The story concerning the RQ-170 drone captured by Iran was quickly dropped out of the news cycle in early December. It followed the same fate in our short-lived attention span as the secret bailout of the European Central Bank by the Federal Reserve, the NDAA passage and the debt ceiling. The following article outlines how the Chinese brought down the drone and why the Obama administration is covering it up.
This exposes two facts in our relationship with China:
The bottom line is clear: we are about to enter a war in the Middle East where Obama's weapon of choice cannot be deployed.
David DeGerolamo
After establishing the cause of the crash of the unmanned American spy drone, the stealth RQ-170, over Iran on Dec. 4, 2011, the US is continuing to use that type of UAV, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said on Jan. 13. Without disclosing the results of the investigation, he said, ”The key thing is that it’s an ISR system that we use to provide capabilities to the combatant commanders and we’ll continue to do so.”
US officials reject Iran’s claim that it brought down the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel but remain tight-lipped about what caused the crash.
Both American sources, while insisting that the RQ-170 was still in commission, never said it was again flying over Iran.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military and intelligence sources offer three disclosures to explain the publicity strategy pursued by US officials:
1. The Americans know Iran did not bring the RQ-170 down because their intelligence agencies discovered the culprits were a Chinese cyber warfare team which seized control of the drone; Iran was given the passive role of being told where and when to hold out their arms to catch it.
The Obama administration is keeping this information to itself so as not to compromise US economic relations with China, especially in a presidential election year.
- Republican contenders would seize on this information as valuable campaign ammunition against President Barack Obama. They already accuse him of being soft on North Korea and he cannot afford to have US inaction against China added to their campaign fodder.
American needs to keep China on its side
- The US is casting about for levers to bring Beijing aboard the oil embargo on Iran. Wednesday, Feb. 1, German ChancellorAngela Merkel traveled to China at Obama’s request to try her hand at persuading Beijing to at least reduce its crude purchases from Tehran, if not join the embargo. Getting into a row with China over the stealth drone would not help persuade its leaders to cooperate in sanctions against Iran but might risk bringing US-Chinese relations to an unprecedented low.
- Washington needs Beijing’s cooperation in the global financial crisis and even more, to shore up the dollar’s value as an international currency. China holds a large part of its reserves in US government bonds and dollars. A diplomatic falling-out between Washington and Beijing might well spur the Chinese to turn away from the dollar, as Moscow, Tehran and New Delhi are in the process of doing. They have indicated their willingness to take this course on past occasions.
2. US intelligence has not discovered whether the Chinese cyber warfare team is still in Iran or has gone, leaving behind instructors and high-tech equipment for Tehran to counter US drones and planes on its own. Another RQ-170 flight over Iran might provide some answers, but President Obama is flatly against this. If Iran – and China – were to get hold of a second advanced American UAV, he would have no option but to hit back at the Islamic Republic – or even at Chinese targets in Iran.
US aerial reconnaissance over Iran abandoned
3. The result of this standoff and its complications is that the United States has no aerial vehicles on surveillance missions over the Iranian interior, excepting only spy satellites.
The US Navy’s customized RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs (BRAMS-Broad Area Maritime Surveillance), after two years of tests, now monitors sea traffic off the Iranian coast and the Strait of Hormuz, circling at 22,500 meters (70,000 feet) over a Persian Gulf carrier task force.
Comment
Comment by Charles H. Sims on February 8, 2012 at 7:48am It tells us that our news media is not interested in informing citizens, just forwarding the Liberal positions.
Comment by John Bellaire on February 7, 2012 at 11:54pm The fast and furious fiasco, the bailouts, the bankruptcies of the government bankrolled green companies, failure to support protestors of tyranical foreign and unfriendly governments, steamrolling socialist healthcare, admitted communist advisors to the White House, government agencies used for digging up dirt on political opponents, unaccounted for stimulus money, lies about unemployment numbers and illegal immigration, government contract fraud, and that is only stuff we know about . There is so much dirt swept under the rug its ought to make people sick.
I hope everyone will be ready to go vote nov. 6th, because this pres. just initiated his own superpac that he so critically humiliated the supreme court justice of passing so. they are going to get money from the middleast, asia, venezuela- soros, unions, need I go on--and it will be untraceable like the last election--then they will cheat with acorn and the black panthers-- you need alot of ground work, committees to oversea, and a candidate with alot of money and who will attract those with alot of money-- I don't care if it is romeny or not at this point-- the chicago thugs are coming out-- his interview has practically beamed arrogance and confidence- i know he is cooking unemployment books somehow, and our candidates are bickering over irrelevant things.
I am embarrassed - this drone-- is only the beginning-- you better know for a fact there are other items of security leaked to china--we are in so much doo-doo with this guy- and he is chomping at the bit to fill our supreme court justice with all liberal activists like the looney judge herself who dislikes our constitution- she is suppose to defend it for God's sake!!!!! all our appeal courts, and fed judges are in - and doj- well, between him and obama- there should be criminal accountability-- immediately--solyndra, fast,furious, and other green projects-- I still cannot believe he has openly mentioned- 1. he deserves yrs to finish the job of "FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING AMERICA" and he lied about the numbers of jobs-- is anyone fact-checking this??? and where are those jobs???? texas?? wiscosin??ohio??-- OVERSEAS!!!
this drone thing is a small piece- yet his approval rating is up to 51% over any candidate!! hope you are ready!
Comment by John Bellaire on February 7, 2012 at 4:20pm The Cheeseburger in Chief does not mind if people dislike him and disagree. He said so himself. His arrogance is sometimes unbelievable.
I say they put a booby trap in and do another fly-over. If it doesn't come back and get disarmed within a certain amount of time, it simply explodes. That would be a nice surprise for anyone who managed to illicitly land one and shepherd it away to some hangar somewhere. That way, even if someone else takes control, you will still have a self-destruct capability... an automatic one.
Comment by Debrajoe Smith-Beatty on February 7, 2012 at 1:07pm Lisa - I have been told people are afraid of the Chief Con Artist because he will just get rid of you if you disagree with his whims. They have sited 6 cases when I asked. Whether true or not, I don't know.
Comment by Norman Zink on February 7, 2012 at 12:51pm November 6th, cannot come soon enough--if we last that long.
Comment by Scott Casteel on February 7, 2012 at 12:36pm When I first heard of the missing drone, I was reminded of Clinton giving the missle tech to China.
Comment by Rich Knoch on February 7, 2012 at 12:23pm When will the media stop calling this a CRASH - - Deka seems to have the awful facts.
This aircraft was, most obviously, landed without nary a scratch and should be called what it is; i.e., either we gave it to the enemy (treason) or they took control and landed it wherever they desired (treason).
This administration simply cannot tell the truth!
The drones redundant systems were obviously compromised either through treasonous acts, incompetence or ignorance of facts. My vote is that it was a treasonous act at the highest levels of government, so China would keep buying our securities and the Fed could slow down its obvious inflation of our money supply . . . . just a little!
Comment by Norman Zink on February 7, 2012 at 11:51am No wonder Obummer keeps bowing to foreign leaders, they demand submission!
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