Iranians mourn victims from airliner shot down by US warship in 1988

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranians marked on Monday the anniversary of the downing of an airliner by a U.S. warship in the Persian Gulf more than two decades ago.

State TV showed officials joining relatives of the 290 dead in scattering flowers from a ship and a helicopter into the waters where the Iran Air Airbus A300 crashed on July 3, 1988, killing all on board.

Participants chanted, “Down with the U.S.”

Rogers said he believed he was threatened with attack when he fired the missile at Flight 655 after warning the pilot. A U.S. Navy inquiry gave credence to the claim but added evidence to show that it was a mistake in judgment and identification by the American crew.

Iran Air July 3, 1988

Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think. If an Iranian warship shot down a commercial airliner in the Gulf of Mexico in 1988 we certainly would hear a lot more about it.

Iran Air Flight 655 was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988 as it flew over the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203 operated by Iran Air, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. While flying in Iranian airspace over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf on its usual flight path, it was destroyed by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes (CG-49). All 290 onboard including 66 children and 16 crew perished.[1] The incident is ranked ninth among the deadliest disasters in aviation history. It was the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean and the highest death toll of any incident involving an Airbus A300 anywhere in the world.[citation needed] The Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.

The Flight 655 incident was a year after the 17 March 1987, Iraqi Air Force attack on the U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate USS Stark (FFG-31). U.S. naval forces had exchanged gunfire with Iranian gunboats in the fall of 1987. The U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) had struck an Iranian sea mine in April 1988. Two months before the incident the US had also engaged in Operation Praying Mantis resulting in the sinking of the Iranian frigate Sahand. Tensions were therefore high in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the United States Government, the crew identified the Iranian Airbus A300 as an attacking F-14 Tomcat fighter (a plane made in the United States and operated at that time by only two forces worldwide, the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force).

Iran Air Flight 655 Wiki

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45
Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think.

So .. it's just an anti-America trolling thread then?? Okay. Good to know.

Here ... a little jab back atchya .... I wonder if the Iranians mourn all the innocent victims that their government have killed. You know ... all the state sponsored terrorism that Iran is responsible for through Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the insurgency in Iraq .. etc etc.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Hey, I'm not anti American or trolling, I just think that some of the people in the U.S. are entirely too brainwashed to see that the government is not GOD and definately not perfect. There are hundreds of anti Iran threads on here, so I thought I would put up this story to show people that they may have a reason to not like the U.S.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45
Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think.

So .. it's just an anti-America trolling thread then?? Okay. Good to know.

Here ... a little jab back atchya .... I wonder if the Iranians mourn all the innocent victims that their government have killed. You know ... all the state sponsored terrorism that Iran is responsible for through Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the insurgency in Iraq .. etc etc.

wounder if the Americans do the same through the ones they sponsor aswell
always one that will use the terror card when their own country is no bloody worse

reply to post by FlyersFan


The fact that you have to compare different atrocities or mistakes that each state committed to eachother, simply proves that you feel guilty about the actions the state you put your trust in has taken.

For once people should stop being stupid, having to prove some irrelevant point which has nothing to do with the OP, and actually discuss the OP. That's why this site is terrible now.

reply to post by FlyersFan


My friend, I love my country the same as you. But, unfortunately, some real bastards have taken it over and ruined its good name.

Originally posted by SpeachM1litant
simply proves that you feel guilty about the actions the state you put your trust in has taken.

Funny guy. Not even close.

For once people should stop being stupid, having to prove some irrelevant point which has nothing to do with the OP, and actually discuss the OP.

Yes .. stop being stupid. Good idea. I did discuss what was in the opening post. It's just that you don't like what was said. The OP said that Iranian citizens are out mourning victims of an airliner MISTAKENLY shot down 25 years ago. Government sponsored public mourning I'm sure. That's how Iran works. Anyways .. they are out there in public mourning over an accident that happened 25 years ago. But do they mourn the countless numbers of innocent victims that their government has PURPOSELY killed over the decades? It's a valid question. Does the government of Iran sponsor a national day of mourning for all the innocent victims of their international terrorism? The answer is no.

