Bush calls Iran provocateurs: US backtracks on the Iranian speedboat incident
By John Amato Wednesday Jan 09, 2008 6:30pm Here 's the video of the Iranian speed boat incident via the US Navy. While going to a peace summit, President Bush had this to say the other day about the Iranian boat incident:
We viewed it as a provocative act,” Mr. Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden, just hours before he left for a weeklong trip to the Middle East. “It is a dangerous situation, and they should not have done it, pure and simple.”
I guess attacking a country that didn't attack us was an act of kindness to him. This sure sounds like Iranian warmongering to me. However, the US is backtracking on the incident saying that:
Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship.
We’re saying that we cannot make a direct connection to the boats there,” said the spokesperson. “It could have come from the shore, from another ship passing by. However, it happened in the middle of all the very unusual activity, so as we assess the information and situation, we still put it in the total aggregate of what happened Sunday morning. I guess we’re not saying that it absolutely came from the boats, but we’re not saying it absolutely didn’t.”
And as Think Progress found out: Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel
Mike posted this in his round up, but Newshoggers have a nice full round up of the story
Login or Register to post comments.
Once again, the Bush Misadministration and their goons in the Pentagon have LIED.
Gulf Of Tonkin, anyone?
Why can't that man just hurry up and die?
RW @ 2:
don't you know? Only the good die young, which means Dubya is going to live to 150...what do you think is keeping Dick Cheney alive?
Bush and the media both: can they just wait, even a second, a minute, an hour, or even a day, before definitively speaking as though they know what they are talking about? They talk first and confirm (or in this, and nearly every other case,) later, blathering on about what they HOPE to be the case, rather than what actually IS the case- to simply further their own agenda. When Bush makes a bold statement like that- one that agitates a country like Iran- he better damn sure know what they hell is going on. Oh right: it was Bush. Never mind.
So is it Ba Ba Barbara Ann or Bomb Bomb Iran??
Someone make up our minds
Dubya and Cheney are looking for any reason to start with Iran. Look for more of this to follow in his last year.
Oddly enough, the "chilling threat" reminded me of André the Giant's taunt in Princess Bride: "The Dread Pirate Roberts is here for your souls!" And, truth be told, I found it just as funny. Actually, come to think of it, it also reminded me of the disembodied voice in Bulbous Bouffant saying "spatula.... tuberculosis...."
for that matter it's probably the reason Bush41 and his wife live on too. I bet, if you looked deep in a dark basement or a bunker somewhere you'll find the 113 year old Prescott Bush (dubya's grandpappy), still alive, because evil seems to live forever...
maybe we can get Bruce Campbell to fight these demons!
Surprise! Surprise!
The Iranians' account of the incident might (*shudder*) be correct?
Speaking of the Gulf of Tonkin so-called "incident" check this out:
Report Reveals Vietnam War Hoaxes, Faked Attacks
What flaming bullshit.
What if the situation were reversed? What if an Iranian naval ship was on patrol off a few miles off the coast of Virginia or Puget Sound?
Like that would even be allowed to happen.
That radio chatter came from Blackwater Special Ops hired by Bush/Cheney to impersonate a Persian accent and hope the navy would open fire.
We had a staged show that was supposed to happen and start an international incident, but things didn't go as planned.
Fascist Alert
23 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years under ambitious post-9/11 security rules to be unveiled Friday by federal officials.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hGWEcbtYTTl9RTiO3YS_POnaYJ9gD8U3APP00
Annoyed Canuck @ 10:
If the Iranians were off our coast and they put out a faked video of us showing agression we would say it's a criminal act...and a war crime. Damage Inc does it and it's just a mistake. Oops!
The video, which shows what is claimed are Iranian boats speeding around U.S. ships, doesn't show any of the boats hurtling directly towards any of the navy ships, nor does it show what the Pentagon claimed the Iranians then did, namely dropped "white boxes" in the water. (I would have opened fire at those, wouldn't you?) The audio tape is even less convincing, mainly because the person speaking doesn't have an Iranian accent and moreover, sounds more like Boris Karloff in a horror movie than a sailor in the elite branch of Iran's military. (The tape is also separate from any video.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hooman-majd/its-a-fake_b_80682.html
In other words: You called us on our bullshit and we are attempting to backtrack gracefully.
We swallowed that 9/11 story so completely, we're stupid enough to fall for anything, I guess.
The United States, and the Bush administration, are the real authentic provocateurs, in the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf area, not Iran.
Iran has the tape as well. Its the United States Navy, which is in the waterways of the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz which is acting like the only provocateurs. Iran had every right to use their Iranian speedboats to see what America was up to in that s-called "incident." The United States has already violated the Law of the Sea Treaty as it is and trying to bait Iran into an armed conflict/war is against the Nuremberg Trials and other like laws of war.
The United States is the only nation wrong here. Iran has every right to conduct business and see what is going on in there sphere of influence. I see the media and many politicians are ignorant of international law.
