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Admiral Details Iranian Challenge to U.S. Ships
American Forces Press Service ^
| Jim Garamone
Posted on 01/07/2008 3:59:13 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2008 The commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Middle East today called the behavior of Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that buzzed three U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday unduly provocative.
Navy Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, who also commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, briefed Pentagon reporters via video teleconference from his headquarters in Manama, Bahrain.
He said the USS Port Royal, USS Hopper, USS Ingraham were inbound to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz yesterday morning. The ships were in the midst of a routine transit in the early daylight hours, the admiral said. Five Iranian Revolutionary Guard high-speed craft came from the north and approached the U.S. ships.
The five boats approached the U.S. formation on its starboard bow in international waters slightly inside the Gulf from the apex of the strait, Cosgriff said.
The Iranian boats broke into two groups and went on both sides of the U.S. formation. The groups maneuvered aggressively in the direction of the U.S. ships, Cosgriff said.
U.S. captains called on the radio and sounded the ships horns to warn the Iranians off, he said. The (U.S.) ships received a radio call that was threatening to our ships to the effect that they were closing our ships and that the U.S. ships would explode, Cosgriff said.
Subsequently, U.S. sailors observed two of the Iranian boats dropping objects in the water generally in the path of the USS Ingraham. These objects were white box-like objects that floated, the admiral said. Obviously the Ingraham passed by safely.
The boats maneuvered close astern, and after 30 minutes they returned in the direction from which they came, back toward Iranian territorial waters. The Iranian boats approached within 500 yards of the U.S. ships, the admiral said.
It was transit passage in international waters incidental to a routing inbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, Cosgriff said. The U.S. ships were clearly marked. It was daylight, (with) decent visibility.
The behavior of the Iranian ships was unnecessary, he continued, without due regard to safety of navigation and unduly provocative in the aggregate of their maneuvers, the radio call and the dropping of objects in the water.
The admiral praised the U.S. ships crews, saying they stepped through procedures carefully, with good discipline and with due regard for all the factors. I was very proud of their performance and the training they received, Cosgriff said.
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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: challenge; frwn; hormuz; iran; iranian; usn; usshopper; ussingraham; ussportroyal
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1
posted on
01/07/2008 3:59:15 PM PST
by
SandRat
To: 91B; HiJinx; Spiff; MJY1288; xzins; Calpernia; clintonh8r; TEXOKIE; windchime; Grampa Dave; ...
FR WAR NEWS!
If you would like to be added to / removed from FRWN,
please FReepmail Sandrat.
WARNING: FRWN can be an EXTREMELY HIGH-VOLUME PING LIST!!
2
posted on
01/07/2008 3:59:41 PM PST
by
SandRat
(Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
To: SandRat
I wonder what type of ships the Iranians employed. Five hundred yards seems like it could be problematic for anti-ship actions under the right circumstances. Of course if these were small craft, they may not have been very threatening at all.
Still, I’d have my sights on them just in case.
3
posted on
01/07/2008 4:04:01 PM PST
by
DoughtyOne
(< fence >< sound immigration policies >< /weasles >< /RINOs >< /Reagan wannabees that are liberal >)
To: SandRat
I think a shot across their bow(s) would have been appropriate.IMHO
4
posted on
01/07/2008 4:04:48 PM PST
by
Citizen Tom Paine
(Swift as the wind; Calmly majestic as a forest; Steady as the mountains.)
To: DoughtyOne
Why didn’t they blow ‘em out of the water?
5
posted on
01/07/2008 4:05:32 PM PST
by
38special
(I mean come on.)
To: SandRat
6
posted on
01/07/2008 4:07:02 PM PST
by
mylife
(The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
To: SandRat
The day is not far off when we will have to settle all the family business, going back to 1979. We have been in a state of undeclared war with this radical shia fascist entity. The sooner we get it on, and get this over with, the better off we will be.
