Kerry flip-flop early warning system triggered!
posted at 4:59 pm on February 12, 2007 by Allahpundit
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[S]peaking on ABC’s “This Week” television programme, Senator John Kerry said he has no doubt that “there are weapons flowing across the border” from Iran.
“Nobody questions, those of us who have been to Iraq and in the region know that there are Iranian instigators, agents in Iraq, and that’s happening, there’s no question,” Kerry said.
Like Sparse Matrix says, the official left-wing line on the Iranian IEDs is that they’re phantom weapons concocted by Chimpy as a pretext for carpet-bombing Tehran. Waffles hasn’t gotten the memo yet, so he’ll have to climb down in a few days. Keep an eye out for it. It’ll be good for a laugh when he does.
Anyway, I don’t really care about Kerry. I just wanted a clickworthy peg to get you to read a pair of excellent posts at DefenseTech, one of them about those IEDs and another about the spike in attacks on U.S. helicopters. Noah Schachtman says we shouldn’t presume conclusively that the IEDs are coming from Iran: they might well have been pioneered there (Hezbollah uses the same weapon against Israeli tanks), but terrorist technology has a habit of migrating. Nevertheless, Iran’s the prime suspect and according to the intel official who briefed reporters yesterday, it’s not just those tankbusters they’re supplying. Rockets, TNT, and shoulder-fired missiles have also come across the border.
Regarding the helicopter attacks, DT’s in sync with Maj. Gen. Jim Simmons — the jihadis aren’t aiming for the choppers so much as they’re aiming for morale.
The situation in Iraq has its parallels with the [Soviet war in Afghanistan]. The main importance of new missiles would not be in shooting down helicopters, but on the morale of both sides. The Mujahideen took new heart that the previously invincible ‘Devils Chariot’ could be defeated. Soviet helicopter crews found themselves facing an opponent who could shoot back, and were forced to adopt more evasive tactics which limited their effectiveness.
A similar decrease in effectiveness could happen in Baghdad.
Per the Times, “General Simmons said he also believed that the insurgents might be especially motivated to shoot down helicopters as a way of discrediting the new American and Iraqi security plan.”
Exit question for our weapons experts via an e-mail from Michael Yon: What on earth is this?
More (Bryan): I know that for our friends on the left there’s a mental block associated with all claims coming from the administration regarding Iranian meddling in Iraq, but Michelle and I heard on the ground in Baghdad, from a Lt Col in intelligence, that Iran has ramped up its support for the militias and insurgents in the past year to 18 months. It’s hard to say just how much of a contribution to the total violence the Iranians are making, but it’s likely significant, both in arms and training. When you have an “uninterrupted flow of weapons” coming in from Iran to Iraq and getting into the hands of the anti-US/anti-Iraq forces, you have a major problem.
The facts about Iran’s meddling in Iraq aren’t coming from the top down in some drive to expand the war; they’re coming from within Iraq and are filtering up toward an administration that has so far been very reluctant to make much noise about it. From what we learned, the troops in Iraq that are aware of the situation find the administration’s slowness to respond both perplexing and frustrating. Their fellow soldiers are dying at the hands of the mullahs, and so far the mullahs are getting away with it.
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Why even listen to that loser?
Mazztek on February 12, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Well, I’m no weapons expert, but sometimes a little logic is necessary: If Iranian weapons are being found, either they are being smuggled/stolen/acquired illegally. Or, they are being shipped from Iran directly.
Now, call me crazy, but Iran DOES have a track record of supplying weapons to anti-western organizations (example a, Hezbollah). The question to ask is, why WOULDN’T Iran supply them?
Vanceone on February 12, 2007 at 5:11 PM
He was for the insurgents before he was …..oh, nevermind.
bloggless on February 12, 2007 at 5:11 PM
Pardon me. Who is this “John Kerry” person of whom you speak?
Professor Blather on February 12, 2007 at 5:15 PM
DOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!!!!
ReubenJCogburn on February 12, 2007 at 5:17 PM
He says it with such excitement and glee. He probably pissed himself with giddyness.
roninacreage on February 12, 2007 at 5:19 PM
Oh, and John Kerry? *snort* What else is new? He’d most likely be for his own birth, then against it, then for it again.
Vanceone on February 12, 2007 at 5:20 PM
What an insufferable bore.
Yes, Johnny Nuance, we remember your trip to Iraq.
JammieWearingFool on February 12, 2007 at 5:22 PM
Jeez, Where is Stuart smally when you need him?
He shoulda’ wrote a book about Kerry…
Losing losers and the losses they lose.
Kerry all the way around. I love that Pic O’ Him BTW.
-Wasteland Man
WastelandMan on February 12, 2007 at 5:32 PM
John Kerry flip flops…BOOOOSH!
You should’ve posted that picture of him juggling the football. I love that pic!
jaleach on February 12, 2007 at 5:38 PM
In Kerryspeak, “those of us” means “ME”.
bloggless on February 12, 2007 at 5:40 PM
It looks like he is wearing a pearl earring.
The Man With The Pearl Earring.
bloggless on February 12, 2007 at 5:41 PM
It makes me a little bit nuts to read “the uninterrupted flow of weapons”…
Why isn’t the flow interrupted? If the Dems want to pull back one idea might be manning the borders with Syria, Iran, Kuwait and KSA. Shoot everything that moves. Notice I do not include Turkey? I think the Kurds have the northern border covered.