I could have sworn that I saw Kerry sailing near those Iranians too!
Wheee - as he endorses Obama instead of Edwards.
What a schmuck!
L.A. Confidential @ 12:
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less.
I guess we'll only be able to attack 'em with words then, eh? Didn't anyone read the first Dark Knight novel?
From one of the links:
As I said in another thread about this incident, anything the Bush administration says is a lie.
Anything.
Anything, got that?
anney @ 20:
If their lips are moving. Or now they can e-mail to their talking heads.
Bud @ 19:
"Creeping Fascism" at it's finest.
Actually, the conditions under which we now live resemble those of the former Soviet Union and are quite convenient, insofar as whenever a government official or mainstream media outlet makes a public pronouncement we can automatically assume that the exact opposite is true.
As soon as I heard this latest bullshit about threats from Iranian naval vessels I automatically knew it was a lie and would eventually unravel. Anyone who watched the juxtaposition of images from little speedboats to giant warships should have immediately hurt themselves laughing at the absurdity of the whole thing. Right up there with already legendary Iraqi UAV threat.
Love how the MSM functions: Government shoves the message down their throats and they blow it out their asses and spray us with their shit.
and how can we be sure that bush/cheney did not have a covert fake attack like this to make their next lying case to invade iran? we all know that they will stoop to the lowest level of human decency and have. they are criminals without conscious.
The big warships of the United States in the Persian Gulf that are in Iran's sphere of influence have been the real authentic provocateurs, in the Straits of Hormuz area, for over a year now.
I know Americans like to have their facts straight. Again, the United States of America is trying to bully other nations and then lie about it later.
For years now, the United States has been pulling similar crap, and then displacing blame. Americans wonder why we are "hated?" in the world. Its actions such as this and the accompanied lies which follow that Americans are not liked.
You know what's fun? Playing that video with the Miami Vice theme in the background.
Be afeared Americuns! Look at dem dare dastardly canoes! Heck theyz even gots nuklar warheads bandaided to da front of dem!! 911!! Terrists!! ScaredyCat Warning System Color Purple Nurple!!
I don't know what's more scary:
That the BushAdmin is still manufacturing threats or that they are becoming worse at doing it. What is this, Amateur Hour? I am not bothered that the lies are more easily debunked; that's the silver lining. What chills my 'nads is the fact that this sort of chicanery looks like an act of the desperately insane.
I didn't believe the Bush version of events from the get-go, but this is just ridiculous.
As Anney says:
Lies, lies and more lies. The truth does not serve these fascists goals.
Mr. Pelicano @ 23:
Hopefully the military higher ups have been instructed to ignore any orders Bush may blurt out the next year.
IanY77 @ 26:
THAT IS NOT FUNNY.
...*...
Ok, yeah it is.
:lol:
a propos our fear-full leader's international relations blunders:
YouTube: Al Jazeera Analyses Bush's Checkpoint Gaffe
Bonus!
GW *also* dismisses Israel's failures (with US backing) to comply with UN Resolutions as "The UN Resolutions didn't work! This is a whole new effort!"
Winning Hearts and Minds We ARE !!
That's what happens when you have an American trying to sound like an Iranian with bad English, while still sounding like an American.
Oops!
Boys on the ship...can you say Gulf of Tonkin? Altogether now, say "Gulf of Tonkin"...your ass is grass.
Dahgrostab'ph-r-i @ 8:
yes they grow like mold on old cowshit!
Just one question.
What would BushCo NOT lie about ?
Archae @ 1:
Gulf of Tonkin exactly. I would not put it past this administration to do whatever it takes to achieve their ends. They're obviously itching for war with Iran....so if that requires lying and doctoring a video....so be it.
I only had to hear that sentence on that tape spoken once to make me burst out laughing.. Sounded JUST like my teenage son when he is trying to sound like an adult with a deep voice. What a joke. And then they are backing off now saying the tape came from the shore or something?? Come on..
Does this remind anyone else of the old Cold War tactic used by both the US and USSR, when we'd test each other's defenses by running a sub or long-range bomber right up to the other's borders?
Also makes me think of Nazi claims that the Poles launched a strike into Germany. Kinda.
"We viewed it as a provocative act..."
Sorta like a pre-emptive invasion and occupation?
Pot, meet frickin' kettle.
nwmuse @ 37:
I have listened to it twice now and haven't heard the threat. Can you tell me at what time in the recording it can be heard?
Sure cost lots of money to keep the welfare-warfare state going so we can keep manufacturing fake problems to "solve." Lots of good paying look-busy jobs "solving" fake problems.
IF the incident really happened, that is IF the speedboats were really manned by Iranians and not someone on the US payroll - then, with the USS Cole incident in mind in which 17 US sailors were killed - why in the world would a state-of-the-art missile cruiser AND destroyer AND frigate allow anything to come within 200 yards of them? It was a simple rubber-type Zodiak raft that blew the hole in the side of the USS Cole. I'm thinking that Bush created this opportunity in order to talk war in conjunction with his middle east visit.
