Iran Invades Oman
For close to a month now, certain pockets of the U.S. intelligence and military communities have been deeply focused on a few key developments in the Iranian front of the War on Terror. When Iran declared war on America a few years ago ( without a suicidal public announcement of course ) the entirety of the burden of execution fell on the shoulders of its Revolutionary Guards. No other military units in Iran are competent enough for any type of engagement with Western forces.
The Guards were to do what they always do. Operate in the shadows, provide weapons, munitions, training, cash, personnel and other sundry types of support to a proxy army in Iraq. This proxy army would wage Iran’s war with enough distance to allow for Iran to avoid an open conflict with superior American forces, essentially by providing it plausible deniability to the charge that it was waging war against America in the first place. S.O.P. - same deal as in Lebanon where Hezbollah fronts Iran’s war on Israel. In the modern age, it is critical to enemies such as Iran that they never openly declare war on us, or we shall clearly have the right to annihilate them as we can. Plus it provides a critical weapon in their campaign to prevent American popular support for any U.S. military action against them. By never openly declaring war, they fool the American people into believing that they are indeed not waging war on us, so that when a President should call for military action against them, Iran is in the position to, and indeed does, say: “Who us? We ain’t doing shit. Your President’s a warmonger.” With the sounds of their IEDs and RPGs exploding in the background.
One of the key developments that has absorbed Washington’s attention deeply, and resulted in the very significant personal involvement of Vice President Dick Cheney, was the fact that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have invaded and seized almost all meaningful control of the strategic Masandam Peninsula in Oman - a peninsula that covers the Southern mouth of the Straight of Hormuz. Occupying this peninsula solidifies Iran’s complete control of the straight. The Northern chokepoint has long been Iran’s; the Southern chokepoint has long been Oman’s. They are now both Iran’s. The Revolutionary Guard also decided to make this area their own, because it makes for a smuggler’s paradise. And smuggling is one of their #1 jobs. A priority for the Guard is to engage in as much profitable illegal activity, on a global scale, as they can, in order to pay for their very existence, and help bankroll the country’s nuclear program. And, long anticipating the oncoming sanctions, the Guard has kept an eye on various ways to keep goods flowing into the country. Their new stronghold in Oman, with such control over the Straights, provides for just that.
And Oman, terrified of the direct confrontation with Iran that our military has planned and suggested, has decided to do nothing.
Cheney visited Oman on Feb. 26, and discussed these plans for joint Omani and U.S. forces to lay seige and slowly eject the Iranians from Masandam. The Omanis ultimately got cold feet. And Tehran remains in positon to use the peninsula to threaten tankers, American supplies and reinforcements, and even American troops as they leave.
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You must have some really great sources. I haven’t even heard ANYTHING about this any where in the news or on the net.
March 25th, 2007 at 4:49 pmYou are one amazing retired casting agent. I work as an ‘extra’ in the New Mexico film industry. I have never met anyone like you. Keep up the work. Your site is just below Michael Yon’s on my links. That is an honor sir. http://daflikkers.blogspot.com/
March 25th, 2007 at 7:06 pmWell of course we weren’t told about the Iranians controlling the Hormuz Straits; that would further vindicate the “Axis of Evil” Bush identified back in ‘02. Iran will get what’s coming to them some day, whether from us, or the disenchanted and oppressed within Iran itself.
March 25th, 2007 at 9:02 pmHow many years after the ceasefire in Korea did it take congress to recognize the marines fought the chinese and not north Koreans. The north vietnames advisors,Pol Pot’s backers, drug running cubans, foriegn fighers in Iraq
March 26th, 2007 at 8:20 amo the ways america supports democracy and the troops
You’ve been busy the last couple days Pat, keep moving at this pace and I won’t be able to get my work done.
Are those WW2 German MG42’s on those guys backs? The MG42’s were far ahead of their time in WW2 but seems a bit out of date today. If anyone knows much about Iranian arms let me know if thats what they are using.
March 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pmI’m pretty sure that tere are several countries still using them and copies, Iran is prolly one of them.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:49 pmMore likely, they’re Rheinmetall MG3s; direct descendants of the MG42, but chambered for the 7.62mm NATO. Iran has been using German weapons such as the H&K G3 rifle since at least the overthrow of the Shah, and we’ve all seen recent stories of rapid Iranian acquisition of other European small arms, such as Sigs, Glocks, and Steyrs. As you can probably tell, I’m somewhat a firearms enthusiast.
In a few weeks, I’ll be receiving a Civilian Marksmanship Program M1 Garand, can’t wait!
March 26th, 2007 at 5:33 pmThey have an M16 knock off too, but it’s worse than the chicom one from afew years back.
