kong
01-12-2012, 01:46 AM
Close the Straits, Sink the Iranian Navy -- It's that Simple
COMMENTARY | It seems like the U.S. Navy is doing an awful lot of rescuing these days, and Iran should be pretty thankful for it. Twice in the past five days, U.S. military ships have come to the aid of Iranian civilian maritime sailors in distress.
The Coast Guard cutter Monomoy gave aid and comfort today to an Iranian fishing vessel that had issued a general distress signal, The Envoy reported. The captain of the dhow Ya-Hussayn reported flooding in the engine room and had launched four passengers into a life raft that was tied to the stern of the ship. Coast Guard sailors rescued two from the ship as well and provided first aid, something the Iranian Foreign Ministry said was a grateful "humanitarian gesture."
It's good the U.S. was able to lend assistance to both vessels, and I'm glad the Iranian government at least publicly recognized the events took place. Now if Tehran would just tone down the rhetoric a couple of notches, maybe there could be some progress on the issues that separate it from the rest of the civilized world.
The Iranian military can put on any public face they want, but it cannot seriously believe it would be any match for the U.S. Navy or, for that matter, any of the other navies that are on patrol in the Persian Gulf right now. And as much as it would like to believe to the contrary, the ordinary Iranian family probably can see right through the propaganda as well.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if the European Union carries through on its threat to place an embargo on all Iranian crude imports. That would be the worst mistake Iran has made since the 1979 hostage crisis, an opinion shared by The Telegraph.
There is no doubt in my mind that the U.S. Navy would respond by completely and effectively eliminating all offensive capabilities that Iran currently has, including any nuclear capabilities.
COMMENTARY | It seems like the U.S. Navy is doing an awful lot of rescuing these days, and Iran should be pretty thankful for it. Twice in the past five days, U.S. military ships have come to the aid of Iranian civilian maritime sailors in distress.
The Coast Guard cutter Monomoy gave aid and comfort today to an Iranian fishing vessel that had issued a general distress signal, The Envoy reported. The captain of the dhow Ya-Hussayn reported flooding in the engine room and had launched four passengers into a life raft that was tied to the stern of the ship. Coast Guard sailors rescued two from the ship as well and provided first aid, something the Iranian Foreign Ministry said was a grateful "humanitarian gesture."
It's good the U.S. was able to lend assistance to both vessels, and I'm glad the Iranian government at least publicly recognized the events took place. Now if Tehran would just tone down the rhetoric a couple of notches, maybe there could be some progress on the issues that separate it from the rest of the civilized world.
The Iranian military can put on any public face they want, but it cannot seriously believe it would be any match for the U.S. Navy or, for that matter, any of the other navies that are on patrol in the Persian Gulf right now. And as much as it would like to believe to the contrary, the ordinary Iranian family probably can see right through the propaganda as well.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if the European Union carries through on its threat to place an embargo on all Iranian crude imports. That would be the worst mistake Iran has made since the 1979 hostage crisis, an opinion shared by The Telegraph.
There is no doubt in my mind that the U.S. Navy would respond by completely and effectively eliminating all offensive capabilities that Iran currently has, including any nuclear capabilities.