After initially declining comment on the matter, President Barack Obama confirmed today at a news conference with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki that the US would really like to have back that RQ-170 Sentinel drone that Iran shot down over Iranian airspace, and that the US “have asked for it back.”
The drone is considered one of the more advanced in the US arsenal, and was captured virtually undamaged by the Iranian military while it was spying on eastern Iran. The loss is expected to allow the technology to reach a number of other countries, with Russia and China both particularly keen on having a look at it.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also confirmed a “formal request” that Iran give them back the drone, while saying that “given Iran’s behavior to date, we do not expect them to comply.”
Nor should they, as Iranian officials were already pretty clear last week about not intending to give it back, and Iranian Gen. Hossein Salami told Iranian media that it was in keeping with a broad international policy and that “no nation welcomes other countries’ spy drones in its territory, and no one sends back the spying equipment and its information back to the country of origin.”
hillary makes it sound as if iran was spying on us!..
I think the psychologists' term is "projection", which seems to be a key part of the neoconservative mind.
Hillary is hilarious but in a perverse way.
Dang, were Obammie and Billary trying to be funny or were they really serious?
Because if they were serious it shows their cluelessness and hubris know no limits.
Dear Leader says, "hey that's our spy drone and you'll give it back!"
Just off stage, you'll see the Iranian government smiling smugly and flying that old one finger salute at Barack Obama.
Iranian Gen. Hossein Salami told Iranian media, "The Big O. can suck on this."
So why did the idiot ask for it then?
I think they really believe they have a substantial audience that'll interpret that sequence (Iran has it. US asks for it back. US doesn't expect it back 'cause -er- you know, it's Iran) as evidence of Iran's nature, rather than the nature of the situation. It's theater.
Well, because, well, George Bush "asked" for that spy-plane that had to execute an emergency landing in a restricted part of the China geopolitical zone. Can't afford to be less "demanding diplomatically" than Dubya. Wouldn't look good, ya know. I'd like to know what Dubya/Cheney REALLY gave up to get that plane back – that the US citizens were never told about.
Someone else's first-born, presumably.
cold, cold
I'm sure there are quite a few innocent Iraqis who would like their lives back, many of whom were killed by drones- now is your little plane all that important?
More evidence that our government is both arrogant and stupid. When will we get adult leadership in Washington?
Maybe never … but I'm hoping that either Cynthia McKinney or Ron Paul becomes POTUS in 2012.
Obama, former Constitutional Law 'scholar' and current 'War President' Unitary Executive Dictator-in-Chief of the USA Inc, should understand the meaning of the term 'IRONIC HUBRIS'.
given Iran's behavior to date ? So they're really attributing finders-keepers to some feature of Iran? They've really put an official statement on record that implies that (e.g.) 'polite' victims of the US would return their lost weapons? WTF! If Mother @#$# Theresa shot it down she'd keep it too.
I nearly fell off my chair laughing! Here the U.S. is threatening Iran with nuclear annihilation, and it wants its liddle dwone back.
Obama is fast becoming the village idiot of world politics. He might even out do George W.!
http://www.dangerouscreation.com
He has outdone George W. I cant even watch Obama speak. LIES,LIES,LIES!!!
Want it back? I'd tell them to go "f***" themselves and then publicly show the world everything there is to know about them right down to the rivets. Then watch DC howl like banshees.
Hey, MoT, they may be listening to you: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-…
Good. You'd have to be an idiot to even contemplate giving back goods used to spy on you. The nerve! And for all the tut-tuts that the Pentagon and CIA are making over how nobody can reverse engineer these things… just watch.
Send the stupid thing to China – they´ll copy them by the thousands.
does anyone else think it a bit weird, the idea of a stealth drone that must be in constant contact with its controller?
doesn't the fact that it is remote controlled and there for constantly broadcasting some kind of signal make any kind of stealth impossible?
That is an intelligent question. The signal MUST be encrypted with spread spectrum radio in burst mode, otherwise it just a big beacon in the sky. Are our engineers that dumb?
No – if you notice some tell-tale signal you must ignore it. Because, well, it's the rules!
Yea, that's it. Our toys – our rules.
The data links work in a part of the millimeter-wave spectrum that's absorbed by the atmosphere. It talks to satellites and not the ground during the data phase. The guys who actually fly it off the ground turn it over to a separate crew who monitor the data links. That way, the ground crew has no idea of what the mission is, and never see the data, which is not stored on board. During the data phase, it's an autonomous vehicle. No control signals.
Has to be an inside job.
How dam are the US politicians as they send spying drones and request to give back? is a joke.
On the one side they want to destroy Iran on the other hand such request and I think americans have become mad.
What an embarrassment this US government is. Brings to mind the old school yard plaint: "Finders keepers, losers weepers". And if the Iranians promise to give the drone back, and not peek into it, will the Americans promise to be nice and never to ever send another?
That would be a cold day in hell.
Could be some cool additions to Iran's plane collection.
