not result in a declaration of war against Bulgaria. The downing of Libyan Airlines Flight 114 did not result in additional declarations of war against Israel. Payments to the victims were made in both cases.
America would have had to had clairvoyants on staff to make a 1986 Libya bombing a retaliatory strike for a 1988 terrorist attack on the Lockerbie flight. I understand that, but my answer was pertaining to what would be required for an act of war to be the result of the downing of a US craft. Probably also worth noting that the waters of the Straits of Hormuz are some of the more combative waters on the planet in the most peaceable of times. The independent analysis paints the captain of the American vessel as a guy with a hard on for a fight, driving one of the most advanced Naval ships of its time around those waters. I found another interesting little factoid in the wiki: Now why does that sound so familiar?
yeah right American Navies presented there to secure cargos passing trough that strait. Iran Iraq war was totally wrong and although Iraq started that war but Iran Stretch it to long period and tried to stop ships going for Iraq. beside Iran USA relation wasn't friendly on that and also right now. even now a lot of US navies present in Persian gulf and strait of Hormoz, hope no any incident happen again.
Hehe, I was actually referring to the Iranian's who were boarding and searching commercial ships headed to Iraq at the time. Sounded a bit like Israel who reserves the right to board and search ships. I agree. Just a few years ago, the US came very close to blowing away a few Iranian speed boats in those waters. If there is another incident, I suspect it won't look like an accident. Things are heating up. A friend of mine yesterday told me the US has two carrier groups in those waters which is highly unusual. Saudi Arabia has already granted Israel permission not only to overfly their country with warplanes headed towards Iran, but rumor has it the Israelis will be allowed to use Saudi bases to refuel and rearm. It appears that when Israel says a Nuclear Iran is unacceptable, they are serious enough to back their words with action.