World Affairs Brief, January 11, 2008. Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief
THE IRANIAN SPEEDBOAT INCIDENT: A PROVOCATION OR US BLACK OPERATION?
According to Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, “three U.S. ships had been in international waters passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday when they were approached by five fast boats, at least some of which were visibly armed…. The boats made some aggressive maneuvers against our vessels and indicated some hostile intent…. the speed of the Iranian boats and their distance from the U.S. Navy vessels demonstrated potentially hostile intent. Bridge-to-bridge radio communications between the Iranian vessels and the U.S. Navy ships reinforced this impression.”
I’ve seen the videos of the speedboats and they certainly aren’t bristling with any visible arms capable of doing damage to a destroyer. I think the Pentagon is exaggerating the threat.