CNN BREAKING: 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed, provoked 3 U.S. Navy warships

[kpete]

Breaking on CNN.com

Gulf of Tonkin, anyone?


U.S. officials: 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed, provoked 3 U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

http://www.cnn.com/

.................

Iranian boats "provoke" U.S. Navy ships in Hormuz: CNN
Mon Jan 7, 2008 8:53am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, CNN reported.

The CNN report on Monday, citing unidentified U.S. officials, said the Iranian vessels came within 200 yards (meters) of the U.S. ships and that after a threatening radio communication, U.S. sailors manned their ships' guns and were very close to opening fire.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0739039120080107

.....................

MORE-(hat tip to: Jennifer C)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0739039120080107

A radio transmission from one of the Iranian ships said, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," CNN reported, citing a U.S. official.

After the threatening radio communication, U.S. sailors manned their ships' guns and were very close to opening fire, it said.

There was no immediate U.S. comment.

The incident occurred on the eve of a visit to the Middle East by U.S. President George W. Bush, who said last week that one of the aims of his trip was to counter Iran's ambitions in the region.

[WillyT]

1. Anybody Know Where Cheney Is ???

:mad:

[EFerrari]

7. At the fax machine.

Bastard.

If the wheels start coming off, we have to get on the phone. :grr:

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Or the shredder, shredding the bill of sale for the Iranian ships.

[MiniMe]

18. Doubt he needs a shredder after the fire

[SpiralHawk]

20. While republicon darling Ollie North smirks about the US Missiles he gave to Iran

Republicon 'hero' (and traitor to America), Col. Ollie North - one of Dickie "Five Military Deferments" Cheney's intimate buddies -- gave the Iranians our Hawk missiles, and a Bible, so the Iranians could pray up a Christian storm before shooting our missiles at our sons and daughters in uniform.

Thanks a pantload, Ollie. You are a typical republicon (the lowest insult known to humanity). Try supporting America and the American people next incarnation...

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. And the Republicans consider him a hero. I guess that's what happens

when you think education is overrated.

[SpiralHawk]

37. Well republicons consider pResident AWOL to be a hero, too

And also VP Dickie "Five Military Deferments" Cheney...

Chickenhawk republicons of a feather flock together...

they are way below any notches on the Shame Meter...

[EFerrari]

33. They want us to believe that what amounts to the Iranian Coast Guard

tried to threaten American warships? :shrug:

[EFerrari]

36. Anyone know their boats? Are we talking about something like this?

[SpiralHawk]

71. nope, more like this, a boat patterned on Commander AWOL Bush's integrity rating

[EFerrari]

80. LOL! Got it!

:)

[Marrah_G]

62. err the Iranian revolutionary guard are not the equivilent of the coast gaurd.

Nor are they a nice bunch of guys.

[INDIA]

83. How about Iran's foreign ministry? They are admitting that something happened.

From the AP wire- "It suggested the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels."

If you believe that Iranian boats couldn't pick out a US warship from within a half mile, you are brain dead.


"But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini played down the incident, suggesting it was an issue of mistaken identity. He did not comment on the U.S. claims of the Iranian boats' actions."

"That is something normal that takes place every now and then for each party, and it (the problem) is settled after identification of the two parties," he told the state news agency IRNA."

Well sfexpat, Iran is at least admitting SOMETHING happened, so your initial accusations that the incident was made up Gulf of Tonkin style are probably false. They are claiming that whatever incident DID happen was a case of mistaken identity. Any average joe can pick out a warship from miles away, let alone someone in the Iranian Navy. It's an obvious lie, just like the obvious lie they used during the British sailor incident.

Sfexpat, there will be no war with Iran. You can stop being an apologist for the Iranian government.

[EFerrari]

84. I don't see how the invective you use is useful.

I'm not mad, narrow minded or brain dead. I know our government pretty intimately and I've noticed the Iranians are not suicidal.

No doubt there was some encounter and no doubt the in the next week or so we'll find out it was our Navy, not the Iranians, that were the culprits. This happens every week or so.

And, it's not a matter of apologizing for anyone. It's a matter of not being a bigot and being able to recognize the behavioral patterns of my own government. :hi:

[INDIA]

85. Oh I'm a bigot now? Lol. that's rich. You're grasping at straws.

"No doubt there was some encounter" Oh, so you're saying it ISN'T a Gulf of Tonkin type incident then, good, we agree.

