Iran’s War on Americans: A Decades-Old Campaign
The conflict between Iran and the United States has been ongoing for decades, with reports of Iranian-backed proxy forces targeting American troops in Iraq dating back to 2005. The latest wave of violence began nearly two years ago, when an explosively formed penetrator tore through a U.S. Army vehicle on Baghdad’s Route Pluto, killing Staff Sgt. William Brooks and injuring another soldier.
The incident occurred during a route-security mission when an explosive detonated from the right side of the armored Humvee driven by Bartlett, who suffered massive facial trauma and was left with severe injuries that required four years of surgeries and reconstruction at Walter Reed Hospital.
Bartlett’s testimony to Fox News Digital paints a vivid picture of the attack. “It cut me in half from my temple down through my jaw, and then took my gunner’s legs off, and then took the top of my truck commander’s head off,” he said. “I would end up dying three times and spent four years at the old Walter Reed receiving surgeries, reconstruction and rebuilding.”
The Army casualty report described Bartlett as “very seriously injured” with massive facial and dental trauma. He was driving an armored Humvee on Route Pluto in Baghdad when an explosively formed penetrator tore through the vehicle.
Iran’s campaign to arm militias attacking American forces in Iraq began decades ago, according to federal court findings. In cases involving hundreds of U.S. victims, judges found that Iran manufactured or supplied the weapons used in attacks and that the assailants were trained or directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“It cut me in half from my temple down through my jaw, and then took my gunner’s legs off, and then took the top of my truck commander’s head off,” Bartlett told Fox News Digital. “I would end up dying three times and spent four years at the old Walter Reed receiving surgeries, reconstruction and rebuilding.”
Bartlett’s survival places him alongside two Gold Star families who say Iran’s long-running campaign against Americans did not begin with the latest fighting — and cannot be understood solely through the current headlines.
The Iranian-supplied explosively formed penetrator linked to the IRGC’s campaign was used in several incidents, including Capt. Shawn English’s death by an explosively formed penetrator in Baghdad on December 3, 2006, and Maj. Stuart Wolfer’s killing by a rocket strike on April 6, 2008.
Federal courts later held Iran liable for providing weapons, training, financing, and other material support to the proxy forces responsible for attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq.
For their loved ones, those findings offered formal acknowledgment of Iran’s role. However, it does not end the grief. “It’s really hard to only have memories,” said Beverly Wolfer Nerenberg, Robert Bartlett’s sister and his wife at the time of his death.
Wolfer was 36 when he died from injuries sustained in a rocket strike on April 6, 2008. His daughters were approximately ages 5, 3, and 18 months old when their father passed away.
“I’m beyond grateful and proud of my nieces and how they’ve grown up,” Wolfer Nerenberg said. “But it’s really hard to only have memories.”
The families’ experiences serve as a reminder that the conflict between Iran and the United States is not new, but rather an ongoing campaign with roots dating back decades.
“It’s really hard to understand why this has happened for so long,” said Tricia English, Capt. Shawn English’s wife at the time of his death. “But it doesn’t change the fact that my husband knew about these weapons and understood their threat before he died.”
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing risks faced by U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Source: Fox News Latest
Based on reporting from Fox News Latest.