Totally valid question and totally valid point.

That's why this site is terrible now.

If you think this place is terrible, then why are you here?
You know where the door is ... don't let it hit you in the butt on your way out.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

Sure.

But a MISTAKEN shoot down of a plane with innocent deaths by the USA i25 years ago s a lot different than a bunch of ON PURPOSE terrorist attacks with innocent deaths by the Iranian government that are taking place now. My question is valid ... do the Iranians have government sponsored days of mourning for the victims that they are responsible for?

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45
Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think.

So .. it's just an anti-America trolling thread then?? Okay. Good to know.

Here ... a little jab back atchya .... I wonder if the Iranians mourn all the innocent victims that their government have killed. You know ... all the state sponsored terrorism that Iran is responsible for through Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the insurgency in Iraq .. etc etc.

This isn't an anti-America thread, but because it is about something where America has killed many innocents you just presume it is.

Here..... a little jab back atcha ...... I wonder if you realise it was the Americans who propped up the Iranian Islamic state, supplying them with weapons, tanks, aircraft and being used to kill innocent victims.....

But hey what would I know its just another anti-American thread isn't it.

Originally posted by CrimsonKapital

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45
Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think.

So .. it's just an anti-America trolling thread then?? Okay. Good to know.

Here ... a little jab back atchya .... I wonder if the Iranians mourn all the innocent victims that their government have killed. You know ... all the state sponsored terrorism that Iran is responsible for through Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the insurgency in Iraq .. etc etc.

This isn't an anti-America thread, but because it is about something where America has killed many innocents you just presume it is.

Here..... a little jab back atcha ...... I wonder if you realise it was the Americans who propped up the Iranian Islamic state, supplying them with weapons, tanks, aircraft and being used to kill innocent victims.....

But hey what would I know its just another anti-American thread isn't it.

sssh, dont tell her that
remember the US doesn't sponsor dictators and terrorists

The US is the pinnacle of Liberty and Freedom and can do no wrong and anything you say otherwise is anti American and you are a terrorist supporting liberal

reply to post by illusive man


Oh sorry I forgot, I thought I was in the "land of the free" for a second there.

reply to post by FlyersFan


How do you mistake an Airbus for an F-14?

The Navy even said that it was a gross error in judgement. THen they followed up by saying that he was justified. It was a total lack of justice. His "error in judgement", if it were US citizens involved, would have at the very least been 260 instances of involuntary manslaughter.

It is wrong the way we handled it. The Iranians (the people, not the government) have every right to be angry about it.

Having said that, this story, as it is running today, is just the Iranian government trying to pick at a scab. After 20 some odd years you would expect that people would move on. Then again....how will our government treat 9-11 after a full 20 years? And would they treat it differently if the War on Terror was not still going on at that time?

Regardless, you have to differentiate between America, and the Federal Government. The government is not me, nor do they represent me and my values.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45
Just a reminder that the U.S. is not perfect like some people think.

So .. it's just an anti-America trolling thread then?? Okay. Good to know.

Here ... a little jab back atchya .... I wonder if the Iranians mourn all the innocent victims that their government have killed. You know ... all the state sponsored terrorism that Iran is responsible for through Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the insurgency in Iraq .. etc etc.

Sure we can talk about state sponsored terrorism, but it's a subject that can't be brought up without mentioning that the majority is supported by the U.S. Do you know how many times in history we have provided weapons, financial, and other resources to back said terrorism? This thread is not 'anti-America,' if you see real history as anti-American than that is your own fault.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Because radar doesn't differentiate between an airliner and a fighter, the person reading the radar does. This flight was delayed, so it wasn't on their list of scheduled flights, the IFF code was transmitting on Mode C instead of Mode 3, and it was appearing to descend towards the ship on an attack profile.

There was some human error on the Vincennes as well. There's a lot about this that doesn't quite add up the way either side said it happened.

reply to post by illusive man


You hit on an important point: the disdain we should hold for the political shout down.