Question: if the voice was from the small craft, wouldn't you have heard engine noises in the background? There are none at all.
If we on the blogs don't start speaking plainly about U.S. tactics to start wars, we'll probably end up in one again soon. We know the government and the MSM aren't going to tell us the truth. Hopefully the blogs can fill that void and educate the masses. Otherwise welcome to the Fascist States of America where whatever we tell you is the truth. Sad.
Mossad agent either on a submarine nearby, or on shore nearby. Betcha Betcha...
Just bring the troops home Bush. We are all so very tired of this shit
L.A. Confidential @ 12:
Soon we are all suspected terrorists. Force OR violence? How about forceful arguments?
H.R. 1955: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2007-993
toosinbeymen @ 43:
Engine sounds and waves...
And to the people who are mentioning the USS Cole incident... Think about it. If they were intending to do such a thing, do you really think they would TELL the ships "I am coming to you" or "You will explode in XX minutes"?
This is as phony as phony can be.
Don't fucking believe a goddamn word of what the government says.
They lie.
Shades of Zachary Taylor in Texas/Mexico, The USS Maine, Gulf of Tonkin, Operation Just Cause, Grenada, April Glaspie.....................
not surprised at all...
The U.S. Navy's version is a bunch of bull. Here is the Iranian video of the incident. The Iranians are traveling right along side of the U.S. naval vessals and then contact the American vessels in english. The U.S. responded back in turn. There appears to have been bunch of radio checks and I.D. checks with the Iranians and Americans and that is about it. There clearly was no hostile intent indicated at least by this video.
IRANIAN NAVY VERSION FROM STILL BOAT
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T9TssITTKqE
Here's Irans Version
http://tinyurl.com/2ypqpk
Joe O. @ 51:
You and I are in synch.
LOL
I didn't listen to this tape. The one we posted at TPZoo here may or may not be the same one.. It is the one I am referring to.
L.A. Confidential @ 53:
Yep, it sure looks like it! :lol:
in a round about way...this is a good thing,it just proves how much of a liar Boosh is.Even the most ardent Boosh supporter(Ysbadaden...don't go there)will have to face the fact that Boosh is a habitual liar.This moron is just itching to send the country to war with Iran....even a blind man can see that this is all trumped up.
Aeon @ 45:
Oh, stop it! Why in the fuck would it be Israel? It could've been a US sub just as easily- not that I'm agreeing that there was any sub!
And you think that the 'intellectuals' that watch Fox News are going to grasp the fact that the government, George W. Bush's government™ played them for the suckers that they really are?
Does anyone think that in 5 months (5 years?) the polls over the question of whether 3 speedboats suitable for fishing or water skiing were successful in threatening what, 4 US armed to the teeth tax sink holes, that resulted in the war that Bush-tard started before he left office will remember that it was all yet another incredible lie? You know, like Saddam definitely attacked the World Trade Center? You know, like Saddam for sure, honest, had massive amounts of nasty 'WMD's'? You know, like the 'mushroom cloud' that was sure to engulf the world if Bush baby didn't get his temper tantrum and be able to attack the American treasury (Iraq). Yah think?
It's like shooting fish in a barrel...
Actually, you kind of half expected to see the Iranian PBR towing a waterskier while blasting the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" at full volume and trailing clouds of ganja smoke out the back.
"Straits of Hormuz? Those are Achmed's Straits!"
"Achmed don't surf!"
Andy K @ 57:
Hey.....it could happen.Just think of all the spies at Sub.......way...........and you can drop a few pounds there as well....mmmmmmm .....subway
in all honesty......If I was on board that ship and I saw a small craft like that coming at me...I'd think of the USS Cole.........it wasn't that long ago that an inflatable loaded with explosives ran into the side and detonated....I just glad the Captain didn't over react.And yes....the Preznit tried to spin this as an assault...obviously some Military Officers don't trust the Preznit in Chief anymore.
Archae beat mean to it, but the first thing that popped in my mind when I first read about it was, "Oh, a new Gulf Of Tonkin".
Archae @ 1:
We don't need no stinking Gulf of Tonkin. We got Kyl-Lieberman, thanks to....
The truly messed up part is that everybody and their grandma saw the original reports but only about 4% will get the real story. :(
mudshark @ 60:
Makin' me hungry...I guess I need to carbo-load for my trip to Green Bay this weekend. I might be goin' back next weekend, too...Oh, yeah, and if the Packers get to the Super Bowl I'll be there, too.
Oh, wait, the Mossad. If the Packers lose somewhere in there- or if they win and WW III starts- I'll blame the Mossad. I mean, who else could it possibly be?
Mr. Pelicano @ 59:
"Get yer motor runnin'.......head out on the waterway!
Lookin' fer some 'mericans
Or whatever comes our way....
