Iranian Boats May Not Have Made Radio Threat, Pentagon Says

The Washington Post ^ | Jan 11, 2008 | Robin Wright

[RDTF]

The Pentagon said yesterday that the radio threat to bomb U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf last weekend may not have come from the five Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats that approached them -- and may not even have been intended against U.S. targets.

The communication Sunday was made on radio channel 16, a common marine frequency used by ships and others in the region. "It could have been a threat aimed at some other nation or a myriad of other things," said Rear Adm. Frank Thorp IV, a spokesman for the Navy.

In the radio message recorded by the Navy, a heavily accented voice said, "I am coming to you. You will explode after a few minutes." But Farsi speakers and Iranians told The Washington Post that the accent did not sound Iranian.

In part because of the threatening language, the United States has elevated the encounter into an international incident. Twice this week, President Bush criticized Iran's behavior as provocative and warned of "serious consequences" if it happens again. He is due to head today to the Gulf area, where containing Iran is expected to be a major theme of his talks in five oil-rich sheikdoms.

Pentagon officials insist that they never claimed Iran made the threat. "No one in the military has said that the transmission emanated from those boats. But when they hear it simultaneously to the behavior of those boats, it only adds to the tension," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell. "If this verbal threat emanated from something or someone unrelated to the five boats, it would not lessen the threat from those boats."

-snip-

[G8 Diplomat]

[UCANSEE2]

That’s what I’ve been saying.

[piasa]

That quote came from wikipedia.

At the time the Persian Gulf was a war zone, Iran was a combatant in that war zone, and Iran was targeting civilian ships and facilities belonging to noncombatant countries during the period, particularly tankers, which was why we entered the fray. Don’t weep for Iranians.

In September of the previous year, 1987, an Iranian warship was caught in the act of laying mines in the Gulf. Don’t weep for Iranians.

In late 1987 Iranian exiles were being assassinated in Europe for protesting agsainst the Islamist regime. Don’t weep for Iranians.

In October 1987 Iran fired Chinese Silkworm missiles at Kuwait and at shipping, including a ship carrying the US flag. Don’t weep for Iranians. Don’t weep for Iranians.

Iran reports they lost an IRGC aka “The Martyrdom Seekers” commander by the name of Nader Mahdavi in a suicide attack attempt on a US ship in 1987. Don’t weep for Iranians.

In February 1988, the same year as the Iran Air shootdown, Hezbollah, Iran’s surrogate terrorist group in Lebanon, had abducted USMC LtCol. Higgens, who was then serving on a UN truce supervisory organization. He was ultimately murdered by them. He was declared dead on July 6, 1990. Don’t weep for Iranians.

In April of 1988, the same year as the shootdown, Iranian-backed terrorists seized a Kuwaiti civilian airliner, diverted it to Iran before flying it to Cyprus. They were trying to coerce the government of Kuwait into releasing 17 prisoners. Kuwait refused; the terrororists were granted asylum in Algeria and the hostages were released, but not before the hijackers murdered two passengers. Don’t weep for Iranians.

Also in April 1988 the USS Samuel Roberts ran onto mines Iran had laid in the Gulf. Its keel was ruptured in the blast and ten sailers were wounded. Note that mines are indescriminant and cannot distinguish between civilian and military vessels, much less distinguish between the vessels of Iran’s enemy Iraq and US ships escorting civilian vessels. The US retaliated swiftly, destroying two warships, Iranian gunboats and oil platforms Iran had been using to prey on tankers and noncombatant shipping. After recovering some of the mines in the area we found their numbers matched those found aboard an Iranian minelayer the previous year. We lost a helicopter during the operation. Don’t weep for Iranians.

Now we are supposed to believe that Iran, as proud as it was and still is for making suicide attacks against US ships, as proud as it was and still is for supporting the hijackers of civilian aircraft belonging to noncombatant nations, as unrepentent as it is for mining waters to target civilian shipping, had no reason to consider that its policies endangered its own civilians as well and did not bear any responsibility for the situation?

Even after 9/11 we are supposed to believe it more prudent to ignore Iranian aircraft, civilian or otherwise, that enter a war zone where suicide attacks and hijackings have already occured, unless they actually are given the opportunity to plunge into a target and so prove their intentions...

[2CAVTrooper]

Don’t forget the single and/or twin .50 mounts, and the 25mm Mk-38 and Mk-68 mounts that would be on the ships.