Posted on 05/17/2016 7:59:23 PM PDT by pboyington
In January, two US Navy high speed Riverine boats were apparently underway from Bahrain to Kuwait when they strayed into Iranian waters, while attempting to contact a vessel to refuel. The Pentagon first said that they had engine trouble. Yet, if that was the case, why didn’t the other boat tow the boat with mechanical problems to international waters and safety?
Then, the Pentagon said that they had navigational issues. How is this possible in 2016, with each boat having an array of GPS and radar equipment? Even if one boat’s systems completely shut down, couldn’t they rely on the other boat’s GPS or radar?
Lieutenant David Nartker, commanding officer of the two US Navy Riverine boats, surrendered his men and his craft with superior firepower to a half dozen Iranian thugs in bass boats that looked like they belonged on Bill Dance’s fishing show. Nartker surrendered without firing so much as a flare. After boarding the Navy boats, Nartker and his men were ordered down on their knees while the Iranians trained machine guns and cameras on them.
Nartker doubled and tripled and quadrupled down on his disgraceful conduct by apologizing to the Iranians for a worldwide TV audience.
“It was a mistake. That was our fault and we apologize for our mistake,” Nartker said in the video. “It was a misunderstanding. We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water. The Iranian behavior was fantastic while we were here. We thank you very much for your hospitality and your assistance.”
To add insult to injury, one of his men felt it was an opportune time to start bawling his head off like he was a guest on Oprah, letting the Iranians and everyone on the planet know that US Navy sailors of 2016 are not made from the same mold as the guys who won the Battle of Midway.
Lieutenant Nartker’s first action, to surrender his boats and personnel without offering any resistance is a violation of the US Military’s Code of Conduct, Article II, which states, I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Nartker’s appearance on the video and his subsequent conduct during the interview were a blatant violation of Article V of the Code of Conduct, which states,
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
Two days ago, Congressman Randy Forbes (R., VA) was given a classified briefing by the Pentagon about the details of the incident. Forbes told the Washington Free Beacon that, “I think that when the details actually come out, most Americans are going to be kind of taken aback by the entire incident, both how Iran handled it and how we handled it,” Forbes disclosed. “I think that’s going to be huge cause for concern for most Americans. That’s why I’ve encouraged members of Congress to get that briefing so they do know exactly what did take place.”
Forbes suggested that Iran’s treatment of the U.S. sailors—which included filming them crying and forcing them to apologize at gunpoint—may have been much worse than what has been publicly reported.
Congressman Forbes’ revelations only increase the amount of speculation about what exactly took place in the Persian Gulf in January. What is so sensitive that the Pentagon and the White House refuse to release to the American public?
To begin with, we don’t know exactly why the two US Navy Riverine craft were in Iranian waters. When confronted by the Iranians, why did Lieutenant Nartker surrender his boats and men when he had superior firepower and equipment? Was he ordered to surrender by his superior officer, Commander Eric Rasch, who was relieved of command this week by the Navy? Or, did Nartker panic and decide to surrender?
Did the Iranians abuse the sailors while they were in custody? They were apparently interrogated, but none of the sailors looked like they were physically abused.
Was the female sailor raped? If she was, and it’s being covered up, it wouldn’t surprise me as the Pentagon makes its case for throwing America’s daughters into combat.
Were the men raped? It’s not that uncommon in the Middle East. Remember what happened to Lawrence of Arabia when the Turks captured him.
Did the Iranians threaten to kill Lieutenant Narkter if he didn’t answer questions favorably, when he was interviewed on Iranian TV?
What kind of technology did the Iranians steal from the boats?
Conclusions…
The fact that Commander Rasch was relieved for not providing effective leadership, lends me to believe that Narkter’s decision to surrender may have been his own. Nartker’s lack of fighting spirit and the apparent ignorance or avoidance of the Code of Conduct by he and his men, speaks volumes about the state of the US Navy.
The Iranians might have pushed some of the sailors around and threatened them, but none of the sailors looked like they had suffered from anything except indigestion from the Persian food and a really first rate case of cowardice in the face of the enemy.
Lieutenant Narkter may have indeed been threatened by the Iranians, but he should have refused to be interviewed by the Iranians, even if that meant he would have been physically abused. Captured Americans in the Hanoi Hilton would undergo torture for months and perhaps years, before they broke down. Nartker cracked in less than a day. Think about that.
There is no doubt the Iranians conducted themselves like the thugs they are. The true smoking gun most likely concerns the disgraceful conduct of the US Navy during the incident and the obscene groveling by John Kerry upon their release.
The Iranians are the enemy of this nation. They are nothing more, nothing less. Iran will remain an enemy of the United States until the Mullahs are destroyed in a hail of revolutionary gunfire or by the inevitable bombs from Mr. Netanyahu’s Air Force.
As for the US Navy, it is a sad product of the social engineering that is eating the military alive like a Stage 4 cancer. Under Obama, the US Military has become the new wimp on the block.
What is Obama hiding??? His friends, you know.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Thanks for posting. Appreciate the perspective.
Nailed it.
Most Freepers during the incident agreed that the vessel should have surrendered if they were in Iranian waters. This leads me to believe most Freepers, at least the ones who post, don’t even know what The Code of Conduct actually says
When was the last time an incident like this was resolved in less than 24 hours?
It was a joint US-IRG op.
Both got what they wanted and neither has said a peep since.
And how about that RQ-170 handover?
It is all an illusion.
What is the Pentagon hiding about the Iranian seizure of two US Navy Riverine Craft?
>>>>As for the US Navy, it is a sad product of the social engineering that is eating the military alive like a Stage 4 cancer.<<<<
New guy in town, Army Secretary Eric Fanning, second from the right in the forefront:
O...M...G...
Thanks for the ping/pic; post; link. BTTT!
"Under Obama, the US Military has become the new wimp on the block."
And this:
"...until the Mullahs are destroyed........by the inevitable bombs from Mr. Netanyahu’s Air Force."
The semantic content of this piece is almost nil. The author clearly doesn’t know a damn thing that hasn’t already been published elsewhere. Why did he bother to write this?
the “author” of the piece is known for writing absolute fiction regarding military affairs. why it was posted to FR is another question entirely.
I got that strong impression as well, but I don’t have enough information about the author to assert it forthrightly. It seems that he can’t distinguish between Persians and Arabs, and doesn’t know that we’re not actually at war with Iran, however frosty the relationship may be.
No fiction here. We’re weak and the world knows it.
What is the Pentagon hiding about the Iranian seizure of two US Navy Riverine Craft?>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was a love boat?/S
“Since this article’s publication, some have asked if General Joe really made this speech and if he has indeed retired”, Starmann wrote. “General Joe did not say these words. I only wish he had.”
However, given the habits of a large portion of the public to only read the title or first few sentences of an article, it is likely that this misinformation will still be spread as “fact” for the near foreseeable future.
http://popularmilitary.com/website-circulating-lie-about-joint-chiefs-of-staff-general-dunford/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