Born to beeeee Willlllllldddddddd!!!!!!"
Let's see, the bushies have been claiming Iran has been supplying IED's, anti-aircraft weapons, and other such things since at least 2004. There was that story about the Iranian football team being in league with the Nazi's during the World Cup in Germany. Around the same time they were shopping around the story that Iran had demanded that Iranian Jews wear special clothing to identify them. There was also that incident where we imprisoned several Iranian diplomats in Iraq and then eventually let them go. Anything else I'm missing?
L.A. Confidential @ 12:
The DHS, which was created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: "One driver, one license."
How much do you think the DHS (the Department that is the biggest boondoggle ever in this country) paid a company to come up with this ditty?
I'm thinking a no bid consulting contract given to a company owned by some wife of a Republican Congressman to the tune of say....5 million or so. Whatya think?
I guess on one hand I can say that at least I was born before 1964. On the other hand even though I have no children, I do feel bad for the state of the country that my generation is leaving them.
MountainMan23 @ 9:
Has there been one liberal blog that has covered this story? Serious question.
Andy K @ 65:
Jared at Subway?...ya gotta watch that guy.....he looks Jewish.....he's probably Mossad......Seattle Seagulls and the Packers....Go Pack!....I gotta put some money on the Pack.
I figur Packers by 17.
The Bush-Cheney administration should be tried for war crimes in their deliberate aims of provoking as well as threatening Iran with military force. Hitler did such things in WWII and was held accountable at the Nuremberg Trials.
The United States has already committed Nazi crimes by threatening Iran with military force if it does not do A, B, or C, and then is trying to provoke Iran into a conflict--which are also Nazi crimes.
So, if you love America, you will ask the United States government, to stop provoking Iran--which are also Nazi crimes established at the Nuremberg Trials.
Andy K @ 65:
Maybe the ISI or the CIA, so many choices!
Andy K @ 65:
guess your finaly getting the picture!!!!!!oh wait that was just being snarky right!
This story is getting more ridiculous by the minute.
Well, there is one thing for sure, now that their little charade is up we're sure to get another message from "Osama bin Ladin" to give the chimp sumpin to talk about with those dear friends of ours, the Saudis, Kuwaitis and Israel.
Honestly, did *anyone* believe this story when it came out? I didn't even track it at all, so obvious was it's bullshitery. It's surprising to me that this got any traction at all. (Note: I gots no teevee.)
Orangutan. @ 44:
good comment. Fascism is on a sharp rise, and the best way to combat is with strong, intelligent words to the people we know online or otherwise. Lets be blunt. It's time.
mudshark @ 70:
And then you better hope the Giants win in Dallas. I don't think GB stands much of a chance going to Tex-ass.
I like the commercial where Jared looks like Reggie Bush is gonna kick his ass.
Mud Hippy @ 76:
agreed...obviously the govt moniters the internet and all the blogs.....to many people question their motives now....which could(should?) lead to very large protests...yeah...their watching.
tyree @ 73:
tyree, this isn't about anything more than profits, and mainly oil profits, with defense contractors' profits a distant second. The boards of those companies that profit from the situation are WASPS and Catholics and Arabs- and a few Jews to. And these boards aren't looking at national borders- they're looking at the bottom line. Euros, Dollars, Yuan, Rubles and Yen.
Bud @ 77:
wit Romo hangin in Cabo with his gal....and T.O. not up to par.........I'm takin the Giants...by3
Archae @ 1:
Exactly what I thought. They will start a war no matter what. Sounds fabricated. Just like the wmd's they keep showing that came from Iran with english stenciling all over them. Yeah, Iran makes weapons & imports them to Iran with english instructions. Idiots.
tyree- to follow up, take a gander at today's story on the phone companies cutting off the wiretaps because the FBI hasn't paid its bills. Money, money, money, money- MONEY!
Sorry for gettin' the thread ot, site monitor!
Back to the game at hand, football fans!
L.A. Confidential @ 12:
I will definitely stop driving if this happens.
Andy K @ 57:
Israel is very capable of false-flag operations. And it is no secret that Israel wants the USA to attack Iran.
Today, President Bush promised Likud opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu at a press conference, that he would pre-emptively attack & bomb Iran using, nukes, along with Israel.
Thus, the United States and Israel are on board in attacking Iran with nukes. Anyone who says America does not fight Israel's wars and that there is no collusion between the two countries when taking out Muslim nations is ignorant of reality.
Mike Malloy reported this tonight on his show, calling Likud opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu a "Fascist."
Stay tuned...
Andy K @ 57:
Because Israel wants the US to kick Iran's ass?
Just the way Israel wanted the US to kick Iraq's ass?
Who stands to BENEFIT from the Neocon agenda?
Save your outrage for Wolfowitz.
As soon as this story was planted... err I mean 'broke' in the press both my husband and I responded with an eye roll and sarcastic laugh.
It doesn't surprise me that they're back tracking now.
