Pushback
Terrorist-supporting nation reverts to hostage-taking roots:
15 British swabs and Marines seized in ship-boarding operations in Iraq waters.
Anyone think this wasn’t a purposeful, planned operation intended to throw everyone off balance as the UN Security Council eyeballs sanctions vs. Iran?
Iran, feeling heat from traditional allies such as Russia, China and the Euros in addition to having a growing fleet bobbing off shore and its agents and proxies being scooped up in Iraq, is pushing back. Taken with the news that Iran is co-opting disgruntled Mahdi Army extremists, it would suggest Ahmadinejad’s recent peace-love-dove messages and general desire to chat is, how to put this delicately, a crock.
Gateway has a roundup with vid.
Cochran at CTB mulls the grander plot vs. local initiative question.
Instapundit: “A naval blockade of Iran would be a traditional response … “
Topics: Iran
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:35 am Comments (21) on Friday, March 23, 2007
21 Responses to “Pushback”
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March 23rd, 2007 at 11:54 am
If the Iranians believed that the US, British and French naval forces in the gulf were a real threat this would never have happened. They are calling a bluff by publicly humiliating the British.
The hardliners need to do this to show others that their aggressive (nuclear, terrorist) strategy is not putting Iran in any real danger and is getting them what thay want. The inevitable passive response by the West will prove the hardliners correct. Indeed, I suspect that they will get a few of their IRGC (Qods) officers back in return for returing the Brits.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Regarding my earlier comment: We always hear that acting aggressively towards Iran shores up the hardliners. This is an good example of why the opposite can be true.
The Brits are reaping the reward for their government’s public statement (was it Jack Straw?) that war with Iran is “unimaginable”. If you preemptively emasculate yourself, don’t be surprised when others push you around like a little girl.
This same thing goes for the Bush admin. to some degree, especially Robert Gates, who has talked too much instead of letting actions speak for him. We should not be telling the Iranians that the naval movements are designed to pressure the Iranians – they should at least be left to wonder whether they are there to strike, now. A threat must be credible to work. The administration has fallen all over itself to explain, essentially, that it is all for show. If you are going to talk like that – don’t even bother wasting the effort to send the ships.
I recognize that some of the overt weakness is a result of political limitations the President faces. But again, if you can’t make the threat credible you are better off trying a different tack or you risk humiliating bluff calls like we are seeing today.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Brian, you are right in your assessment. If we can see it, why can’t those who hold the responsibility for the conduct of this war. The overt and obvious lack of unity, not just in this country, but among our “allies” (Oz excepted) is causing more death and destruction than needs be–on both sides. The so-called peaceniks have blood on their hands as well–again, from both sides.
The power of a military lies not in their technology and training, but in their fundamental philosophy, which is what determines the political will to act. (That is the message behind “300,” and why Iran and the anti-war critics are hollering about that movie.) Until we turn our focus from pissing on our own heads to the enemy, we are are more disarmed than if we were fighting with pea-shooters.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
And I need an editor.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:59 pm
The Brits needed a reality check like this.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Thanks saltydog. I also need an editor.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:08 pm
1979, anyone?
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Maybe we should shoot down another Iranian civilian airliner in response to this.
That would show them.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Disgusting! There are Alf droppings in here. Some creatures can never be potty trained.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
alphie:
So what do you suggest? Other than kissing their asses that is?
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
The context that is missing from Alphie’s comment about the downing of the Iranian airliner by the USS Vincennes is that the USS Stark was attacked in the Gulf not too long before that with the loss of 37 American sailors with another 21 injured. A couple of months before the incident the USS Samuel Roberts hit a mine planted by Iranians in the gulf and the Vincennes herself had been in battle with Iranian gunboats.
The Persian gulf was (and remains) a dangerous body of water, but as the airliner has nothing to do beyond that with the matter at hand, it only demonstrates (yet again) that there is nothing that Alphie will not dig up to try and muddy the waters.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Well, Terrye,
I think the pro-war crowd should admit that America has done far more to Iran than they have done us, then take we’ll take it from there.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:29 pm
The context missing from CavMedic’s post, of course, is that the Stark was hit by a missile launched by our then-ally Saddam, whom we were backing in his war with Iran (even though Saddam started the war).
There is no excuse for shooting down a civilian jet, even if our ship that did it was run by a madman.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Captain Rogers made a mistake, but did so based on a series of events that had killed or endangered the lives of US Navy crewmen over the course of more than a year.
Alphie-who I am sure knows so much about making decisions under pressure-sees fit to call him a “madman”.
Regardless, since the present incident does not involve us at all, there really isn’t any reason to invoke it at all except to play every idiot leftie’s favorite game: blame America first.
Most of us grown folks know that mistakes happen in war-as in other parts of life. Alphie’s answer to Terrye is a dodge, but as long as he does nothing he can remain blameless and that’s what’s really important to a leftoid.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Actually, Cav,
It’s the idiot children on the right who never own up to the other side of the equation.
Behavior that Iran engages in is a sure sign of “Islamofanatism” while America is usually engaging in the exact same kind of behavior.
The grown-ups don’t “blame America,” they just look at both sides of the equation.
The mindless belligerence of the Bush administration towards Iran is not childish, it’s infantile. Thank goodness the Democrats are putting training wheels on Bush for the final year+ of his unhappy reign.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Again, since this involves British Marines taken captive on a mission that has UN approval, there is absolutely no reason to invoke anything the US has done except to try to absolve the Iranians of any blame for their obvious wrongdoing.
Apologists for a regime that executed a teenage girl by hanging for her sexual behavior and beat a Canadian journalist to death before a hurried burial against her family’s wishes are considered pathetic creatures by most adults, but since you probably missed nap time I’ll chalk it up to crankiness.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:10 pm
alphie is an enemy sympathizer. He is a betrayer. His world view is exclusively anti American and he is worthy of nothing less than what is traditional for traitors.
His day will come. That worm is turning. We are steadily working our way up off our knees in regard to this degeneration and cultural rot force fed to us for an entire generation.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:21 pm
My “worldview” isn’t anti-American, Grimmy.
It’s anti-moron.
Slight difference.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Drop the “anti” from “Anti-moron” and the difference disappears.
Cheers
March 24th, 2007 at 3:29 am
no alphie, you are given to support for whatever propaganda best supports our enemy.
You are a betrayer and anti-American. You consistently prove that with your statements and accusations against the US.
You are also a liar and without integrity.
Your words are meaningless, except for the day when they can be used to convict you.
March 24th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I think the pro-war crowd should admit that America has done far more to Iran than they have done us
Such as?