I’d like to throw something out there for other shooters;
Notice how 7.62×39, normally bountiful and cheap, took a run for scarcity in July-October? It was because Iran bought up EVERYTHING that Russia was producing, and had sitting around for sale. (”WOLF” ammo as you would know it here in the US) This was part of their shopping spree that ended with some new anti-aircraft batteries and fuel/technology for their Nuke plants. The latter of which the Russians have stopped working on and delivering because the Iranians couldn’t pay for them.
March 26th, 2007 at 6:12 pmMmm… the Garand… fucking classic.
Love the sound of it–a snappy pop. God bless Call of Duty 2.
March 26th, 2007 at 6:18 pmI got a CMP Garand when I was 16. Still love it. The sound when the clip ejects still makes me shake a little every time. PING!
March 26th, 2007 at 6:21 pmDick Cheney held no meetings with any government officials in Oman. He was in and out of Muscat on the way to Aghanistan and back, making special use of flight facilities.
I think you may be confusing what you regard as Iranian terrorists with the well-known smuggling trade that goes on across the Straits of Hormuz. Go see photos of that at http://omanvistas.org.uk
March 26th, 2007 at 10:42 pm@Dollard
Can you provide a source for the claim that Rep.Guards invaded Musandam? If confidential, can you provide a link to another site which coroborates this claim?
@Sue Hutton
If you are going to make a counter to Mr. Dollard’s claim that Cheney met with Omani officials with respect to planning an incursion on Musandam, can you please provide a link to your source. Do you know how long Cheney was ‘in and out’ of Muscat for? How can you rule out the possibility of a meeting ‘on plane’, or in an airport lounge?
March 27th, 2007 at 2:21 pmSo, does Iran have an established time table to make their move, or are they waiting for a trigger event? Buying up that much small-arms ammo seems like the sort of thing one would do before beginning of hostilities.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:04 pmThey have already started hostilities. However backwards and ignorant, they aren’t so stupid as to start an outright war with the West. Instead they’re training and supplying terrorist forces (the big buys of ammunition) to fight a proxy war, like they have done/are doing in Lebanon. But they are indeed working against us. Remember about two months ago when a group of masked men in SUVs attacked a US military base and kidnapped several Americans? Yeah.
But to your question; no way of knowing. Not for us anyway. Maybe one of the guys we captured or defected to the West will help us out with that.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:22 pmI heard a rumor that Iran fired a missile on US boats during their current naval war games in the gulf. Anyone else hear this?
Also, I agree with you that Iran are cowards that support terrorists with weapons and logistics but never commit their own troops to battle. An author named Kenneth Timmerman wrote a book in 2004 in which he sourced a former VEVAK (Iranian ‘cia’ equivalent) defector who said he was present at a meeting of high Irani officials that were planning to blow up the WTC. They provided logistics, training and planning for some of the highjackers.
I don’t know if its true, but it seems like Iran is behind alot of terrorism-by-proxy since they are too cowardly to fight a real war with the USA.
Now if only a couple bullets could find Amadinejad and the Ayatollah, the world would be a safer place.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:47 amI would not be surprised in the slightest that there is a much greater degree of cross-Jihadi cooperation then the average American thinks there is. They may hate each other, but it’s Islamic tradition to unite the fractious Ummah against the infidels.
I wanna hear predictions people, just what do the Mullahs plan, and when do they plan to execute it?
March 28th, 2007 at 3:27 pmFor the MG42 question:
March 29th, 2007 at 6:49 amIt is entirely possible that those MGs the guys in the picture are carrying are MG42’s. Pakistan has ww2 MG42’s in their arsenal, and Syria has ww2 STG 44’s in their arsenal. Some Syrian supplied STG 44’s were captured in munitions dumps in Iraq along with quantities of the old 7.92mm Kurtz ammo that goes with them.
I’m a bit of a gun fan too
I would quote sources, but I read that stuff awhile back and can’t remember exactly where I got it.
Great discussion. As for the gun stuff, I too love the sound of the M1 Garand. Especially from the 5th or 6th round BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM CHING! Love it. Incredibly accurate, too, even for a piss poor shot like me. Don’t have one yet, just got into the hobby a few years back. Mosin Nagant M44 is the only WW2 era piece I have so far. Would love to find the money to get a Garand while they are still somewhat affordable. I have seen real POS ones at shows for $800.
As for the Iranians, they are taking their time and doing whatever they need to so they will be ready to fight us directly. They know we would annihilate them in a direct war, so they have to do all the terrorist and destabilizing stuff first. This story doesn’t surprise me in the least.
March 29th, 2007 at 8:45 amthere not mg42’s there mg34’s
September 4th, 2007 at 11:04 am