Posted on 08/03/2023 10:18:22 AM PDT by McGruff
The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, four American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Since 2019, Iran has seized a series of ships in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, as part of its efforts to pressure the West over negotiations regarding its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers. Putting U.S. troops on commercial ships could further deter Iran from seizing vessels — or escalate tensions further.
The contemplated move also would represent an extraordinary commitment in the Mideast by U.S. forces as the Pentagon tries to focus on Russia and China. America didn’t even take the step during the so-called “Tanker War,” which culminated with the U.S. Navy and Iran fighting a one-day naval battle in 1988 that was the Navy’s largest since World War II.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Blackwater became Xe which became Constellis.
I would take 200K to cap Xerxes on a ship.
Maybe we should also stop seizing Iranian ships and cargoes.
This is just another step, there are rules but who is going to enforce them now? The world is becoming a Free Fire Zone. Just let is all fail and burn most of it down, it’s the only way to start over and rebuild.
Th commander of the boats should’ve been shot in the face by the senior enlisted the moment he tried to surrender the craft. That the “commander” and the senior enlisted surrendered the vessels - both should’ve been keelhauled off an aircraft carrier.
I never knew commerical ships were completely unarmed until all of this terrorism at sea started a few years ago. I spent 4 years at sea in the USN and it never occurred to me all of those freighters and tankers were complelely unarmed. Madness.
It’s CHINESE OIL!
What are we doing risking American lives to protect it?
Look up Q-Ships.
Do it unannounced, but with mercenaries hired by the shipping lines. Their rules of engagement would be preferred to military standards.
Add a nuke component to that and they will be prepared to take out coastal U.S. cities (Boston, Newport, NYC, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, etc.) from innocent looking cargo vessels dashing in from the shipping lanes in the middle of the night.
They can do that. But more likely they’ll use their drones to take out our naval ships in the Gulf. So our carriers shouldn’t be there. They’re vulnerable.
As an ex-Seaman who "Kiddie Cruised" from 8/'61 to 8/'64 I view it the same, Sir.
American aircraft carriers staying 1,000 km away from Iran’s coasts
So our aircraft carriers are basically obsolete. It's just like the battleship in the beginning of the 20th Century.
Wiser move would be to have 130 gunships and attack helicopter monitoring the movements and blowing any Muslim pirate boats out of the water.
Thomas Jefferson did it, with great success!
I did not either. On the surface , it sounds like a good idea. However, the Law of Unintended Consequences is still there.
President Trump would do the same thing.
Ye
Hostile waters
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