And it happens all the time. It will happen in this thread, any thread about the GOP/DNC lie that we have in DC....it happens all the time. The formula is simple:

- identify what it is you don't want to hear (ex, "I don't like people complaining about Obama")
- create a paradigm of zero sum thinking that meets your needs (ex, "Obama is a black man. If you don't like him you are obviously racist").
- deploy aforementioned paradigm at the first sign of your own cognitive dissonance

Even worse is the tripe that the victim of this tactic will then trot out to actually try to combat it. You are usually best to maintain logic based reasoning, or just walk away.

reply to post by Zaphod58



Everything you just described was done in Iranian airspace. I am having a hard time understanding the problem here.

We conduct operations where we take on risk, and when we get jumpy someone dies. It is funny, because about a month ago (before all the details started coming out), this entire nation (and its legal apparatus) were ready to lynch that Zimmerman guy for basically the same thing.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Add to that the fact that the pilots weren't monitoring GUARD, that all pilots are expected to monitor, the reports that the bodies were found almost immediately after the crash, but were all naked and bloated, and you start to get a picture that doesn't add up to what either side said happened.

Why would the plane be descending towards the ship though? It was an international flight that had just departed, it should have been climbing. The only reason to descend immediately after take off would be traffic deconfliction, but there was no other air traffic in the area reported.

This whole thing just doesn't add up on either side.

As usual .. the yutz's come out in full force and ignore the question because it makes them think.

Again ... A MISTAKE made 25 years ago by an American is being paraded out by the Iranian government. It was a MISTAKE from a long time ago. On the other hand, the Iranian government is currently engaged in international terrorism and is killing people all over the planet .. ON PURPOSE. So the question remains ... are they having a day of mourning for all those they intentionally kill ... or are they just having a government sponsored hate-America propaganda festival?

Triple dog dare you all to answer ... and answer correctly.

Originally posted by SGTSECRET
Sure we can talk about state sponsored terrorism, but it's a subject that can't be brought up without mentioning that the majority is supported by the U.S.

Wanna' prove that the 'majority' of international state sponsored terrorism is done by the USA?
Don't bother trying. I'm sure your definition of 'terrorism' is very different than what it is in reality.


That all being said ... I never said America was perfect .. I'm pointing out the hypocrisy of the Iranian actions. This is a CONSPIRACY site and you are supposed to do some critical thinking ... so I suggest ya'll make an attempt at it and try to see past the first layer of propaganda being pumped out by Iran. Put the math together .... they are getting ready to close the Strait of Hormuz and there is a build up of US and Iranian ships there ... so the gov't of Iran declares national mourning for an ACCIDENT that happened 25 years ago to try to get the people geared up to hate America as much as possible so they'll support military action in the Hormuz. 1 + 1 = 2. Simple math.

reply to post by FlyersFan

Funny guy. Not even close.

Probably stuck closer to home than you think, you just don't know it yet.

I did discuss what was in the opening post. It's just that you don't like what was said.

It's not that I didn't like what you said. I didn't like what it was used for. Defending actions committed in the name of the US which are unacceptable, mistake or not.
Infact there is nothing wrong with questioning the acts of one of the most dispicable practical military junta's (Iran) in the world, but immediately feeling so insecure that you have to present some polarized nationalist justification for every acts the US commits (i.e. "sure we're bad, but others are worse") reflects your character and it is a reflection (excuse the cliche) that is not particular pleasant to look at.

Your actual discussion of the topic, both the 'national day of mourning (celebration?)' and the actual incident which occured is superficial and minimum. Not a response worth posting if you put more thought into what you felt you had to say.

As for why I stay on this site... Hope that it will improve and the discussion will actually have substance like it once did would be my answer.

This forum's purpose isn't to discuss which side is right or wrong, good or bad. The fact is that that simplistic perception of reality is inadeuqaute when one wants to seriously develop some for of understanding of the international power structure.

reply to post by Zaphod58



That may be true. I know very, very little about this incident (link to anything that summarizes the official story, and relevant conspiracies related?).

My comments relate mostly to the anger expressed by the Iranian people. I generally hold all governments in contempt.