Poor shrub co. Nobody trusts them any more.
I wonder why?
'A Heartbeat Away' From War
With Iran and Pakistan
By Justin Raimondo
Antiwar.com
As the American people amuse themselves with the illusion that they have any say in the way they are presently governed, our rulers are moving toward war. Two recent incidents underscore the imminence of this prospect.
The Iranian "provocation" in the straits of Hormuz has set the stage for a new "crisis" manufactured wholly by the War Party, the rationale for which is uncritically accepted by our passive "mainstream" media. We are expected to believe that five minuscule
speedboats "menaced" the USS Hopper, a destroyer armed with missiles; the cruiser USS Port Royal; and the USS Ingraham, a frigate. That's rather like five gnats "menacing" a trio of elephants. Oh, but that's not all. In addition to intercepting the American flotilla, CNN reports the Iranians supposedly issued explicit threats:
"In one radio transmission, the Iranians told the U.S. Navy: 'I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes,' the U.S. military officials told CNN."
The Iranians, for their part, say nothing untoward occurred that doesn't happen all the time in the Gulf: they simply asked the ships to identify themselves, and it was all very routine.
I challenge anyone to look at the following video and tell me honestly they hear or see anything that looks like an Iranian "provocation." It's all very murky and dubious:
In any event, this is a provocation, all right – on the part of the Bush administration. As our president travels to Israel, the fulcrum of our policy of Mideast expansionism, there can be little doubt that this is all part of a carefully stage-managed effort to portray Iran as an aggressor – a scenario made doubly ironic when one considers that the U.S. has sent two aircraft carriers into the Gulf and has massed 150,000 troops in neighboring Iraq, where Washington accuses the Iranians of "interference."
We, of course, are allowed to invade countries with impunity: but Iran, which shares a long border with Iraq, and has close political and economic ties with the Iraqis, has no right to secure its own interests in the region. Israel has the right to defend itself: that's the mantra we hear without respite whenever the Israelis take it into their heads to launch yet another "incursion" into the Gaza strip or invade Lebanon – but the Iranians have no such reciprocal right, even a few miles from their own shore.
Funny how that works.
What I would like to know is this: what if Iranian ships were in the Gulf of Mexico, on some pretext or other – say, keeping the sea lanes open for the transport of material deemed necessary to Iran's "national security" – how would we feel about it? What, we would want to know, are Iranian ships doing a few miles from American shores?...This latest incident also underscores the significance of the recently-passed Kyl-Lieberman resolution, which Hillary Clinton voted for, that designates the Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization. The Iranian navy has withdrawn from the Gulf, and it is the Guards who constitute Iran's first line of defense. American warships and troops in the area are therefore empowered and even encouraged to engage in "hot pursuit" of these alleged "terrorists" – and embroil us in a conflict that will make the Iraq war seem like the "cakewalk" it was supposed to be.
Read the entire article @:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12176
MargeAggedon @ 88:
At least, I think, we can feel fairly confident that NOBODY in this country will believe a "false flag" attack perpetrated by anybody who feels like it would be politically expedient for them, especially with respect to declaring martial law and suspending the November elections.
I don't think Cheneybush has the guts to pull it off, knowing that we won't fall for it.
eroded47095 @ 87:
And Israel is the only player to want the US to go to war with Iran? Like I stated above, there are an assload of corporatists of differing national stripes hobnobbing in boardrooms across the globe who would benefit far more than any Israeli living in a West Bank settlement or a kibbutz on the Lebanese border.
Hell, Russia, with all of its oil and natural gas, and a hegemony over those resources in the former Soviets has a fuckload more to gain than Israel! With the Iraqi oilfields pretty much such down right now, with the oil fields of the Arabian Peninsula past their peak production, all you've gotta do is put the Iranian oilfields outta commission, and Putin's sittin' on top of a whole bunch more of an even more precious commodity...Use your brains, people!
And do you think that Israel would be safer if the war escalated? You don't need an airforce to deliver a nuke! Just let the zealots in the Pakistani military sneak a few nukes to zealots in Jordan, and all you need is a few bikes and backpacks!
Is this working any more?
I guess I have been banned from posting in here.
Mr. XXXX @ 86:
I guess I have been banned from posting in here.
Mike Malloy quoted Logan Murphy and Nicole Belle and Crooks and Liars on his show tonight....
Site Monitor: Why do you keep saying that? Do you see this post?
where is the Iranian video? I hear they released some footage today as well ..
Andy K @ 90:
If we are going to pick someone to blame, then let us just say the “powers that be” or “the ultra-wealthy”!
Why dont CIA just stage an Iranian attack on a US outpost in Iraq and post a fake antiamerican jihadislamofacistiranianrevolutionaryguardahmadinejad video on youtube?
Then Bush can give a speech to congress talk about he tried a peaceful sollution but that the US now must respond with military force
worked like a charm in Europe a few years ago
Mr. XXXX @ 92:
Nope. I still see ya.
