Iran Incident: The Backpedaling Begins

Posted by SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist in At TMV.
Jan 11th, 2008 | 9 responses

The backpedaling has begun regarding Pentagon claims that Iranian fast boats swarmed U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

As I noted here yesterday, my initial reaction was disbelief. And that the incident was being used as a pretext to up the saber rattling instead of making a good-faith effort to engage Tehran diplomatically.

Now, just two days after the Navy released a video of Iranian speedboats swarming around the American warships, which included a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship.

More here.

9 Responses to “Iran Incident: The Backpedaling Begins”

1. Somebody says:

   January 11, 2008 at 10:27 am

   Yeah. And? I suppose the tapes were manufactured too. In fact as I understand it the voices were dubbed in later so they prolly made all that up too.

   I suspect the guy on the microphone was actually taunting the Iranians and trying to bully them into attacking and the Iranians showed courage under duress, kept their cools and refrained from creating an incident.

   What this chillingly reminds me of is the cold war theatrics of SAC who would run drills by encroaching on the USSR airspace to see what the reaction would be. Then days later the USSR would run drills encroaching American Airspace to see what our reaction would be.

   This was carefully planned and orchestrated. It was a cold war taunt and the United States is at fault in the eyes of the progressives for NOT surrendering and announcing on television that America is EVIL.
2. rugger09 says:

   January 11, 2008 at 12:43 pm

   So someone from ABC News asks the Navy if they are 100% certain that the voices came from the boats, and the Navy is honest and says they cannot be 100% certain. This is your proof that this incident didnt happen?
3. casualobserver says:

   January 11, 2008 at 2:49 pm

   Until someone that actually knows something about the incident comments, I'll just note the blogosphere's impression of TMV…..

   This Moderate Voice Kumbayah chorus member wishes Bush would just stop the saber rattling good-faithedly diplomatize with our Persian partner for peace. 

   http://www.julescrittenden.com/2008/01/11/new-p…
4. Pentagon Says They And President Bush May Have Been Mistaken About Iranian Republican Guard Threat To Navy Ships In The Gulf says:

   January 11, 2008 at 2:18 pm

   [...] See also: The Newshoggers; Drudge Retort; Democrat Taylor Marsh; Liberal Oasis; Middle Earth Journal; The Carpetbagger Report; Michelle Malkin (Right); Fred Kaplan (Right – Slate); The Moderate Voice [...]
5. aisle says:

   January 11, 2008 at 4:50 pm

   The Register has an article by a former member of the Royal Navy. He attests to the plausability of the threat transmission coming from a “troll” on the common communications channel used by ships is the Straits.
   

   Anyone who has spent time bridge watchkeeping at sea east of the Suez Canal will be aware of what's known as the “Filipino Monkey” phenomenon.

   http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/us_iran…
6. DLS says:

   January 11, 2008 at 5:08 pm

   Shaun will probably call the following a lie, too. Anything to bash Bush…
   …
   Iranian speedboats approached US naval vessels in two previously undislosed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz in December, including one in which a US warship fired warning shots, a Pentagon official said Friday.

   http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpHJ5FXAcdC…
7. shaun says:

   January 11, 2008 at 8:24 pm

   DLS:

   It's so much easier — and so much lazier — to ignore my original thoughts, which are reprised above. I don't deny that the incident occurred. What I cannot deny is that my government has lied to me with such regularity that my initial reaction was disbelief.

   Comprenez vous?
8. Rudi says:

   January 11, 2008 at 11:48 pm

   The Chinese are responsible for more provocative incidents with the US navy, yet barely a peep about these incidents. How are fiberglass speedboats a greater threat that Chinese subs and denial of access to ports?

   http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/3540
   

   The Chinese are responsible for more provocative incidents with the US navy, yet barely a peep about these incidents. How are fiberglass speedboats a greater threat that Chinese subs and denial of access to ports?
   http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/3540

   According to senior Nato officials, the incident caused a sense of sudden fear in the U.S. Navy, as officials realized the seriousness of the encounter. The U.S. apparently had no idea just how sophisticated China's fast-growing submarine fleet had become, or that they even posed such a threat.

   Reportedly, one Nato figure said that the effect was “as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik”. The Sputnik, if you remember, was the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite launched in 1957 which marked the beginning of the space age and kicked off the space race.

   http://www.efluxmedia.com/ news_U…rbor_11103.html
   

   Senior U.S. military officers criticized China on Tuesday for blocking a Kitty Hawk U.S. Navy aircraft carrier group and two smaller ships access to the Hong Kong port over the American Thanksgiving holiday last week.

   The USS Kityhawk was involved in both incidents, and Chinese subs with torpedoes and missiles capable of sinking carriers are “white boxes”. Also during the Coldwar US and Russian subs played cat and mouse on a regular basis, Reagan would get on the phone and ask WTF. Dialog in the press serves nothing, maybe a US-Iranian hotline is the answer. What happened to the USSR?
9. Rudi says:

   January 11, 2008 at 11:49 pm

   Oopps sloppy blockquotes, so sorry.