What if the drone is really a trojan horse? What if the US wanted that drone to be in the hands of the iranians?
That an interesting angle, Smithy. Then the requests for its return make sense.
I'm just picturing the scene from Monty Python where the King watches the giant bunny being hauled into the Frenchy castle from a drainage ditch outside the castle, and then informs his knights of the rest of the plan where they all wait till midnight and the leap from the giant bunny to surprise the French. … Oops.
Ooooh that 11-dimensional-chess playing Obombya. Off being an effing genius again. Yeah, that's it.
…that was our plan all along!!! Mwahahahaha…to gently land the multimillion $ drone in Iranian territory, then spread another Stuxnet virus, or time it to explode just as Ahmadinejad is standing in front of it!!!
I am truly amazed that even when the US f**ks up, there are still others out there who will give it a positive spin.
The US is simply outstanding at producing hordes of "rah-rah patriots" that do for free all the dirty work other countries have to pay agent provocateurs do do.
“Why aren't we asking for all of our agent orange back that we dropped in Vietnam?
How about some of our USA made un-exploded cluster bombs littering Lebanon?
Maybe they should send some of those "gems of technology" back to us?”
"trojan horse?"……………….. That's really funny…… OUR fearless "O" the Trojan horse of the new millennium and his band of Trojan whores (Hillary) sending a Trojan horse to their AIPAC induced arch enemy….. OOOOOOO history, the never ending flow of fetid excrement "human events"……….. The glorious "O"… seeking the appearance of the high ground… as he murders the constitution, the law, 12 and 16 year old boys on motorbikes, chubby 3 year old girls in native dress and any pretense that America is a force for good "worldwide"………….Just the continuation of the bush doctrine… when bush TOLD China " Don't go on that plane" ………… China got bush to crawl over and retrieve plane in pieces….
I agree. Lot of people now saying we landed it there on purpose, I don't buy it. The thing costs a fortune, and why do we want to give China and Russia a chance to look at it for free?
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also confirmed a “formal request” that Iran give them back the drone, while saying that “given Iran’s behavior to date, we do not expect them to comply.”"
She's such a sweet person. No wonder everyone in teh world loves her.
I thought for sure that it was a headline from http://www.theonion.com
The actual "Onion" headline of today reads "Al-Qaeda Claims U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Must Drastically Improve Before Any Terrorist Attacks."
which headline is more believable?
And while you're at it give me the bullets I shot your husband with… said the murderer to his widow
Since Iran does not have diplomatic relations with the US, they should comply and use the China as intermediaries.
Use THE China?
I prefer paper plates for BBQs.
aww c'mon! my mom says i'm totally in trouble if you don't give it back. puh-lease! we'll be your best friend, honest.
could our country be more infantile, stupid and insane? no. no it could not. never mind we violated your air space, are illegally spying on you and also waging a covert war on your country and it's nuclear facilities. we need our gadget back. iran should comply why exactly?
"Nor should they…"
Spoken just like a member of the German American Bund back in the 30s.
Any lingering doubts that these people have completely lost it?
This just out of China News ,,, Iranian Spyware was used to interrupt the Americans from flying their latest in drone toys close to an Iranian nuclear plant. The machine was brought down safely in the nearest Iranian army base. Grand Ayatollah stated that the plane is in fine shape and after public display he will give it to his grandson as a Christmas gift. He also needs the maintenance manual, can it be delivered before December 25th?
How dare the Iranians have the temerity to put their country under the totally innocent flight path of an innocuous US aircraft! This is nothing other than total provocation by Iran.
Best headline ever hahahahahaahahhaa
ha
look for more covert actions inside Iran as payback
Perhaps the Iranians should give the US a mock-up of the drone, since that's what the FedGov originally insisted they had.
This is hilarious. Obama has clearly gone completely bonkers. How embarrassing!
Maybe our rulers should explain that, the drone is required by North Dakota to spy on farmers deemed anti-government.
Actualy that might be something the Iranians Might understand, the sad thing is it MIGHT not be so far from, the truth
Well this pretty much rips it for us down here at the State Line Truck Stop and Massage Parlor. Were running up a Canadian flag and saying "hey" at the end of sentences starting tomorrow morning.
Audacity of this witch. She and her co-conspirators are playing with our lives. I hope Ron Paul can win next November.
Iran should have dropped off the drone at the nearest FedEx location as the instruction label reads:
Property of the United States government. If found, please return to P.O. Box 666, U.S. Occupied Afghanistan.
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also confirmed a “formal request” that Iran give them back the drone, while saying that “given Iran’s behavior to date, we do not expect them to comply.”
One has to be either incurably stupid or have a lot of hutzpah to say, ‘Hey, we have sanctioned you numerous times, we hate your guts, and we were spying on you. Now give back our spying machine.”
For God’s sake, look who’s complaining about behavior!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HILLARYious!!!!
"Given Iran's behavior we do not expect them to comply"..
What bahaviour is that Hilliary? Flying spy drones over America?