There is something wrong here---did not mean to post that article TWICE....Sorry....
Andy K @ 90:
"By way of deception, thou shalt do war"
Have fun searching Google for that quote...
Andy K @ 90:
You're so right.
Israel is fully cleared.
I don't know why some are so sensitive about Israel getting a finger pointed in their faces.
As for me, a New Pearl Harbor Survivor in NYC, and most of my neighbors, most of us favor a fair solution, that Israel resists, but which would reduce overall terrorism for Americans.
And more than anything, we detest the unfair advantage we give to one side over the other.
America is more important than Russia or Israel.
Mr. XXXX @ 93:
My posts do not show up unless I press the "Refresh" button. Otherwise, I do not see anything I post.
America is lying about Iran....
I oppose any attack on Iran, whether it be Israel or the United States, or doing so together.
Mr XXXX....it happens from time to time..........a lot lately.
eroded47095 @ 100:
I'm not saying that there aren't those in Israel who mind this kind of brinksmanship- from Likud on over to the far right- I'm saying that it's not Israel as a whole. If right-wing American politicians take the US to war on false pretenses, do we blame America for that war simply because it exists?
You and I probably agree on this topic more than we disagree- and, btw, tell Europe that Russia isn't more important when Putin again decides to hold the natural gas hostage in the dead of winter- but what gets me is the tendency for many people to automatically blame Israel first when new problems arise anywhere in the general proximity (give or take a few thousand miles) of the Knesset.
Mr XXXX what seems to work when this happens is ...open another page(right now I have a sports page ).....then post your comment....and go to the other page..don't click it,just put the arrow on it.................seems to work for me.
Mr. XXXX @ 102:
And I agree with you on this.
I can no longer support Hillary Clinton for president.
I will not be voting for any of the Democrats or Republicans for the presidency. Both favor intimidation tactics of other nations and unilateral attacks on other nations. Both parties favor strong American military aggression and no accoutability for this reckless pursuit of making enemies and creating conflicts out of choice which in reality do not exist.
Both political parties are guilty of war crimes and the situation with Iran underscores that not only Bush, but Kyl, Lieberman, McCain, and Clinton are all part of committing war crimes as is the Bush-Cheney administration.
So we have two tiny speedboats going against Aegis class destroyers. Boy what a big threat. I bet the guys in the destroyers pissed their pants. It would be like a rowboat taking on the Bismarck.
JTM @ 63:
Hillary! Thanks Hillary! And thank you Barackstar for not voting against it! If Edwards were in the Senate he probably would have voted for it too! See, it's the same shit, just different assholes!
Don't get me started on LIEberman!
Chris @ 109:
I believe Barack Obama would have voted for the Kyl-Lieberman bill and now can claim "plausible deniability" in not being there. Obama wants it both ways. Obama's rhetoric of not taking anything off the table in regards to force against Iran or Pakistan should be enough proof to tell anyone that he is the same Imperial military aggressor that all the other candidates are in "protecting" the only superpower from these "Great Powers" of the third world. Obama and Clinton should be ashamed of themselves describing their foreign policy agendas.
The Republicans are hopeless.
The Democrats are useless....
Its all so pathetic.
It's pretty damn obvious that bush is the provocateur and he should be put away in prison.
Hey anyone else see this picture of him way more hammered then normal even in Israel?
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Bush_calls_for_end_to_67_0110.html
bmw 528 Says: So we have two tiny speedboats going against Aegis class destroyers. Boy what a big threat. I bet the guys in the destroyers pissed their pants. It would be like a rowboat taking on the Bismarck.
Well it was a bunch of string-and-canvas biplanes that undid the Bismarck, which isn't far off that, but still from the start this particular narrative was so ineptly pitched you could almost believe the
ShiteWhite House wanted to see how blatant it could be and still get away with it.The vibe I'm getting now is that the Navy, as in the actual people on the water, is not very happy with being a (mal)Administration tool. The Pentagon aren't being allowed to give the crafted narrative free rein.
Aeon @ 100:
I'll skip the google search since I'm getting ready to head to bed. But I'll take a guess and say it's from the book 'By Way of Deception'. Been a while since I read it but the quote sounds familar.
Goseph Gerbils @ 113:
Good point, the Swordfish, while basically obsolete still scored a lucky hit on the Bismarck that jammed the rudder. As you say, the whole incident was seriously overblown for the Politboro's self centered propaganda purposes. And the Navy should be pissed off about being used by charlatans.
Administration ‘Gets Smart’ on Claim of Iranian Speedboats
Andy K @ 57:
Try reading the IPS article!! Sounds like it was most likely a sailor on one of the US ships.
Bush will do anything to turn Iran into year zero and privatize their oil
Perfect follow up to the large cache of nuclear weapons they captured from Saddam Hussein.
