Iran Attacks Inside Iraq; How Will Obama Respond

Seemingly small incidents carry huge clout in the Mideast. When I was in Kuwait after Desert Storm, we were schooled incessantly on the local customs and how generally every action meant something in the local culture. Whether it be the Persians or Arabs, actions and reactions carry weight that western cultures can't even begin to comprehend.

This is one of those moments:

Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airstrikes — Iran’s first on Iraqi soil since the U.S. invasion — could complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Tehran.

“The bombardments appeared to have targeted the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist group which has launched attacks on Iran from rear-supply bases in the mountains of northern Iraq,” AFP reports. Iran has attacked the Kurdish group before, with artillery. But this is the first time the Iranians followed up, with assaults from the air.

“The incident comes a week after reports of a clash between Iranian police officers and suspected PJAK fighters in the country’s western province of Kermanshah,” Al-Jazeera reports. “At least 10 policemen and 10 fighters were killed in the gun battle.”

This is a direct slap at the Iraqi government and by extension at Obama. His response (or lack of) will have ramifications that could harm our long-term strategies in the region. A non-response will send the signal that we are backing away from our commitment to Maliki and the Iraqi nation in which case Ahmadinejad will be further emboldened.

The only response is to covertly execute a mission that lets Iran know that we will never stand by and allow them free rein to attack within another nations sovereign borders. Something that will embarrass the regime in such a way that they will not even disclose it in the same vein as the Israeli attack in Syria that was covered up by everyone. Perhaps we take out one of their anti-aircraft radar installations or some other such action that will send a clear message.

I can't say I'm even remotely confident that Obama will authorize such a thing but one can hope.

Granted, the Kurdistan issue is one that concerns Iran, Iraq and Turkey but Iran clearly broached Iraq's border and that can't go without some response. As Uncle Jimbo notes, we own the airspace so we may have allowed this to occur but that seems doubtful.

The simple scenario is: today Kurdistan gets attacked, tomorrow the Straits of Hormuz are blocked unless we act quickly and decisively.