We have heard of the recent Persian Gulf incident, regarding the ten U.S. Navy sailors whose two boats accidentally drifted into Iranian waters, while sailing between Kuwait and Bahrain, and communications were lost. They were captured by Iranian naval forces and the incident was over in twenty-four hours, no harm, no foul, no injuries.
This episode has been way overblown by right-wing media, and here's why: We have a political party, the GOP, and its mouthpiece, Fox 'News,' who are rooting for any example of failure or embarrassment to our own country simply because they are not the current political party in charge. Therefore, any slight anomaly that occurs, no matter how small, will be blown completely out of proportion. You'd think these self-professed patriots would know how to at least appear to be good citizens, but we know their modus operandi. Their thinking resembles a middle school child, upset at losing, who won't let anyone play because he's taking his ball and going home.
The most glaring example of this double standard would be the Benghazi attacks. No doubt, it was tragic that four Americans lost their lives in the Libyan Consulate. However, the amount of attention and money devoted to the investigation of that one incident is exponentially greater than any probe into the 51+ deaths and over a dozen embassy attacks that occurred under Bush 43's watch.
Doocy, Kooiman and Kilmeade were ready to attack Kirby and have him admit that this incident was one of the most embarrassing events to ever happen to the U.S. Military. They wanted him to discuss the weak and 'feckless' leadership that has caused the United States to lose face in the international community. But Kirby wasn't there to cater to their fearmongering nonsense. He praised the new diplomacy between our nations as the reason that this incident was resolved especially quickly and peacefully.
The initial reports indicated that there might have been a problem with one of the boats. There was no U.S. Government apology. The only apology came, naturally, from one of the captured sailors, who sincerely regretted drifting into Iran's waters. He was contrite simply to protect his crew and keep everyone safe. He was cooperating. This is certainly not the time for bravado and bluster. Kirby explained that the young sailor did what any sailor would do in this situation, and this isn't the first time this has happened. Remarkably, this was one of the most quickly resolved situations, thanks to the newly opened lines of communication.
He wasn't following Fox 'News' protocol and bashing the Obama foreign policy. So they let Kilmeade really go after Kirby, rather agressively.
KIRBY: We have a robust military presence to deal with Iran's provocative behavior. Nobody is turning a blind eye to what this regime is capable of.
KILMEADE: But you look SO WEAK! The State Department is making America look weak and meek. And that is the message to the Middle East where you spend the most of your career.
KIRBY: Look, I can tell you that we have a robust military presence in the area. Nobody's turning a blind eye to Iran. It isn't about a trust relationship with Iran. We are mindful of what Iran is capable of that's why we're so engaged in the Middle East. That's why we're trying to work through diplomacy to solve some of these problems, it's complicated, there's no doubt about that.
KILMEADE: But you're giving them $150 billion this weekend despite this provocative behavior! Why are you rewarding this behavior?
KIRBY: Nobody is giving them $150 billion. This is about sanctions relief tied to the Iran Nuclear Deal. And you got to remember Brian, that that sanctions relief is tied to them cutting off all pathways to their nuclear weapons capability. And an Iran without a nuclear weapons capability, I think even you would agree, is safer and better for the region than an Iran that has those weapons.
Brian Kilmeade doesn't care about the facts and details of the Iran deal, he feels that they are already violating the provisions of the complicated and monumental agreement.
KILMEADE: Fundamentally we don't believe that we're doing that. (so there)
In addition to the claim that the U.S. military is now Iran's bitch, the Fox Friends were appalled that one of the sailors, who was female, was forced to wear a hijab, like all women in Iran. This was the ultimate slap in the face to the Islamophobic GOP and their Fox 'News' mouthpiece. Apparently, this is more of an outrage than the murder of unarmed Black men, en masse, in their own country.