"no doubt the in the next week or so we'll find out it was our Navy, not the Iranians, that were the culprits."

YES! Just like the British sailor incident, where it later turned out that the Brits were indeed in Iranian waters. Oh wait, no they weren't.

If I'm a bigot, than you have your head stuck in the sand. Wake up.

[EFerrari]

86. I don't need to grasp at straws. lol

I have history, past and present on my side.

You have your invective and your strange idealization of the Brit Navy and your equally strange demonization of Iran.

[Thothmes]

90. Actually they can be suicidal

Many of the heavy casualties suffered by the Iranian's during the war with Iraq were from mass frontal assaults against prepared Iraqi defensive positions.

[Webster Green]

9. That was my very first thought as well..

The Big Dick is at it again.

[Breeze54]

14. Definately NOT risking his life on a ship there!

Maybe he's hiding in his bat cave?

[Bravo Zulu]

25. Lying in his crypt in an undisclosed location!

[gratuitous]

2. Gulf of Tonkin?

Naw, I believe this fully credible report.

[hobbit709]

3. Gulf of Tonkin

or the radio station incident with Poland?

[Botany]

4. Damn Iranians .... how dare they have ships by their country?

[malaise]

16. It's almost funny isn't it

Can't take much more of this.

[MuseRider]

5. Let the chest thumping

begin. :eyes: Great.

[ThomWV]

6. I presume one of our carrier groups was in grave danger.

[sniffa]

8. see? they're terrorists.

[Jennifer C]

10. More:

A radio transmission from one of the Iranian ships said, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," CNN reported, citing a U.S. official.

After the threatening radio communication, U.S. sailors manned their ships' guns and were very close to opening fire, it said.

There was no immediate U.S. comment.

The incident occurred on the eve of a visit to the Middle East by U.S. President George W. Bush, who said last week that one of the aims of his trip was to counter Iran's ambitions in the region.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0739039120080107

[hobbit709]

19. Right!!

Do you really think that they would warn the ship they were "allegedly" attacking. They may be fanatics but they're not stupid fanatics-unlike ours.

[Marr]

56. And if they had said that, they surely would've been fired upon.

If the boat was 2 minutes away-- c'mon. This story stinks.

[mod mom]

12. Is this news report timed to coincide w *'s trip to Israel? Are there still war plans

on *'s dim mind?

[loudsue]

13. "Citing a U.S. official"..... trial balloon to see if the propaganda will fly?

U.S/Israel just have very itchy trigger fingers.

[Echo In Light]

17. "Citing a U.S. TERRORIST"

[harun]

50. Priming the propaganda pump (n/t)

[SpiralHawk]

15. "Them there Eye-ranians is Evil Doers. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

"Yup, just like our republicon homelander propaganda machine has been claiming, Eye-ranians is just the mostest Evil Doers ever. We better nuke them now. I will be sending YOUR sons and daughters in uniform over there to get their loot for my republicon cronies. Oh yeah, and to protect you proles from (smirk) evil and stuff."

- Commander AWOL

[Jim__]

21. Does anyone believe this report?

If Iran denies the report, are you more likely to accept what Iran says than what Washington says?

Another accomplishment of the bush administration.

[EFerrari]

24. I will believe Iran because they haven't exhibited suicidal or

homocidal behavior and the Bush administration has.

[Blarch]

28. then theres the NIE

[INDIA]

54. "I will believe Iran"

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

I'm not saying everything that comes out of the US military is verifiable truth, but believing Iran? Isn't this the same country with a president denying the holocaust and existance of homosexuality within his country?

[EFerrari]

61. He is not a real center of power. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed

the American government is spoiling to start a war.

[INDIA]

69. You're right, he's only the mouthpiece of the religious zealots who..

have complete control over the country. Wait, there's no real center of power? Didn't you argue that the Iranian leadership isn't fractured in another post? You're contradicting yourself.

Uhhh, and why didn't the navy fire on the boats if they wanted a war so much? THEN they could lie about the incident and it would be Gulf of Tonkin. They didn't. This is just a non-story demonstrating how stupid the Iranian navy really is.

There will be no war with Iran. I've been reading the same crap on DU since the 2004 election. It won't happen under the current set of circumstances. You can take that to the bank.

[EFerrari]

79. There is no contradiction at all. The Iranian president doesn't make

these decisions. ,Neither does the the US navy.

