Iran provokes response in the Gulf
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had best watch his step. Another incident like this and he might missing a few boats when they're sent to the bottom of the Gulf:
A ship contracted by the US Navy has fired warning shots in the direction of two unidentified speedboats in the Gulf, US military officials say.
The incident took place in international waters dozens of miles from the Iranian coast, the US said.
In January, the US said speedboats from Iran had harassed US Navy ships in the Gulf - Iran denied issuing threats.
In the latest incident, Tehran said its vessels had had no confrontations with US ships.
The US vessel - the Westward Venture - was working for the US Military Sealift Command under a 65-day charter, an official told the BBC.
US officials say the Westward Venture used the correct measures prior to firing the shots - it sounded its horn, and gave the boats a verbal warning, before firing flares, 50-caliber machine guns and M-16s.
The speedboats withdrew soon after the warning shots were fired.
Shortly after the incident, a routine inquiry was made of the Westward Venture by Iranian authorities, according to US officials.
For those who look at this as no big deal, think again. The Iranians have done this before, and the last time no shots were fired. This time it was clear they came too close, hadn't identified themselves, and were moving in a provocative posture towards the ship. When things like this occur, crews are correct in taking these steps to prevent any possible attack.
We'll recall in 2000 the USS Cole was attacked by a boat laden with explosives when it was docked in Yemen. Al Qaeda had come up with a new sort of attack against our ships, and since then we have taken steps to ensure that such an attack won't happen again. The Democrats keep claiming that we're the ones rattling the sabers when it comes to Iran, and they downplay incidents like this.
Again, if Mahmoud would like to see some of his boats hit the bottom of the Gulf, then keep running operations like this. We will be more than happy to send them to a watery grave if this keeps up. We're not screwing around with Iran, and we're not going to let them continue to act provocatively in the Gulf.
Publius II
A ship contracted by the US Navy has fired warning shots in the direction of two unidentified speedboats in the Gulf, US military officials say.
The incident took place in international waters dozens of miles from the Iranian coast, the US said.
In January, the US said speedboats from Iran had harassed US Navy ships in the Gulf - Iran denied issuing threats.
In the latest incident, Tehran said its vessels had had no confrontations with US ships.
The US vessel - the Westward Venture - was working for the US Military Sealift Command under a 65-day charter, an official told the BBC.
US officials say the Westward Venture used the correct measures prior to firing the shots - it sounded its horn, and gave the boats a verbal warning, before firing flares, 50-caliber machine guns and M-16s.
The speedboats withdrew soon after the warning shots were fired.
Shortly after the incident, a routine inquiry was made of the Westward Venture by Iranian authorities, according to US officials.
For those who look at this as no big deal, think again. The Iranians have done this before, and the last time no shots were fired. This time it was clear they came too close, hadn't identified themselves, and were moving in a provocative posture towards the ship. When things like this occur, crews are correct in taking these steps to prevent any possible attack.
We'll recall in 2000 the USS Cole was attacked by a boat laden with explosives when it was docked in Yemen. Al Qaeda had come up with a new sort of attack against our ships, and since then we have taken steps to ensure that such an attack won't happen again. The Democrats keep claiming that we're the ones rattling the sabers when it comes to Iran, and they downplay incidents like this.
Again, if Mahmoud would like to see some of his boats hit the bottom of the Gulf, then keep running operations like this. We will be more than happy to send them to a watery grave if this keeps up. We're not screwing around with Iran, and we're not going to let them continue to act provocatively in the Gulf.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:22 PM
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