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Popeye would never have put up with this Iranian crap.
Hmmm...perhaps you could explain what that "crap" is.
Do you deny that Iran is a nation?
Do you deny that it has recognized boundaries?
Do you deny that an armed American ship entered its boundaries?
Do you deny that after taking the men into custody, Iran released them within 24 hours?
I am no fan of Iran. However, my point is that Iran acted the way that virtually any other nation would have acted under those circumstances.
There is a point of view apparently among some that anything a country like Iran does has to be wrong. This mentality seems to be itching for a fight with them as well. That attitude used to be known as "Jingoism". Responsible nations don't go looking for fights. The last President did that in Iraq and $2 trillion later the place is in worse shape than we started. This matter was handled the way it should have been.
Wow I just saw the videos, why on earth were the sailors talking so much? Shouldn't they just remain quiet and have the authorities in the USA military explain the situation. Maybe I am over thinking it but it looks like they were speaking against their own will.
That girl must have been TERRIFIED, western female, uninvited, plus a soldier. She lucky to be alive.
A rather interesting occurrence to be sure.
We are told now that it was a "Navigational error", but at fist they just "Broke down"
I can see it now... multiple Republican congressional committee hearings to determine who is responsible for the blatant lies to the public, calls for the Secretary of Defense to be blamed for not providing sufficient radar - or would that be the Secretary of State for failing to make sure there were any Marines on the boats to defend the occupants?
A rather interesting occurrence to be sure.
We are told now that it was a "Navigational error", but at fist they just "Broke down"
A mess-up like this tends to have more than one thing going awry. If this link is to be believed, the boats were en route to refuel and went inside the 12-mile line - by accident or poor judgment, who knows. One of them had a engine troubles, so they couldn't get back out to international waters. Presto, sitting duck.
They might have been too focused on the engine problem and didn't mind their helm. Someone might have messed up magnetic, true and compass course. Or there might have been a junior officer who wanted a cool story to tell in the mess that night, let's not pretend that sort of thing never happens.
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No attempt at resistance? No attempt at evasion? Didn't see the enemy coming they just "BING" appeared out of thin air?
We know they were less than 12 miles from Farsi island, and Iran has patrol boats that'll do 40 knots. "Appearing out of thin air" is not that far off. Resistance and evasion? If you have engine problems, evasion is a tad tricky. And as for resistance - when you're bobbing in 50 ft of aluminum boat, the order "Prepare to repel boarders" is likely to be met with a reply of "How?", rather than the conventional "Aye-Aye".
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A tad bit shocking to see all those camouflage clad "warriors" assuming the surrender monkey position so easily.
Meh. Even in the age of wooden ships and iron men, brigs would strike to frigates and frigates to ships of the line. No glory in a suicidal fight, even then.
Also, could we cool it with the "enemy" talk? As much as some regret it, we are not at war with Iran.
There is a point of view apparently among some that anything a country like Iran does has to be wrong. This mentality seems to be itching for a fight with them as well. That attitude used to be known as "Jingoism". Responsible nations don't go looking for fights. The last President did that in Iraq and $2 trillion later the place is in worse shape than we started. This matter was handled the way it should have been.
We are not at war. Proper procedure would be to offer assistance and prevent them from coming farther.
Wow I just saw the videos, why on earth were the sailors talking so much? Shouldn't they just remain quiet and have the authorities in the USA military explain the situation. Maybe I am over thinking it but it looks like they were speaking against their own will.
That girl must have been TERRIFIED, western female, uninvited, plus a soldier. She lucky to be alive.
Why in the name of God and all that is sensible would we expect our servicemen and women to potentially sacrifice their lives or get raped by not cooperating with a demand like this? I mean should we just say if you are forced to participate in propaganda like this do what in your judgement is necessary to protect yourself and your fellow Americans and we will just expect the rest of the world to exercise enough common sense to understand that an apology elicited under such circumstances has absolutely no validity. Let them do what is necessary to protect themselve, let the folks in Washingtonwhose job it is to truly speak for the nation repudiate what needs to be repudiated...problem solved! It is not like they revealed info that could put US and allied military units or lives in peril. If they violated regulations and are court martialled I really sincerely hope that they get pardoned and the regulations get changed. In my view they did nothing dishonorable, and have lived to fight another day, which is the most the could have reasonably be expected to do and achieve under the circumstances. It would be foolish to expect them to potentially sacrifice their lives or get raped in order not to participate in a video that everyone should know was coerced and is meaningless. The only people who would be taken in by this sort of video are those who already strongly sided with Iran anyway, I doubt it changes one person's mind about anything. Nothing to die or get raped over.
Last edited by robertbrianbush; 01-14-2016 at 07:25 PM..
Whence this idea that Iranians will violate every western female they meet?
They don't. But I bet that woman was terrified about it all the same. And it certainly wouldn't be unprecedented. Rape, and the threat of rape, are unfortunately frequently used weapons of war, and this has been true throughout the world...from the Far East to this Balkans to Syria and Iraq to the American Indian wars to....you get the picture. It would cross the mind of any reasonable person in her circumstances, and I'd bet the Powerball jackpot to a doughnut it loomed quite large in her thinking through this ordeal.
I don't think the poster was being unpatriotic, but was just pointing out that nations can, and have in the past, do this under international law when warships of another nation enter their waters without permission. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed here.Just like when a foreign warplane enters your airspace without permission....you can ignore it, escort it out, or blast it out of the sky. This is obviously an indispensable element of sovereignty. And you never know what such an incursion may be a prelude too. The destroyer USS Ward fired on and sank an unidentifued submarine operating without permission in US waters near Pearl Harbor early in the morning of December 7, 1941..And when it spotted the periscope, it didn't try to signal it to leave or try to escort it out of US territorial waters..it simply opened fire and began dropping depth charges immediately... at a time when the US was still at peace. We had the right to defend our territorial waters like that! Like i said, you never know what such incursions may be a prelude too. We all know what transpired later that morning.
This incursion happened near a very sensitive area, the Iranian naval base on Farsi Island, in a very tense region. Iran and our Saudi allies, the two major nations bordering the Gulf, just broke off diplomatic relations last week. Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a truly massive military buidup. Last year they spent over eighty billion dollars on weaponry, making them one of the top three weapons importers in the world. I think this is justifiable given legitimate concerns about Iran's growing strength and ambitions, but no doubt Iranian naval personnel on Farsi Island, which happens to be located rght smack dab in the center of the Persian Gulf, know that if a major war breaks out between Iran and Saudi Arabia and/or the US, Saudi Arabia's ally, they will be among the very first to know, and are trained to be on the lookout for possible advance indicators of a surprise attack, which probably include things such as commandos being landed for sabotage, espionage, and targeting purposes. And they are probably keen to show that incursions into their territorial waters around the naval base on Farsi Island won't be taken lightly. I am no fanof Iran, but any nation, including ourselves, would probably have reacted in similar fashion. Let's just be thankful that cooler heads ruled the day as opposed to some hothead.
Last edited by robertbrianbush; 01-14-2016 at 08:37 PM..
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