Missing US crew member rescued in 'daring' operation in Iran

[Twiglets1]

A missing U.S. service member who was shot down in Iran has been rescued following a risky mission deep behind enemy lines in mountainous terrain, Donald Trump has announced.

“WE GOT HIM!” the president posted on Truth Social shortly after midnight on Saturday. “My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”

Iranian authorities had offered a bounty to anyone who handed over the missing airman alive, a state television anchor announced previously. White House officials had remained largely silent on the search.

Trump said that the unnamed airman had sustained injuries during the crash but “will be just fine.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-pilot-rescue-b2952011.html

We’re assuming of course that he was actually lost out there and not planted there and then rescued in order to bring about a daring rescue to make trump and his ilk look the heroes.

OMG 🙄

@notimagainDo mind me asking, I’m curious about the crew member, IYKYK bit. Can I ask what that means/why it’s significant? Thanks

I regretted posting that not long after I did it.

It was an expression of thanks/relief that at least some posters knew enough to not think in terms of there being two pilots, because there weren't, it was one pilot and one weapons systems operator....

Nothing more mysterious than that.

@notimagainAh thanks for explaining. I was genuinely just a bit curious. Can’t see any reason to regret an innocent comment, I can see why you made it now, seems completely reasonable :)

Unbelievable someone would even think this, let alone post it.
Amazing!

No it really doesn't. This war has done nothing to allow Iranians to protest, it's done nothing to free them from the regime, it's done nothing to make them safer, it's done nothing to install democracy.

If the US and Israel didn't behave like war mongering, blood thirsty dickheads then that man wouldnt have been there to cause death and destruction in the first place and wouldn't have needed rescuing from the situation that the US and Israel created. If they didn't behave like that the world wouldn't be heading for economic catastrophe and Iranians would be in the same position as they are now ie still living under an awful regime but with less people dead, injured and displaced from bombings.

Yes, it really does.

Again, this isn't a pro or anti war point. I agree that the war has not made Iranians any more free as things stand, and it may not. But the protesting point is relevant because the regime behaviour is a reason why the locals stood by or actively assisted, despite the US also killing some of them. It just is. You aren't getting round that one. Revealed preference.

You forgot the sanctimonious bit too!

The post you're replying to doesn't say that the war is to allow Iranians to protest etc. In fact you seem to be saying that even if Iranians support this war, they are mistaken, and that you know better than they do.

That's quite colonialist/western supremacist isn't it?

I mean, if you have evidence that they don't support it, that would be different.
But you havent't provided any - just your own opinion.

Whereas I've mentioned a couple of things that seem to suggest that they probably do support it, or at least that they hate the current regime even more and so are willing to put up with the bombing which they feel targets the regime more than the people.

It was a daring op in my opinion - wasn’t exactly an easy day at the office was it?

Doesn’t mean I think those that criticise the US are de facto supportive of the Iranian regime as @Boolabus suggested. I’m just glad this airman has been rescued as are most people on this thread.

It’s ok to be positive sometimes! It’s a good thing this individual was rescued regardless of whether people support the US starting the war or not.

I’m not, I’m very clearly making a weak joke about Starmer.

How you got “slagging off the British forces” from what I said is a mystery seeing as I didn’t mention them, only Starmer.

Please please please avoid voting in any general elections and stick to just voting on Strictly etc.

Last time I checked, observation ≠ accusation.

'They' are 90million people each with their own thoughts and feelings on this. There is no 'they think this' or 'they think that' when it comes to talking about what 90million people think and feel.

That's a weird thing to say when elections and opinion polls are based on asking everyone what they think.

We don't need unanimity on something to say it's popular, or unpopular.

You and I don't live there, so our opinions on whether this war is a good thing for Iran can't replace theirs. As I said before, we don't have a lot of evidence on what Iranians think about it, but what we do have shows that there seems to be a significant degree of support for it. IMO people outside the country should respect that and not pretend to know what's good for Iranians based on their own opinions.

It's perfectly reasonable to be against the war because it's causing petrol prices to shoot up in the UK - but it's not reasonable to say it's because you care about dead Iranians when the Iranian regime has just murdered thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of their own people and when we've seen evidence that a lot of people there actually celebrated when Khamenei was killed.

You and I don't live there, so our opinions on whether this war is a good thing for Iran can't replace theirs.

I mean I don't think that we need opinions when we can see with our own eyes that it has changed nothing for Iranians except more death and destruction 🤔

Iran’s regular army (the Artesh), is said to be fairly professional and would likely have treated the WSO properly had they found him.

The Artesh’s mission is to defend Iranian territory. The IRGC defends the regime.

Maybe it's too soon to tell though? If you'd lost friends and family murdered (and in many cases raped and tortured first) by the regime, perhaps you'd think that a few weeks of bombing was a price worth paying if it killed some of the people who'd ordered the murder of your family.

So no, you really don't know.

Here’s a good article on USAF SERE training.

https://www.wsj.com/world/how-elite-american-forces-are-trained-to-survive-behind-enemy-lines-1c12c841?st=8JsEYj

It was daring though wasn’t it, and extremely dangerous. Imagine being a CSAR pilot who disagrees with the 🤡’s illegal invasion and finding yourself having to do that job.

Your first paragraph used to be true but can't be guaranteed under the Trump regime.
USA detention centres can be absolute hell holes.

Exactly. Goes completely over the head of some posters though.

Your agreement with the "illegal invasion" mission or lack thereof would be completely irrelevant. You would gladly carry out your orders to rescue a fellow airman.