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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| IRAN 1, USA 0 |
| 2008-01-09 |
| EARLY Sunday morning, the US Navy lost its nerve and guaranteed that American sailors will die at Iranian hands in the future. We should've sunk every one of them. Not because we're warmongers. But because the Iranians had made threats, verbal and physical, that amounted to acts of war. When will we learn that resolute action taken early saves vast amounts of blood and treasure later? Here's how the train of thought rolled down the tracks in Tehran: "The Americans have told the world we don't want nuclear weapons, even though they know we do want them. That can only mean that America is afraid to confront us, that their weak, defeated president needs an excuse to back down. "We can push these cowardly Americans now. They've had enough in Iraq. Their spirits are broken. Their next president will run away like a gazelle pursued by a lion. "Even their military is frightened of us. On Sunday, America's might bowed down to us. They are frightened and godless, and the time has come to push them." Sunday's incident wasn't a one-off event improvised by the local yokels after a long Saturday night at the hookah bar. It was blessed and carefully planned in Tehran and had practical as well as political goals. At the tactical level, the Revolutionary Guards' naval arm was testing our responses: How soon do the American weapons radars activate? At what range do the lasers begin to track targets? How close can a small vessel get to a major American warship? How do the Americans respond to possible mines? Can we use phony mines to steer them into real ones? How long does it take an American commander to make a decision? Above all: Does an American commander have the courage to make a decision on his own? When he doesn't have time to deflect responsibility onto his superiors? On Sunday, the Iranians tested us. We failed. They'll probe us again. And every time we fail to react decisively, we raise the number of future US casualties. For almost 70 years, we've deployed the finest navy in the history of the world. But it looks increasingly as if we've gone from "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" to "Will this interfere with my next promotion?" |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #3 Pappy, another reason I tend to stick to snark and not masterful military genius... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-09 22:36 |
| #2 Keep in mind: 1. Narrow strait, with even narrower traffic lane. Perfect location. 2. Iranian naval doctrine Additional information on strategy and tactics is here 3. As part of that doctrine, Iran keeps U.S. warships in the region under close observation and gathers intel on them. It's likely they know who's coming in or leaving days before they arrive. 4. In addition to small craft, mines, and submarines, Iran maintains shore based anti-ship missile batteries. Somehow all you wannabe Nelsons missed them. These missiles are Chinese-origin. Some are C-802s (supposedly extended range), similar to the Sunburn-type that hit the Saar 5 corvette off Lebanon. Others are modernized/extended range HY-2 (Silkworm) missiles. There's a lot of them (it's also likely the Iranians have acquired Chinese copies of the Exocet for use by sea and air-borne platforms, but that doesn't necessarily play a part here). 5. The recent IRGCN incident with the USN appears similar to Hisb'allah's successful attempt to draw the IDF into combat in South Lebanon. In other words, instigate, draw the opponent in, and respond with massive, prepared, force when the opponent 'retaliates'. Had the USN ships fired on the IRGCN boats, it's certain that the IRGC was ready with a response. There would be a global incident; probably lots of confusion, allegations and counter-allegations, but the bottom line is, three USN ships would have been attacked. Likely badly damaged. Possibly sunk. Iran would have the 'justified' war it wants; or at the very least, a propaganda coup. No doubt the mechanism for disseminating that line was in place with sympathetic outlets. What worked against it was superior intel: knowledge of Iranian naval doctrine and tactics, long-standing awareness of shore-based missile installations, etc. Combine that with superb discipline and professionalism, and a potential crisis on the eve of a Presidential visit to the Middle East was averted. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-01-09 21:31 |
| #1 Amen. This will only assure that they will try again. |
| Posted by: Pholugum Stalin1270 2008-01-09 21:27 |