Hair-splitting
Technically, invading Iran's air space is not an act of war. Depends on who you're asking. Land, yes. Sea, yes. Outerspace, we've agreed that's okay. Airspace, well, it falls in the gray area between after-the-laws-were-written and now.
Having said that, four things.
1. Clearly Rumsfeld and Rice are lying motherfuckers (I know, big surprise): "Asked last Sunday about Iran, Rumsfeld told ABC's "This Week" that he had no knowledge of U.S. military activities in Iran. Rice, who helped plan the Iraq war, said during her European trip last week that an assault on Iran was not on the agenda "at this time."
2. The only fucking point of having those things there is to prepare for war: ""By coaxing the Iranians to turn on their radar, we can learn all about their defense systems, including the frequencies they are operating on, the range of their radar and, of course, where their weaknesses lie," said Thomas Keaney, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University."
3. Hilariously, they're too smart to bite: ""The United States must have forgotten that they trained half our guys," the Iranian official said. . . . "Our decision was: Don't engage."
4. The Iranians would be within their rights to shoot the drones down. They're not, b/c targeting the drones would give us info they don't want us to have about their defense capabilities. Airspace is a gray area: whether or not invading it is an act of war depends on who you're asking. But if you're in someone's space and it's okay for them to fire at you, what else would you call it?
It's all very fun until someone loses an eye.
Having said that, four things.
1. Clearly Rumsfeld and Rice are lying motherfuckers (I know, big surprise): "Asked last Sunday about Iran, Rumsfeld told ABC's "This Week" that he had no knowledge of U.S. military activities in Iran. Rice, who helped plan the Iraq war, said during her European trip last week that an assault on Iran was not on the agenda "at this time."
2. The only fucking point of having those things there is to prepare for war: ""By coaxing the Iranians to turn on their radar, we can learn all about their defense systems, including the frequencies they are operating on, the range of their radar and, of course, where their weaknesses lie," said Thomas Keaney, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University."
3. Hilariously, they're too smart to bite: ""The United States must have forgotten that they trained half our guys," the Iranian official said. . . . "Our decision was: Don't engage."
4. The Iranians would be within their rights to shoot the drones down. They're not, b/c targeting the drones would give us info they don't want us to have about their defense capabilities. Airspace is a gray area: whether or not invading it is an act of war depends on who you're asking. But if you're in someone's space and it's okay for them to fire at you, what else would you call it?
It's all very fun until someone loses an eye.