I would rather fight them now while they don’t have the bomb, than to fight them later when they’ve handed the nukes to hezbollah, hamas, the syrian dictatorship, alqaeda elements, and any other radical muslim group with a gripe.
7
posted on
01/07/2008 4:08:28 PM PST
by
AdvisorB
("A Hillary Clinton presidency would result in a weaker economy and a weaker America" Dick Morris)
To: SandRat
I guess these Iranian macho men believe they are conducting war games, rehearsing for future encounters.
In reality, the only thing they are rehearsing is their own death. to stae the obvious, the Iranians are not in the same class as the USN. Not even close.
8
posted on
01/07/2008 4:08:35 PM PST
by
EyeGuy
To: SandRat
So now they know that if they deploy small unidentifiable floating objects in the water, we will just watch them.
9
posted on
01/07/2008 4:09:18 PM PST
by
SpaceBar
To: 38special
They stood down just in time basically. I’m glad actually. Now the world knows what they did, if they try it again we can obliterate them and no one will be able to claim we’re trigger happy.
10
posted on
01/07/2008 4:09:44 PM PST
by
Free Vulcan
(No prisoners. No mercy.)
To: SandRat

"These were peaceful Iranian fisherman chasing a school of fish to feed to their families who work in the baby milk factory"
11
posted on
01/07/2008 4:10:35 PM PST
by
Rb ver. 2.0
(Global warming is the new Marxism.)
To: 38special
I’m not sure what the situation is along the southern Iranian coast. They may not have wanted to set up a situation where the Iranians would take pot shots at commercial oil vessels along the Straights of Hormuz.
We could clear out their missiles, but would then have to keep an eye on them from here on out.
Iran is going to have to be smacked down sometime soon.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this type of activity has been taking place for a while. Simply reporting it via the media may let Iran know this is going to stop, because the U.S. is now willing to go on the record, something they haven’t done to this point.
We may be sending a message with this report. And if that doesn’t work, we may be ready to make a big deal out of it, and dust off Iran’s shorts in the process.
That’s my guess. Others may have a better explanation.
12
posted on
01/07/2008 4:10:59 PM PST
by
DoughtyOne
(< fence >< sound immigration policies >< /weasles >< /RINOs >< /Reagan wannabees that are liberal >)
To: mylife
What would Obama do? Crap his drawers?
13
posted on
01/07/2008 4:11:15 PM PST
by
dearolddad
(Opinions are like rectums: everybody has one.)
To: 38special
Exactly. Do we need a repeat of the USS Cole?
14
posted on
01/07/2008 4:11:15 PM PST
by
Theo
(Global warming "scientists." Pro-evolution "scientists." They're both wrong.)
To: SandRat
Why didn’t they blow them out of the water? Does the Admiral remember the USS Cole?
15
posted on
01/07/2008 4:11:20 PM PST
by
pgkdan
(Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
To: 38special
I have the same question. Do we need another Cole before we use all the military we pay for?
16
posted on
01/07/2008 4:11:43 PM PST
by
edcoil
(Reality doesn't say much - doesn't need too)
To: EyeGuy
“In reality, the only thing they are rehearsing is their own death. to stae the obvious, the Iranians are not in the same class as the USN. Not even close.”
Some intelligent speculation on another thread about either hoping or rehearsing to provoke US ships into firing on them, creating a self-defense justification for the shore batteries to open up. Some posters who apparently have been there/done that suggest that at such close range the batteries would present a significant problem for the ships at that particular pinch point.
To: Theo
Wow. You beat me by 5 seconds! Great minds really do think alike.
18
posted on
01/07/2008 4:13:15 PM PST
by
pgkdan
(Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
To: mylife
He said time after time he intends to remove all our military from the area.
To: SpaceBar
So now they know that if they deploy small unidentifiable floating objects in the water, we will just watch them.Exactly!
20
posted on
01/07/2008 4:14:12 PM PST
by
Las Vegas Dave
("We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." Hillary Clinton, June 2004.)
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