Hot Pursuit

[Waffletush]

WASHINGTON - Does President Bush have the authority to order U.S. troops to chase Iranians who are carrying out attacks inside Iraq across the border into Iran?

Two leading Democrats are pondering that possibility, with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., a staunch supporter of Bush’s Iraq policy, giving it qualified support and Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sounding more hesitant, but not rejecting the idea outright.

The concept of “hot pursuit� is adopted from domestic law enforcement practice in which police chase a suspect across state lines.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16710690/

So what do you think? Should US troops be allowed to follow Iranians into Iran, or even attack training camps that are right across the border?

As much as it may suck, I think they should.

[Stoner]

You are not allowed to go into a foreign country, expecially a hostile one without specific consent even if in pursuit of a tango.

At least those were the ROE when I was in. However those rules are often tossed out the window in the heat of battle.

[sbannon]

I have no problem with police officers here in the U.S. crossing borders during hot pursuit. I don't believe criminals should be able to "hide" beyond invisible lines. Plus, every community within the U.S. understands and accepts that this can happen. It's not like Ohio is going to declare war on Pennsylvania if a PA State Trooper crosses a certain mile marker.

That's a far cry though from American military personnel crossing borders into a hostile foreign country such as Iran. While I understand the desire to want to catch these people, I see the huge opening for military escalations and expansions between the U.S. and Iran here too, and I see the power to escalate and expand a conflict placed in the hands of troops on the ground rather than in Washington where such decisions and policy belongs.

Another problem I see with this, is that while it seems a majority of the Iranian people don't really want to pick a fight with the U.S. the way their leaders do, if we start crossing their borders and possibly involving peaceful Iranian citizens in crossfire and such, they'll rally behind their leaders against us.

[Viper2]

Let me pose this delemia:

The Korean War - Truman vs General MacArthur - Chinese MIG fighters would cross the Yalu River attack American forces, and run like hell back over the Yalu -

Why ??? Simple they had immunity - Truman denied our fighters the ability to cross the Yalu and engage them - our kill ratio in dogfights if I'm not mistaken was 12 to 1 in our favor.

Is that the way to fight a war ??? In Vietnam, our pilots were not allowed to attack Hanoi for quite a long time - so what did the NVA do ?? they fortified Hanoi with AAA capabilities, and moved crucial supplies to the surrounding areas - KNOWING full well that we were not permitted to attack.

It's when politicians take military actions out of the hands of the military, and the enemy knows what we can and can't do that we get screwed and the enemy takes advantage.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
Sun Tzu

[lily]

WASHINGTON - Does President Bush have the authority to order U.S. troops to chase Iranians who are carrying out attacks inside Iraq across the border into Iran?

Two leading Democrats are pondering that possibility, with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., a staunch supporter of Bush’s Iraq policy, giving it qualified support and Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sounding more hesitant, but not rejecting the idea outright.

The concept of “hot pursuit� is adopted from domestic law enforcement practice in which police chase a suspect across state lines.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16710690/

So what do you think?Â*Â*Should US troops be allowed to follow Iranians into Iran, or even attack training camps that are right across the border?

As much as it may suck, I think they should.


Exactly how would we get their body back if they were killed?