Iran assassinated 180 Iraqi pilots after the fall of Saddam!

[footballeirani]

A brief paragraph in the mountain of Wikileaks documents shed a sliver of light on what officials claim is a viscious and coldly efficient Iranian campaign of revenge on Iraqi air force pilots who bombed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

"Many former Iraqi fighter pilots who flew sorties against Iran during the Iran-Iraq war were now on Iran's hit list (NOTE: According to [Name removed], Iran had already assassinated 180 Iraqi pilots. END NOTE)," the Dec. 14, 2009 confidential U.S. cable stated.

The systematic elimination of Iraqi air force pilots by Iran was a little noticed vendetta amid the crossfire of ethnic fighting and urban combat that convulsed Iraq in the years after the U.S. invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.

Iran used the chaos in the aftermath of the invasion to settle scores from the Iran-Iraq war, an eight-year slug fest from 1980 to 1988 in which an estimated 500,000 Iranians and Iraqis died. The war was largely a bloody standoff that resembled World War I at times with trench warfare, poison gas, human wave and bayonet attacks.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/iranian-revenge-iraqi-air-force-pilots/story?id=12298641

Very interesting that they went after those pilots. I have a hard time feeling sorry for them.

 

[Zob Ahan]

The only decent thing IR has done in a course of 31 years. Good job if done, but I doubt they have killed that many.

 

[footballeirani]

From the same article:

In addition to the 182 pilots who have been hunted down and killed by Iranian agents, the assassination campaign prompted another 800 Iraqi pilots to flee the country, according to statistics released by the Iraqi Defense Ministry.

The targeting of air force pilots began in Baghdad's largely Shiite neighborhood of Karradah and reached its peak in the holy month of Ramadan in 2005 when 36 pilots were gunned down in that neighborhood.

Residents of Karradah refer to that killing season as the Black Ramadan.

-------------

The Iranian fury was on display in the death of former pilot Sayyid Hussien, a Shiite who felt that he was relatively safe running a hardware store in the Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah. He was wrong. Shiite militia dressed all in black and wearing masks shot him dead in a daylight hit, emptying an entire magazine of 30 bullets into Hussien's head.

During Hussien's funeral, his distraught mother Um Sayyid Hussien cried, "May Allah curse Iran. They took my son."

-------------

 

[DireStraits]

When I was attending my military service I remember watching Sadam & king Hossein
firing a missile toward dezful in Iran.
It was fun to finally see Sadam hanged and this news aswell. This is an issue AN is pupular specially amoung member of Sepah. Those who prefer AN over mosavi argue that
has it been a reformist in charge these things wouldn't happen.
It is also said that Bush had ordered his army to invade Iran 3 times but the possission
of iranians in Iraq made him change his mind.

 

[Bache Tehroon]

So Peace doesn't really mean anything to you folks I gather?

 

[shahinc]

So Peace doesn't really mean anything to you folks I gather?

I agree 100% with that statement. I am kind of surprised that some people here thought this was a great move and applaud IR for it !!

I understand the Hate but that is no reason to kidnap and kill 180 people. Where would one draw the line? Do we go only after the pilots or do we go after army officers as well ? How about regular soldiers or the guys manning the missiles or the engineers fixing these planes or the doctors who patched up the soldiers and sent them to the front lines again ?

What happens to the justice, peace, the code of the war and ...

 

[deerouz]

I understand the Hate but that is no reason to kidnap and kill 180 people. Where would one draw the line? Do we go only after the pilots or do we go after army officers as well ?

I think the article refers to officers who were allegedly killed by Shia militia in Iraq. I doubt anyone was kidnapped and brought to Iran. I'd think these killings are more likely done by Shia militia on their own; taking revenge on anyone who was somebody during Saddam era.

 

[shahinc]

I think the article refers to officers who were allegedly killed by Shia militia in Iraq. I doubt anyone was kidnapped and brought to Iran. I'd think these killings are more likely done by Shia militia on their own; taking revenge on anyone who was somebody during Saddam era.

I seems like the killings were orderd by Iranian authority and through the Shia Militia. That being said, If these killings are truly based on the order of Iranian officials, they are not a cause for celeberation and should not be considered a positive move on the part of IR.