Another example on how the United States lied. BBC showed the US tape and the Iran tape. Iran was telling the truth and the US lied. Gates later came out and tried to spin the lie as if the US never really said what they said. This report was made up by the GOP who want to bomb Iran for no reason. Americans have believed the fake tape of Bin Laden as the Media sold the lie and it was so funny to see the fake Bin Laden. If only the American people would read the international news overseas as it was been reported long ago Osama Bin Laden is dead. Now the White House and Rudy/McCain use the name Bin Laden just to keep Americans in fear. But it's understandable as Americans believe what ever their told by the White House and Media.
Different Anonymous @ 75:
Probably there were some believers. But like you I found it to be obviously suspicious.
Tonkin never happened. Ask any white hat who was on the Maddox or Turner Joy in Aug 1964. Actually we did shoot down a civilian Iranian airliner over the straights and the deadliest attack on a US naval ship since WWII was by Israel. But we don't question those things.
The most ironic thing about all of this is that it happened right after the release of the NSA records, including the "revelations" about the Gulf of Tonkin incident... you know, that it was a lie.
Not 2 days after that information comes to light and is discussed in the press... we have this "provocative" incident... that now seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser each day.
There's not that much coincidence in the universe
'course now that I think about it, I bet it was a US sailor "messing around" on the radio. You know someone on one of the ships during the incident engaging in a little radio chatter... same as the guy making the identify and clear statement, who incredulously repeats... "soon you will explode, etc."
something that was revealed as soon as the brass started digging around.
Those speedboats were much more distant on this video than they were on the evening news, where they appeared to be in spitting range. Stock footage shown as actual footage on the evening news to make it look like a serious threat? Nah, can't happen.
My god, Bush and his twisted military nut bags just completely fabricated that story! They even forged fake radio messages!
I stood there when the lie was first told, and I wondered why any competent ship's captain would not have immediately blown the Iranian boats out of the water if they directly threatened him. Now I know why nothing was done: The whole story was a lie.
Will there be no repercussions for this?
No repercussions. Just promotions.
How convenient! Just as Bush is heading to Israel to most likely discuss how to manufacture excuses to attack Iran. And, OH!, the indignation of the administration! Seems like a precursor of an attack to me. Perhaps Israel can manufacture one of their famous "false-flag" attacks on an American warship and blame it on Iran? Maybe the CFR, Tri-Laterals and Council of 300 new world order failures have ordered it to be so?
At any rate, Georgie can get his ducks in a row for the attack while in Israel. Maybe he can position more troops in Afghanistan and "surround 'em" like an old western movie. These people bear watching closely.
Bush probably had the voice added to the tape for propaganda purposes. Does anyone doubt this criminal administration would do something like that?
the voice in the first video was fake because the accent was phony, just listen to the letter "O" in the word explode. That O is too American English... even British English don't pronounce their "O"s so heftily as in that video.
remember the uss liberty. the 40 year anniversary just past in 07, without so much as a wimper....
Have we learned nothing from the USS Cole yet?
Sorry Georgie, if our multimil cruisers and carriers are still vulnerable to sardine seiners with outboard Evinrudes, this war is lost...
All Bush is saying, is give war a change...
Another chance anyway.
Funny how what Iran did was "provocative", but when Bush makes threats or invades countries
that have nothing to do with attacking ours, it's okay, not at all "provocative".
That clip from Iran seems pretty Hi Qual to me... Ummmm
I don't think that those little outboard boats using ww2 wooden bombs is threat.
Iran knows bushy is nuts they won't start something with us....
I read somewhere (I think at Larry Johnson's blog) that the so-called Iraqi verbal taunting and threatening language was in a Iranian accent. SOmething about how Iranians pronounce their "P"s, But I belive absolutely that the U.S. is capable of fabricating dialogue to try to frame another country for threatening the U.S.. They've already gone down that road too many times for anyone to trust the word of the Pentagon.
Well, someone's desperate for a fight... but it's not the Iranians!
NEW PENTAGON VIDEO SURFACES OF IRANIAN PROVOCATEURS
Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcaFC1vF0Q
Another valiant effort to invade Iran courtesy of BushCo. The lies about the NIE report didn't work ('9/11 tactic/Let's Invade Iraq tactic'), this isn't going to work ('Gulf of Tomkin' tactic), it'll be interesting to see what they come up with next. I doubt there's any coincidence this was all fabricated before his trip to the Middle East to do some Iran drum banging over there. The worst part is between this and the previous lies about their nuclear program, it's making Iran look like the honest people here and, if we do ever decide to invade them, is definitely not going to win any hearts and minds on the international level. I know that country is not Canada or anything but thus far all their rebuttals have been correct while the BushCo rantings are being quickly disproved. Other countries are watching us.
I weep for the future....
The Bush Doctrine -- Bomb first, ask questions later.
What's a few more hundred thousand innocent dead over a mistake? Heck -- they're not Americans.
Hang the war criminals. Now. Before it's too late.
