Well, we nervous nellies worry about stuff like that, governments that seem eager for a confrontation give us the vapors.
Given our demonstrated willingness to attack people who are trying to cooperate, like Saddam did with the inspections, and make things up out of whole cloth and start wars over them ( where are those mobile WMD labs and massive fleets of drones that Saddam had, hmmm ? ), I doubt that the Iranians see provoking us as stupid. With justification. After all, what difference does it make ?
Iraq wasn’t really trying to cooperate, and you know it.
Iraq agreed to destroy the Al-Samoud 2 long range missiles, and as of March 2, 2003, 10 had been destroyed. The 2003 invasion of Iraq interrupted Iraq’s destruction of the remainder.
Of course they were. We simply weren’t interested.
Well, there you have it! They forced the invasion, which stopped their cooperation! Clearly, their plan all along, the cunning devils!
Iraq didn’t have any WMDs and you know it.
Um…this seems counter intuitive to me (to say the least). Let me see if I have this right…the US, according to you, is a powerful nation state that can and will attack without provocation. Correct? And you are saying that this means that a nation like Iran SHOULD provoke us anyway? Sort of like going up and poking at a boar with a stick to see if it will charge you.
Of course, the actual reason that Iran feels reasonably safe in poking at the US with a stick is because your comic book characterization of the US is a bit off (who’d of thunk it, coming from you, ehe?). If we really WERE such loose cannons then we would have already attacked Iran months or years ago (I seem to recall someone with a name similar to your own predicting just such an attack…several times in fact…). Unless you think Iran is crazy of course…
-XT
I’m saying that it makes sense to “provoke” us if they feel it necessary for other political purposes, because provocation or the lack of it makes no difference to our behavior.
And we would have, if we weren’t bogged down in Iraq.
And while you do seem fond of saying that I characterize America as a comic book villain, I don’t. We are both stupider and more evil than the great majority of such villains.
US Navy fired warning at Iranian craft
I’m glad the official didn’t give his name, otherwise his family could have been targeted by a Quds Force Assassination Team.
I posted this in the GD thread about this event. (From the Register.) No real response - maybe here.
All we need is to start a war with Iran, and then have some trolling ham radio clown say “Bush, you been pwned.”
That`s exactly what I thought happened here.
Really, the histrionics on the voice calling are all the proof needed.
Upon reflection, I may have been unduly harsh with Mr. Moto in this thread. I am sorry for that, Mr. Moto. My ire at the lack of integrity among our leaders and our media got the better of me.
Squink posted this news item from Dec 19th concerning the USS Whidbey Island:
Well, that sure seems like a good strategy to me … and it worked. 
Even if the threat of a small Iranian boat is probably negligible, a stern warning can sometimes be necessary and effective.
Someone made an analogy of a small dog nipping at your ankles. Yes, you aren’t going to stomp it to death, but if it persists, don’t you eventually yell “NO !!!” ? I sure do.
Three very serious incidents in total. On December 19 and 22, the Whidbey Island (gun for hire) and the Carr (tanker escort) were probed by Iranian reconnaissance boats. The W.I. fired warning shots, the Carr did not.
Then on Sunday, 1/6/08, 5 Iranian recon boats buzzed a group of three US ships and dropped white boxes into the water in front of the ships.And while Adm. Mike Mullen — chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — said he could not himself tell if verbal threats heard in a U.S.-aired tape of the confrontation actually came from the Iranian boats, he said the clash was the most “provocative and dramatic” he has seen to date.
“The incident ought to remind us all just how real is the threat posed by Iran and just how ready we are to meet that threat if it comes to it,” Mullen said.
The incident Sunday ended peacefully with no warning shots fired, the U.S. military said.
But in December, the Navy said Friday, one of its ships fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat in the Strait of Hormuz during one of two serious encounters that month.
The USS Whidbey Island fired the warning shots on Dec. 19 in response to a small Iranian boat that was rapidly approaching it, said a Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
In the second incident that month, the USS Carr encountered three small Iranian craft on Dec. 22, two of which were armed, said the official. The USS Carr did not fire warning shots but sent warning blasts on the ships whistle, which caused the boats to turn around.
The three ships involved in this latest Iranian incident had been looking for a lost sailor and were separated from the rest of the Expeditionary Strike Group and were therefore vulnerable (as vulnerable as a Cruiser, a Destroyer and a Frigate can be) at the Strait. This was an action of opportunity; if it wasn’t a provocation, then it was a probe.
Show me the WMD.Is that in your reality.?
We ARE aware of recent revelations that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was miscommunication and assured falsehoods once the ball was rolling… yes?
What we are aware of is governments lie to their citizens. When I read that we are parking a part of our navy in the gulf outside Iran ,I wonder why. It is not to go waterskiing and it is provocative. Then when I hear some guys in canoes were attacking our destroyers with hamsters I wonder again.
The mushroom cloud talk from Condi was a fabrication. WMD another one. Then a whole string of lies followed. Now I am to believe them. I am skeptical when they talk. I always need more. This story does not come close to being convincing. Sorry.
Where is the evidence of any boxes being dropped in the water? Where is any evidence of any of the boats crossing in front of the ships? Apparently, they were running video of the incident the whole time. Surely they would have been able to get some shots of these mysterious white boxes being dropped in front of the ships, right?