U.S. Detains 6 Iranians in Irbil Raid

Is it a violation of law if they had the evidence to support their action beforehand? I am not a student of international law so I am just wondering.

I'm not an expert either. We will have to wait and see. I dont know what the exeptions are to raiding diplomatic consulates to tell you the truth, it doesnt happen very often.

I am also not an expert, but my understanding is that a consulate is considered to be on land belonging to the consulate's country. Therefore, the American troops actually invaded Iranian land.

At the Pentagon, a senior U.S. military official said the building was not a consulate and did not have any diplomatic status.

Then why wasn't that officially said? Why are we to believe that this leak was for anything other than spin purposes? If it was a legitimate target, it could've been announced with victory as soon as it was done.

I hope that anonymous person who wasn't authorized to release information happens to be right.

The latest information:

Detained Iranians Had Iraq Approval

The Iraqi foreign minister said Friday that the five Iranians detained by U.S.-led forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were working in a liaison office that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate.

I guess things take time, but why didnt they just say this in the first place? I guess thats the way it goes when a government is in chaos.

The idea that the US plays by the rules is laughable. You can hardly call it playing by the rules when we rewrite the rules whenever we see fit. This attack is a perfect example.

As much as I'd love the stars and stripes to have the moral high ground here, I don't think we do anymore. Actions like these further erode any chance for a renewed sense of nationalism in a large number of Americans.

Lets roll,Go team, Bring it on. Facile Jingoism.

I've got some gorgeous pom poms to sell you.

Let's roll, indeed.

Brand new pom poms would be nice. I don't suppose there's any chance of them being USED, now is there? I'll take a set because I'm rooting for the home team as well.

Iran has been stirring the pot since the beginning, it's time to clamp down on their operations.

With a name like Neocon in La it sounds like a sarcastic troll.

Koozebane,

Thanks again for your so called "centrist" opinion. They did bad stuff first is an excellent defence in international relations.

I'm rooting for the home team. I stand by the nation and continue to want it to stand by its stated principles and dont apologize and deny that its elected leaders make mistakes on occasion.

My only thing is that if this turns up information that shines light on how Iran is meddling in Iraq then it's disheartening. Just recently other Iranians were captured taking part in operations against Iraqi and U.S. forces... This barely made the news.

Everyone needs to play by the rules, however, last night's announcement that the ROE would be changed to allow soldiers to enter certain areas of Baghdad that had previously been off-limits was a welcome relief.

Stephan Seagraves,

How compelling was the evidence that Iran was meddling in Iraq? What does meddling mean?

Does sending an invasion and occupying force count as meddling?

Dont get me wrong, I think Iran is definitely trying to influence the outcome in Iraq against US interests. Heck, it appears that the current administration may have willing taken dubious information to butress the case for invasion that Iran wanted to occur all along. Whatever happended to Chalabis for example?

Look, bub. Centrists don't need to put up the 'anti war' airs due to political affiliation.

I can agree/disagree with any American President I choose and still root for America to win.

I do not have to follow popular opinion or toe a party line. I do not have to conform. I do not have to follow.

Ragging on me for wanting America to succeed is the attitude I expect from the insurgency.

Who isnt rooting for America to win? Where do you imagine that strawman to be?

Ragging on me for wanting America to succeed is the attitude I expect from the insurgency.

I never ragged on you for wanting America to succeed. Where do you make up such ridiculous BS? I said myself and I do want America to succeed. You badly confuse what you want to happen with an assessment of what is happening. They really are not the same thing. Can you really not see the difference?

Look Mr. "You're not a centrist"

As much as you'd like for me to believe you're attacking my integrity for no particular reason, the only comment I've made was about Iran, their meddling in Iraq and wanting the US to succeed.

There is no straw, there is no confusion. You and your troll buddies are attacking anyone who expresses a positive viewpoint.

You've done it in several threads. Stop stalking me with your bull@!$%#.

Noun1. centrist - a person who takes a position in the political center
middle of the roader, moderate, moderationist center - politically moderate persons; centrists

adult, grownup - a fully developed person from maturity onward

Adj.1.centrist - supporting or pursuing a course of action that is neither liberal nor conservative
middle-of-the-road
center - of or belonging to neither the right nor the left politically or intellectually.

Thanks, but we all know the definition.

NOT taking the whiny, leftest, anti American attitude has nothing to do with political stance.

Being a positive person and wanting one's country to do well in spite of political bickering is obviously a concept that a few of the politically poisoned around here cannot grasp.

This is off topic. I should NOT have to put up with the constant hounding of political trolls who have nothing better to do than throw accusations at all who display a positive outlook.

Koozebane, stop hounding me because I like dictionaries.

NOT taking the whiny, leftest, anti American attitude has nothing to do with political stance.

Who exactly are you accusing of doing so? Sounds like more whiny unsubstantiated insults to me.

Kooze, I want America to succeed as well. However, it's entirely shortsighted to walk in with a knife to a gunfight. We can root for the guy with the knife to win, but most of us know where the odds lie. Instead, we're rooting for the knife guy to just walk away, before he gets himself hurt.

So what have you seen? It would be good to have some info to make an informed decision.