I don't think the US senior officer corps is going for it and intelligence certainly isn't. But Bush and Cheney are insane so, there will be no trips to the bank for me until these mothers are out of office.

[MiniMe]

22. I think they probably left out the "by" right after provoked.

5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed, provoked "by" 3 U.S. Navy warships

[ChairmanAgnostic]

27. that's the ticket.

[madrchsod]

23. cool... oil will be up to ...125 a barrel?

four dollar a gallon gasoline and god help the people who heat with fuel oil and propane...

that`s our george!

[Eurobabe]

41. Gotta make those oil buds rich before they leave office n/t

[bdamomma]

26. Kpete I just noticed this too.

:scared:

[truebrit71]

29. This is the ONLY way that the Junta in the WH can "justify" the upcoming attacks...

...on Iran...

We've seen this all before....the question is will the presstitutes recognize it?

[treestar]

30. "Harassment" as an excuse to attack?

Only Bushco would even try it.

[Lochloosa]

31. BS. If they got within 200 yds. (meters) of our warships

there would not be 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats.

Not after the USS Cole.

Something smells.

[EFerrari]

34. Exactly. The Cole. n/t

[Strelnikov_]

43. Particularly considering the radio message

Or, if true, this indicates how vulnerable the ships are to small boat attack.

Also, if true, it confirms my worst fears about a fractured Iranian command and control, with local zealot commanders acting out their own agenda.

All are equally troubling.

[EFerrari]

44. I don't believe it for a minute. There is no indication of any such

fracture in Iranian command and control.

There is every indication that Dick Cheney is trying to war on another innocent nation.

[Strelnikov_]

51. I disagree

When you have two separate military branches, one 'traditional', one 'politically/ideologically' driven (the IRGC), you have fractured command and control by definition.

There was ample evidence that the incident with the Brit sailors MAY well have been a faction of the IRGC going off-script, and this event MAY have been similar.

The Republican party does not have a monopoly on religious/ideologically driven crackpots, which makes the state of tension with Iran so dangerous.

[INDIA]

55. "I don't believe it for a minute"

Were you asleep during the British sailor hostage incident? The Iranians have shown this type of behavior before. They are inept, and bad liars. As you may recall, the Iranians insisted the incident took place at a location within their territorial waters, when it was pointed out that the location was in fact in international waters, they changed the location AGAIN to put it in their own waters.

I seem to recall then that DU wanted to believe the Iranian (Holocaust denying, homosexuality denying) government over the British Navy. Madness.

[EFerrari]

60. LOL! Because the British Navy has such a sterling history.

lol

[INDIA]

65. So those British sailors were really holograms? They weren't really captured?

The Iranians have done this shit before. Recently. It's a pattern. Just because this alleged incident doesn't fit within your narrow minded world view doesn't mean it's the new Gulf of Tonkin. Some Iranians, especaially in the military, are fucking crazy. Duh.

And actually yes, Britain has the finest naval tradition of any country in the world. They are a first world modern navy. The Iranian navy is basically in the stone ages compared to the Brits. Was that sarcasm or a joke? I don't get it.

[EFerrari]

78. The Iranians have done this before? The Brits have been doing it

for hundreds of years and all over the world. When Henry 8 fired up the Navy, they were little more than organized pirates. Later, the Navy enabled the slave trade. Try to find that on the Google. It's nearly impossible. Instead what you find is many listings for how the Navy valiantly helped end the slave trade. Forget that the Navy was one of the main enforcers of British hegemony. You're India3. I'm sure that isn't news to you.

Tradition is a funny, highly selective thing and not to be confused with actual history.

[Thothmes]

92. As Churchil said about navy traditions

Traditions of the Navy, the traditions of the Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash.

[OregonBlue]

35. Some bozo soldier on CSPAN this morning going on about Iranian involvement in

the South. So, it starts again, they took a brief brake after the NIE but they need to get the pukes fired up.

[spanone]

38. we knew this was going to happen....part of the plan

[bdamomma]

39. this from Raw Story

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_manned_guns_and_were_very_0107.html

[Eurobabe]

40. Cheney is just itchin to unlease holy hell in the M.E.

[bdamomma]

42. the thought of * visiting the ME is enough "holy hell"

[EFerrari]

45. More hell. He's already killed a million people, displaced more

and gotten thousands of Americans dead or wounded.

