| ▲ | johnbarron 7 hours ago | |
Some of the most interesting anomalies: - Massive geographic mismatch between crash site and U.S. forward base The pilot ejected over Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province (southwestern Iran). The U.S. established its forward operating base on an abandoned airstrip 14 miles north of Shahreza City in Isfahan province, that is more than 200 km (120 miles) away... By incredible coincidence...Isfahan hosts Iran uranium conversion facility and is near the Natanz enrichment plant. - Six aircraft were deliberately destroyed at the Isfahan airstrip The official explanation is the MC-130 got stuck. But the MC-130 are purpose built for unimproved runways. [1] Two getting stuck simultaneously on a pre scouted strip is unusual. Destroying the aircraft eliminates evidence of cargo if they had special equipment to transport the uranium - A colonel as weapons specialist. Flying combat missions is incredible unusual for such a high ranking officer. That rank is normally squadron commander. - CIA run operation, not standard military CSAR This level of CIA involvement is atypical for a combat search and rescue. - Disproportionate force for one wounded officer Hundreds of special operations troops, dozens of aircraft, SEAL Team Six, CIA assets, Israeli intelligence support, and a multi-day operation for one colonel with a sprained ankle hiding in a crevice - Hours-long daylight firefight Al Jazeera correspondent reported the extraction involved a daylight firefight lasting hours. Special operations doctrine strongly favors brief nighttime extractions. | ||
| ▲ | AnimalMuppet 6 hours ago | parent [-] | |
Hours-long daylight firefight could be what happens when the enemy is closing in on the downed guy in daylight, and you can't wait. You have the fight you have to have, not the fight you would prefer to have. Even if the mission was actually about HEU, I don't see why that would lead to the destruction of the aircraft. Why not just fly them out again? So I suspect that they really were stuck. If they were, they would be destroyed regardless of the purpose or mission, to avoid Iran gaining intel or materiel. I won't comment on the rest. I will note, however, that if the airman was in Boyer-Ahmad, a US raid in Isfahan would be quite a diversion. I will also note that Trump barred the press right about then. | ||