Complacency is deadly.
This is not backtracking. The US Navy stated from the beginning that there was no way to verify the radio transmission came from one of the boats, as it was on an open frequency (otherwise, they couldn't have heard it at all).
If you were driving down a highway with a CB radio on and an 18 wheeler was tailgating you and flashing his lights, you couldn't be certain that the voice on channel 19 shouting "I'm gonna run you off the road!" was coming from that truck any more than the Navy can know the voice threatening an explosion was coming from the Iranian small boats. But you'd probably take that threat pretty seriously under those circumstances.
The lessons of the USS Cole should remain fresh in our minds. Don't be so quick to judge our sailors just because you don't like the President.
Holy shit. SPEEDBOATS?! I thought they were naval vessels! (I don't have TV, so i didn't see anything until now,...)
What's next? Jet skis? Parasails? Water wings? We're the fucking United States, we almost started World War 3 because of some college kids on Ski-Doos?
Just shoot me now!
If Iran had a ship off our coast Bush & Cheney would have blown it up, called Marshall Law, declared "official" war on Iran- the 2008 election would be scrapped and all middle eastern residents and U.S. citizens of of middle eastern decent(s) would be rounded up and placed in FEMA internment camps. Iran knows this as do most other countries which is why they stay the fuck away from here. This is utter bullshit to the enth degree. How much more of this horseshit are we going to put up with? If we do not collectively get our shit together and put these war mongering fucks in jail where they belong- well, then we will all be doomed and we will become accomplices.
bushco has managed once again to belittle our armed forces, this time the USN, by making them look like they were "afraid" of "patrol boats".
what a pinhead!
I'm a USN vet.
those were speed boats, the kind anyone can own and go enjoy the waterways with. they posed no threat to the navy ships and no commander of any ship or boat would get into a pissing contest with a bunch of speed boats.
the voice sounded a hell of alot like boat to boat comms and the crew goofing off, another indication there was no concern here, just the normal watchstander boardom and easy watchfullness.
the navy is well versed in NON_ESCALATION! the restraint of power is where true power lies and it's damned sad bush doesn't have a clue concerning that.
Does anyone remember the movie Wag the Dog? That was my first reaction to the Navy film. Then I remembered that the Navy has a record of this sort of thing. Does anyone remember the Gulf of Tonkien incident, later proved to be a fabrication. Now with the video equivalent of Photoshop, they can actually make a video to bolster their "incident" when they go to Congress for a Straights of Hormuz resolution.
I really sad that, when I first heard this story, I thought my government was lying, again.
Oh! And even sadder was the fact I was right.
When Iranian warships are off the US Coast, or Iraqi weapons inspectors are allowed to inspect US Nuclear facilities, we might be justified. Other than that, this is nothing but pure Egotism and Arrogance...no wonder we are hated worldwide.
Bud @ 19:
What does this have to do with US Navy, Iranian speedboats, etc?
Gareth Porter: Official Version of U.S.-Iranian Naval Incident Starts to Unravel
The United States has lodged a formal diplomatic protest against Iran for its “provocation” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning. But new information reveals that the alleged Iranian threat to American naval vessels may have been blown out of proportion. We speak to investigative historian Gareth Porter.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/11/us_backs_off_claim_of_naval
Well, this alleged crisis or confrontation on the high seas is really much less than what met the eyes of the American public as it was reported by news media. And the story really began from leaks from the Pentagon. I mean, there were Pentagon officials apparently calling reporters and telling them that something had happened in the Strait of Hormuz, which represented a threat to American ships and that there was a near battle on the high seas. The way it was described to reporters, it was made to appear to be a major threat to the ships and a major threat of war. And that’s the way it was covered by CNN, by CBS and other networks, as well as by print media.
Then I think the next major thing that happened was a briefing by the commander of the 5th fleet in Bahrain, the Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, which is very interesting. If you look carefully at the transcript, which was not reported accurately by the media, or not reported at all practically, the commander—or rather, Vice Admiral Cosgriff actually makes it clear that the ships were never in danger, that they never believed they were in danger, and that they were never close to firing on the Iranian boats. And this is the heart of what actually happened, which was never reported by the US media.
So I think that the major thing to really keep in mind about this is that it was blown up into a semi-crisis by the Pentagon and that the media followed along very supinely. And I must say this is perhaps the worst—the most egregious case of sensationalist journalism in the service of the interests of the Pentagon, the Bush administration, that I have seen so far.
A strange situation indeed. There are obviously a speed boat or two swarming around, but how does anyone really know they are Iranian? Why would a couple of little speed boats do that to a massive war ship armed to the teeth? All I see are blue speed boats. Were Iranian colors being flown? How do we know the true origin the 'you will blow up' threat? Was it from the speed boats, from another ship in the vicinity or from land? Giving the WarPigs reputation for deception how does anyone really know that it wasn't spliced in? It could have very well been a false-flag operation.
Login or Register to post comments.