The Free Syrian Army has copped to yesterday’s kidnapping of 48 Iranian pilgrims on a bus yesterday outside the capital city of Damascus, releasing a video today defending the move, claiming that the unarmed busload of Iranians were actually members of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian religious pilgrims have regularly been targeted in the Syrian civil war, as the Sunni rebels see the Shi’ite Iranians as a legitimate target. The latest round of captives were also reported as pilgrims initially, having arrived at the airport and been put on a tour bus heading to a key Shi’ite shrine.
Which makes a lot more sense at first blush than the idea that Iran sent several highly trained military officers to Syria on a bus, and left them totally unarmed and without any military escort.
Iran has asked the Turkish and Qatari governments to intercede and help with the release of their citizens. Turkey and Qatar have openly backed the FSA for months, hoping to see them replace the Syrian government.
Are there any women among those "pilgrims". It would be a little odd for an all male "pilgrimage", since actual pilgrimages made by Iranians to Mecca, Mashhad, Karbala, etc typically involve both men and women.
When traveling to a holy place (pilgrimage) women and men do not travel on a same bus. Generally it is understood that both women and men would be much more comfertable to pray loudly when the they are seprated during travel.
Or apparently travel at all? Nothing has been heard about women being anywhere on this pilgrimage/sightseeing tour of wonderful Damascus — on another, gender-segregated bus or otherwise! Apparently, the womenfolk were more comfortable "pilgrimaging" in the safety of Mashhad or somewhere back in the ayatollahs' regime, but the men had more pressing "pilgrimage" concerns in Damascus — so pressing as to wade right into a virtual war zone. Go figure!
Now a days even if Senators Kerry horse that he got as present from Saudis kingdom or for that matter from UAE…!, sneezes then it must the Iranian who have given it some pepper for the horse to sneeze.
Look people, US interests is about the deals made by these senators with Saudis dictatorial tyrannical regimes, US government interests in a bigger picture is about US wanting to militarize the entire middle east occupying it for the sake of half of the world oil produced in middle east, therefore RAND corporation gets millions of dollars to come up with a plan to secure these senators interests, senator Kerry is one of them. In the other hand this is what it is, a falsified democracy based on the interests of the few by the few and for the few. As long as these people are senators they will have a interests and that is for US to continue having a war here or there, as long as such personality as Hillary Clinton chosen by the president to have a title then you will see wars here and there, this is the nature of a falsified democracy, this is the nature of vulture capitalism lying to its own people pretending that they do it to secure the world by fighting the world.
If we believe that all interested parties have people in Syria, how hard is it to believe that the Iranians would send their people in? And that that would come undercover, as Iranian Shiite pilgrims (who – in normal times – are very common in Damascus). That seems more believable to me than that they're a busload of tourists. How many people are thinking of taking a tour to Damascus these days?
(And I also would like to know if there were women, because as a previous commenter said, those tours usually have as many women as men.)
And you think that Iran would be stupid enough to send in its military advisors or help all in one bus during day time?
Iran has enough expiriance from regional conflicts to know how to send in covert force where the ghosts wouldn't even know what hit them.
It would be a stupid act by the Iranians when they send so many Guards to Syria not arming them, beside, the Iranian women’s travel with another buss, second, these “FSA” would like to capture the buss with the man so they say: look they are the Iranian spy and in Syria for reconnaissance.., BS, the FSA is consists of those whom are on the payroll of Saudis and UAE, they already have sold their country,Syria, to highest bider to please these regimes, and you expect honesty…? Mr. Hulla Dullah Abdulahh.
There was another bus? Really? Where was that other bus with the women or are you making things up out of thin air? May I suggest faxing your resume to the Baathist Regime Broadcasting Network…
But as we all know the FSA wouldn't LIE about massacres or even the identity of so-called Iranian Guard. Anyways… they certainly didn't fall from the sky but had to drive through Iraq to get to Syria.
It's not so far fetched to assume these guys were doing a little more than going on a pilgrimage. FSA is still holding the alleged Hezbollah guys, riding around in the same capacity. Turns out they were high ranking Hezbollah guys, one is even Nasrallah's nephew.
This is just an attemp by the Saudi/US/UK/Israel to drag Iran directly in to this conflict to give them an excuse to directly get involved too.
It is not going to work because Iran is far too smart for these tricks.
Iran is not stupid and has far too much expriance to send in 50 revolutionary guards via bus during day time in to middle of a conflict.
But the ayatollahs' terrorist regime is not too stupid to send thousands of young boys to run over Iraqi landmines — that's teh work of geniuses. The same geniuses who lost a war to Saddam, i.e. one of the most incomptetent military commanders in recent memory. The same geniuses who claimed they saw Khomeini's face in the moon in November 1978.
Well, well… Iran has admitted that some of the hostages on that bus were 'retired' members of the Revolutionary Guard…