[katty]

72. He sure is and the 'hourglass is running out' for him

[shadowknows69]

46. If you were attacking a vastly superior naval force

Would you really radio ahead and warn them?

[EFerrari]

48. Only if they needed a sound bite? n/t

[long_green]

64. Bingo!

The message, if legitimate, was as good as the Iranians can do against the USN.

I think it more likely that this is an op.

[PA Democrat]

47. CNN uses interesting terminology: "Iranian Guard ATTACK vessels" threaten US Naval ships

Wow. Nice of CNN's Bush mouthpiece (Barbara Starr) to frame the issue so nicely for the warmongers.

[harun]

52. Exactly why this is straight from the WH, correct headline would

have read "Iranian naval vessels".

[progressivebydesign]

76. Yah, apparently she didn't see the irony of "attack vessels" vs. "WARSHIPS". n/t

[tuckessee]

49. Po' wittle ol' US Navy!

Why do all those bullies pick on the sweet, innocent, US Navy?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

53. What were the Iranians doing in Vietnamese waters? Oh, wait..wrong "incident".

[SpiralHawk]

81. Remember the Maine !

Another phony naval incident to touch off a war of conquest and expansion...

[Thothmes]

96. It wasn't phony

The Maine sank in Havana harbor. Engineering analysis of the wreck many years afterward concluded that the explosion was most probably caused by a coal bunker fire next to a secondary armament magazine, detonating the ammunition.

[killbotfactory]

57. Bullshit

[Naturyl]

58. I smell a huge rat. (n/t)

[Rex]

59. The PNAC Repukes want war with Iran so badly, they will do anything

to get it started this year. There are recordings of that Iranian fella saying what he did, let us hear them so we know they are real (ha fat chance) before they get 'burned by accident' so as not to release 'sensitive information'. :sarcasm:

[progressivebydesign]

77. how else can they frighten the masses into voting GOP?? n/t

[NashVegas]

63. The Battle for Public Relations

We first need Iran to do something agressive that will justify an attack.

Iran first needs us to do something aggressive to have the upper hand in PR.

:popcorn:

[Cleita]

66. Gulf of Tonkin! You took the words right out of my mouth! n/t

[FogerRox]

67. A leak from the Bush Admin,.......... its utter bullshit.

Iranians in speed boats speaking english on the radio....


You have got to be kidding me.

[Thothmes]

95. Why, are the Iranians incapable of learning English

[AzDar]

68. Dickie's just determined to get his War with Iran on, isn't he?

Wonder where Blackwater got the 'Iranian vessel'?

[backscatter712]

70. How much do you want to bet it was the US doing the provoking?

Say by encroaching on Iran's territorial waters?

What's Iran going to do? They'll make a statement saying we entered their waters, we'll deny it, and the diplomatic channels will degenerate into a pissing match of "Did not!" "Did too!" which is exactly what the Bushies want.

Gives them an excuse to bang the war drums some more...

Depressing.

[redqueen]

73. How many U.S. citizens are still credulous enough to fall for this schtick? (nt)

[lovuian]

74. CNN has turned into Fox News since Fox nobody wants

but if CNN keeps it up they won't have any viewership

US News is a joke

[progressivebydesign]

75. boats vs. warship? I was wondering how long it would take to go to war with iran.

Since bush got shut down in his nuclear weapon lies again, I was wondering how long it would be for us to manufacture a war of some sort (cuz the repubs HAVE to scare the shit out of Americans to get them to vote for Rudy). Why exactly are our warships in that area, anyway? Provoking perhaps??? If you recall we sent those ships there a few months ago, moving them from the Pacific for no apparent reason.

[HughMoran]

82. lol

What a joke - pure fabrication I'm sure.

[Swamp Rat]

87. It should read, "3 U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz harass Iran."

If the 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats were in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi delta, then they might have a case.

CNN also has planty of headlines about Iraqis attacking U.S. soldiers for being in (destroying) their country. :eyes:

[EFerrari]

88. "Bon bons attack Lucy's mouth!"

:rofl:

[Swamp Rat]

89. LOL!

One of my favorite episodes. :hi:

This one too:

[robinlynne]

91. Seems to me our ships shouldn't be there......

[eppur_se_muova]

93. Whom should we believe ... our crazies or their crazies?

Life today is so complicated.

[Mr_Monday]

94. What's with using

Naval encounters to start wars? Are they harder to verify? Less causalities? Less expensive?