Trump tweets what appears to be classified surveillance photos of Iran space program accident

Yssup Rider's Avatar
What the actual fuck is this idiot doing?

It’s time to child-proof the White House so this fucking imbecile can’t get his tiny little hands in anything other than his TV remote and KFC.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/75599...-image-of-iran

Trump Tweets Sensitive Surveillance Image Of Iran
Geoff BrumfielAugust 30, 20194:22 PM ET



A commercial satellite image from the company Maxar (bottom); the image tweeted by President Trump (top) appears to be of better quality.
(Bottom) Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies; (top) @realDonaldTrump

President Trump has tweeted what experts say is almost certainly an image from a classified satellite or drone, showing the aftermath of an accident at an Iranian space facility.

"The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir [Space Launch Vehicle] Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran," the president said in a tweet that accompanied the image on Friday. "I wish Iran best wishes and good luck in determining what happened at Site One."

NPR broke the news of the launch failure on Thursday, using images from commercial satellites that flew over Iran's Imam Khomeini Space Center. Those images showed smoke billowing from the pad. Iran has since acknowledged an accident occurred at the site.

Some of the highest-resolution imagery available commercially comes from the company Maxar, whose WorldView-2 satellite sports 46-centimeter resolution.

But the image shown in the president's tweet appears to be of far better quality, says Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, who specializes in analyzing satellite imagery. "The resolution is amazingly high," says Panda. "I would think it's probably below well below 20 centimeters, which is much higher than anything I've ever seen."


Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir SLV Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran. I wish Iran best wishes and good luck in determining what happened at Site One.
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12:44 PM - Aug 30, 2019
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Panda says that the tweet discloses "some pretty amazing capabilities that the public simply wasn't privy to before this."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred questions about the image to the White House, which declined to comment.

"We had a photo and I released it, which I have the absolute right to do," the president told reporters late Friday.

The image shows the aftermath of the accident, which experts believe took place while the rocket was being fueled. Clearly visible is the truck used to transport and erect the rocket, and the words "The product of national empowerment," which have been written along the edge of the pad. The picture also shows extensive debris and charring around the pad.

It was not entirely clear where the president's photo came from. Panda believes it was most likely taken by a classified U.S. satellite. But Melissa Hanham, deputy director of the Open Nuclear Network at the One Earth Foundation, believes that the resolution is so high, it may be beyond the physical limits at which satellites can operate. "The atmosphere is thick enough that after somewhere around 11 to 9 centimeters, things get wonky," she says.

That could mean it was taken by a drone or spy plane, though such a vehicle would be violating Iranian airspace. Hanham also says that the European company Airbus has been experimenting with drones that fly so high, they are technically outside the atmosphere and thus operating outside national boundaries. But she says she doesn't know whether the U.S. has such a system.

Glare in the center of the image suggests the image in the tweet was itself a photo of a briefing slide. Panda suggests it could have been displayed on a computer screen in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. It's also possible it was a photo of a piece of paper.

Either way, Panda notes that a small redaction in the upper left-hand corner suggests the intelligence community had cleared the image for release by the president.

But both he and Hanham question whether releasing it was a good idea. "You really risk giving away the way you know things," Hanham says. "That allows people to adapt and hide how they carry out illicit activity."

"These are closely held national secrets," Panda adds. "We don't even share a lot of this kind of imagery with our closest allies." In tweeting it out to the world, Trump is letting Iran know exactly what the U.S. is capable of. He's also letting others know as well, Panda says. "The Russians and the Chinese, you're letting them know that these are the kind of things that the United States has the capability of seeing," he says.
the_real_Barleycorn's Avatar
I don't have to read the crap that follows, the title is enough to disqualify for rational thought. As the left said repeatedly during both Clinton and Obama, a president can dismiss any kind of classification by just revealing the information. That is power that the president and only the president has. Do you hear that Secretary of State Hillary and FBI director Comey?
Point of fact, anything the president choses to reveal (even if YR thinks it is) is NOT classified.
Yssup Rider's Avatar
Don't blame you for being upset, TRBcorn.

I’m not happy about it either.
All he did was tweet out Yessups new home. I guess Yessup didn't appreciate that. Sad.
LexusLover's Avatar
All he did was tweet out Yessups new home. I guess Yessup didn't appreciate that. Sad. Originally Posted by Austin Ellen
It was post-ACA. YR imploded.

YR gets confused with his lack of loyalty to the U.S. Those images were ONLY classified to the Iranians, his Promise Land!
LexusLover's Avatar
.....a president can dismiss any kind of classification by just revealing the information. That is power that the president and only the president has. Originally Posted by the_real_Barleycorn
As YR's so-called President said ...

... ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!

And another "CONSEQUENCE" for YR is Trump is reducing his gainful employment competition by restricting access to the U.S.
Yssup Rider's Avatar
None of you find this the slightest bit inappropriate?
Yssup Rider's Avatar
As YR's so-called President said ...

... ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!

And another "CONSEQUENCE" for YR is Trump is reducing his gainful employment competition by restricting access to the U.S. Originally Posted by LexusLover
Ridiculous.

When Trump Tweets a satellite photo of your mammy’s basement, you’ll chirp a different tune.

Or, the one you always chirp.
Ha! That's funny! And true!





It was post-ACA. YR imploded.

YR gets confused with his lack of loyalty to the U.S. Those images were ONLY classified to the Iranians, his Promise Land! Originally Posted by LexusLover
No



None of you find this the slightest bit inappropriate? Originally Posted by Yssup Rider
LexusLover's Avatar
None of you find this the slightest bit inappropriate? Originally Posted by Yssup Rider
This thread? Of course I do. It's laughable at best. Sad otherwise.

Do you find the below "the slightest bit inappropriate"?



I do in so far as bribery money is delivered to the Iranians.

But a pic of a failed Iranian space launch, hell no!

Of course, you did post "appears"! Like an illusion!!!!!!!

No wonder rub girls won't take off their thongs when you're in the room!