[pabianice]

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense is "on edge" over the turmoil in Iran, and has directed U.S. naval assets in the Persian Gulf to be, in layman's terms, in "non-incident mode." U.S. military commanders are said to have been instructed to be alert to any possibility of a clash with Iranian naval assets, and to position themselves in such a way as to diminish the ability of Iran to stage an incident, however small, that could be used to rally the support of the Iranian people to the regime and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose backers are accused of voter fraud in the national election 10 days ago.

Short Version: Obama has ordered our Navy not to fire back if attacked.

[Travis T. OJustice]

I’m certainly no fan of zero, but to me, this makes sense. let the candle snuff itself out, don’t throw fuel on the fire which would only serve to make the mullahs appear wise. This way, attention can remain focused on the uprisings, not a national battle against a common enemy, the USA.

[AFreeBird]

I can appreciate having the Navy position themselves so they wouldn't necessarily have to defend themselves. It's one thing for the US civilian leadership to speak out and support freedom. It's not like it's a secret or anything, we've only been doing it for 233 years. And ZerØ has been far too timid in that regard IMO.

But having our forces engage, even defensively, Iranian assets at this particular time, would be a detriment to the freedom movement taking place in Iran. I'm not saying they shouldn't defend themselves if the situation warrants, just that they should try and avoid being in the position to have to do so.

[Moose4]

No, I think it’s more of a case of “don’t do anything that would make yourself a target.” He wants our assets there to steer clear and keep an eye on things, but not to put themselves in a position where I’manutjob or the mullahs could stage an attack and then scream to the world when the USN defends itself.

}:-)4

[Mamzelle]

Well, there is the point that if the protestors perceive the US as an aggressor, it might unify the Iranian public and stall the protests. However, O needs to be giving one of his elOquent speeches about freedom and liberty—heh