 

[deerouz]

If these killings are truly based on the order of Iranian officials, they are not a cause for celeberation and should not be considered a positive move on the part of IR.

I agree.

 

[Zob Ahan]

I find it hard to believe that the IR could handle such a massive retaliation campaign. If true my hats off to them, peace or no peace. What goes around comes around.

 

[footballeirani]

I am not celebrating this move but personally I do not feel sorry for these guys. Their air force did commit some war crimes during the war. Bombing passenger planes in mid air and on the runway.

and the article does single out pilots as being targeted and how the Iraqi president is re locating some of them to the Kurdish areas.

 

[Agha Sepehr]

Wow wikileaks sounds to good to be true! Couldn't wikileaks be fake? How many fake documents you think are added to wikileaks? People just believe anything they hear! I don't believe IR is after those pilots from Iraq, all they care about is stealing from the Iranians, and destroying the rich Iranian culture.

 

[Persian-Eagle-13]

since IRI has already dismissed wikilead as all lie by the west, now that there is something positive about them they can't come out and claim it cause they have already dismissed everything else about the other cables as lie and propaganda, even if this is true they have got shafted again for speaking too soon LOOOL

 

[Flint]

Israel in her 60 years of existence has perhaps assassinated a handful of certified terrorists and killers and the world can't stop condemning them. Anyway, this is way over the top to be believable. How many generals of the ground forces who were much more directly involved have they assassinated?

 

[Silverton]

^ Yeah, but Israel hasn't deeply infilitrated a society like Iran has to Iraq.

Anyone killed by the hands of Shia Militia is not a reason for celebration. These people are cold blooded monsters, whether it's towards Iraqis or Iranians (done by IR).

And I don't buy the Iraqi pilots excuse (we had to follow orders to kill): you're just a monster and you can't live with yourselves for the crimes you committed.

 

[footballeirani]

Well the Wikileaks report is somewhat confirmed by Iraq's defense ministry and also reports on the ground. Iran has more people on the ground in Iraq than Israel so you can not make that comparison.

Revenge for executioners and chaos in Iraq for more higher ups in Iran could be the true motive here.

What would be more interesting to see is who gave the list of the former pilots plus their current residence and whereabouts to Iran?

 

[ME]

As far as the extent of the report, I doubt it is not exaggreated.

Ethically, I don't find it wrong if they were war criminals and got the taste of their own medcine. Iraqi airforce committed crimes that can never be justified. They even were widely involved in ethnic cleansing of the Iraqi Kurds. The pilots who were ordered to kill ordinary citizens all over Iran and Iraqi Kurdestan had the choice to run away with their fighter jets to a third country. No matter what was going to happen to them or their family, they should have declined the orders to kill innocents.

But, if the report is true, I think it is beyond crude revebge and it is more a systematic way to deplete Iraqi airforce from the necessary human resource to operate. This gives Iranian army an edge for at least 10 years should the US army leaves Iraq.

 

[Behrooz_C]

If true, how were these assasinations carried out, I wonder!? Bombs attached to the cars they were driving by any chance?

Anyway, the war ended 20 years ago. When will the revenge stop. What if Iraqis decide to retaliate in kind? It will be acceptable to them and justified. Will it be acceptable to us? Will we be understanding?

 

[oghabealborz]

If they fought like men I would have agreed with those who condemned such acts but since they fought like cowards attacking civilians I don't feel sorry for them , I was there and witnessed some of their war crimes so I have no regret .

unlike the IRIAF who fought like men and concentrated on military targets only .

Have any of you forgotten the atrocities and crimes they committed with their ground forces when they invaded our border towns and villages like raping women and children ? they were moslems too but those monsters didn't care as they had a go ahead from their superiors like that monster sad-damn .

sorry but I just can't bring myself to feel sorry for those who were involved in trying to destroy my country and my compatriots. I have more feelings for a dog run over by a car .

 

[keyvan_pars]

to kill unarmed army officers after they have surrendered is debasing even if they are camels.

the velayat monarchy is currently the most savage structure that exists on earth.

It needs to be removed with extreme prejudice, extreme violence.