Posted on 01/07/2008 3:30:49 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2008 – Three U.S. Navy vessels took evasive actions after five Iranian boats buzzed the ships transiting the Straits of Hormuz yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Whitman called the Iranian provocation “a serious incident.” The fast Iranian boats approached at “distances and speed that showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent,” he said.
The incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, he said. The Navy ships were going into the Persian Gulf when the Iranian boats confronted them.
“Small, Iranian fast boats made some aggressive maneuvers against our vessels and indicated some hostile intent,” Whitman said. “This required our vessels to issue warnings and conduct some evasive maneuvers. The U.S. Navy vessels were prepared to take appropriate actions, but there was no engagement of the vessels.”
He said the speed of the Iranian boats and their distance from the U.S. Navy vessels demonstrated potentially hostile intent. Bridge-to-bridge radio communications between the Iranian vessels and the U.S. Navy ships reinforced this impression, he said.
The U.S. ships were operating in international waters within the Strait of Hormuz and followed all appropriate protocols, Whitman said. The ships are the USS Port Royal, USS Hopper and USS Ingraham. U.S. warships will take all the precautions needed to safely transit the open waters of the straits, the Pentagon spokesman said.
“This is reckless and dangerous behavior on the part of the Iranian vessels, and it should cease immediately,” Whitman added.
Typically, small boats such as these are under command of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, U.S. Navy officials said.
All U.S. warships transiting the open seas are prepared to take action should their ship or crews be threatened, Whitman noted. The U.S. ships “did take appropriate action in terms of maneuvering and communicating, and were prepared to take further action if necessary,” he said.
The Defense Department will work with White House and State Department officials to come up with the appropriate way to address the incident with the Iranian government, Whitman said.
Iranian boats took 15 British sailors engaged in United Nations-sanctioned operations in the northern Persian Gulf on March 23.
Pentagon: “Row! Roooww! Roooooooowwww!”
[Military exercises commence. Enormous amounts of fuel are used for movements.]
Pres.: “Don’t worry, they’ll row for a month before they figure out I’m fakin’ it.”
[Quotes from the film, “Waterworld” My message...? Let’s stop worrying so much about freight fuel prices and get the Iran thing done!]
* Start * firing *
Too bad they didn’t call in air support to blow the Iranians to hell and back. Oops, puff, they’re gone.
Well, now they know how close they can get without eliciting a response.
The bombing begins in five minutes.
I would use the diplomatic approach. Tell their ambassador that the next time that they get within two thousand yards of a US ship, they will be blown out of the water. Any retaliation from Iran and we will take out the entire Iranian Navy.
From the report I read our ships were ready to open fire but the Iranians pulled back at the last second. Personally I would have liked to have seen them blown out of the water.
Certainly the Leftmedia will be outraged by this incident of dastardly "Swiftboating!"
Shouls lit the bastards up. I mean, seriously, what are the Iranians going to do if you sunk their little toy boats? Probably a whole bunch of moaning and that’s about it.
FU**ABUNCHA evasuve action!
Those boats should have been destroyed! Period!
Ca, can, can’t we all get along?
It looks like they are asking for a major a$$-kicking. Let’s honor their request.
I think it would be far more diplomatic to have an Ohio and a Los Angeles surface in the port at Bandar-e Abbas. Their foriegn minister should be invited on baord so he can see the US targeting system.
I’ll bet he’s always wanted a good aerial view of his country.
with a thermonuclear weapon...!!
If I were the captain, the Iranian ships would have been molecules and a scattering of dust. Who decides what is the last second? I hope in the future we will change it up a little so our enemies don't get the idea they can play cat and mouse with us without losing a few mice.
Looks like someone is wanting to provoke an incident. I think it’s time to grant them their wish, with attitude.
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