Babs on February 12, 2007 at 5:48 PM
When asked to clarify his comments, Sen. Kerry elaborated, “I apologize that my previous statement may be misconstrued as criticism of the peace-loving nation of Iran - I want to make it clear that the moral responsibility for Iran’s involvement in the Iraq war lies solely with George W. Bush. If not for Bush’s war, there would be no reason for Iranian agents to be in Iraq. I regret that the the language of my statement was imprecise.”
Enrique on February 12, 2007 at 5:58 PM
Wait John Kerry gets his moral authority from travelling to Iraq? I thought it was from him touring Vietnam. I’m sooo confused.
Its about time we ditched the Powell (you break it you buy it) Doctrine and explained things to the Iranians. Khan style
Iblis on February 12, 2007 at 6:01 PM
I dunno … if we can’t trust John Kerry’s word on weapons smuggling - he who by his own “seared” memory smuggled weapons to the Khmer Rouge on behalf of the CIA during “Mr. Nixon’s war” in 1968 (”I have the hat in a ’secret compartment’ of my briefcase to prove it!”) - then who can we trust?
Spurius Ligustinus on February 12, 2007 at 6:28 PM
He’ll deny saying it later..
Pam on February 12, 2007 at 6:32 PM
Here’s what I think Yon’s mystery weapon is:
A phased plasma rifle in a 40 watt range
Yes, the implication is serious: Iran has smuggled terminators into Iraq.
NPP on February 12, 2007 at 6:41 PM
I was doing my daily check of BBC news for the usual outrages when I came across apretty big story about arms smuggling to Iraq. The Italians apparently broke up a plan to ship 500,000 AK-47s. Nothing special about the guns, but 500,000 of them?!
forest on February 12, 2007 at 6:42 PM
forest, thanks for sharing that link!
They don’t call it the “Foggy” Bottom for nothing. Everything has to be weighed for PC, multi-culti and a series of other idiosyncratic implications.
Entelechy on February 12, 2007 at 7:24 PM
Johnny Kerry… the next ya know he’ll be putting himself in for another purple heart becaused he bumped his head exiting the helio.
Zorro on February 12, 2007 at 7:47 PM
It’s a simple question to me. Is full material support of Iraqi Shi’a militias in Iran’s interest? Yes, especially considering the intransigent disinterest in doing anything about it on the part of the Democrat party. They have everything to gain (a controlling interest in Iraq affairs if not de facto control of the government) and very little to lose (a few shows of force by the United States, quickly denounced by a Democrat party in the midst of pandering to their base in a primary season) by doing so.
It worked in Syria. It worked in Lebanon. It will work in Iraq. Thanks Nancy!
spmat on February 12, 2007 at 9:40 PM
I wonder what kind of existence it is that everyday, you have to be reminded of your convictions, your stance, your vote, your point of view, your loyalty, what you said before you said it, and what your meaning to what you said was after you said it………. sounds like the defenition of a person without a soul, or a Democrat, maybe both, take your pick.
Tell us of your dreams, Mr. Kerry…….. do any demons haunt you in the night? Are the lies adding up?
What if we go to war with Iran and it does not go well for a while…… will you accept defeat, and then testify that American troops are engaged in torture, because you can’t accept an American victory?
Mr. Kerry….. {whisper} Mr. Kerry???? {I can hear the demons laughing….}…. Mr. Keeeerrrrryyyy????????
PinkyBigglesworth on February 12, 2007 at 10:08 PM
Hasn’t Herman Munster’s battery ran out by now? Boy has Energizer batteries in the mouth.
- The Cat
MirCat on February 12, 2007 at 10:12 PM
I would like to know more about that weapon.It leaves more questions than answered.Has anyone identified the power of that scope? 30x from M-4?..Please post if anyone finds out.
spazzmomma on February 12, 2007 at 11:04 PM
Lurch is flip-flopping? Stunning! It’s so unlike him. Reminds me of the Bush campaign ad with Lurch out on the water…”any way the wind blows”. It’s so true. Poor Lurch. I mean…he works so hard to demonstrate credibility but only manages to demonstrate complete idiocy. Even the MSM is turning on him. Now you know he’s screwed.
thedecider on February 12, 2007 at 11:59 PM
Whoa - why is everybody dissing Senator Kerry? Isn’t he like some kind of war hero? Just asking.
;-)
MarkM on February 13, 2007 at 12:32 AM
Why yes! He gave himself several purple hearts. Must have been difficult to throw them in the trash they way he did. After all, paper cuts and thorn bushes qualify as hard labor for the crowd he married into.
thedecider on February 13, 2007 at 12:42 AM
Are his leaps of logic only when the botox drains from his head?
Time for a refill, Waffles!
Black Adam on February 13, 2007 at 1:47 AM
I thought he changed his name to Jacque Cherie and moved to Paris!?!
(That’s French for John Dear and we know: Nothin’ runs like a deer!)
LonelyMassRepublican on February 13, 2007 at 6:39 AM
Shouldn’t that be “Lurch detected”?
mojo on February 13, 2007 at 5:46 PM
I’m no expert on Border Security and apparently neither is George W. Bush. I have always felt that the key to Iraqi
success would be a crack-down on infiltration from outside it’s borders.
gary on February 13, 2007 at 6:23 PM