Pentagon Backtracks On Naval Confrontation With Iran, Says Threat May Not Have Come From Iranians
Pentagon Backtracks On Naval Confrontation With Iran, Says Threat May Not Have Come From Iranians
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said that three of its Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz had been harassed and provoked by Iranian speedboats. The Navy said it had felt so threatened that it was about to open fire on the boats. A four-minute video of the episode provided to the public by the Pentagon contained one particularly harrowing moment:
“I am coming to you,” a heavily accented voice says in English. “You will explode after a few minutes.”
Navy officials said the voice was recorded from the internationally recognized bridge-to-bridge radio channel.
Some bloggers were immediately skeptical, noting the voice did not sound Iranian. Iran released its own video, arguing the footage did not show any Iranian boats approaching the U.S. vessels, nor any provocation. Today, the Navy acknowledged that the verbal threat made in the tape may not have been Iranian:
“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.”
Without definitive evidence that it was Iran who was making the provocative verbal threats, Bush nevertheless seized on the episode — just hours before he was set to depart for the Middle East — to underscore “his assertion that the Iranians are capable of acting recklessly.” “We viewed it as a provocative act,” Bush said. Yesterday, he warned Iran, “There will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple.”
Newshoggers has more.
UPDATE: At a Pentagon news conference just now, a reporter asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “You said yesterday that other similar incidents have occurred. Can you say what about this incident on Sunday was particularly different that created such a stir?” Gates argued there were more Iranian boats this time, and they were “more aggressive.” Watch it:
UPDATE II: Gareth Porter writes, “New information over the past three days suggests that the incident did not involve such a threat and that no U.S. commander was on the verge of firing at the Iranian boats.”
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What a surprise.
Not.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pmIt sounded like someone doing a very bad Arnold Swarzenegger (sp) impression.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pmWe’re not buying it at TheZoo either.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pmBush will do ANYTHING to trump up another Tonkin Gulf incident to gin up the long-desired war with Iran the neocons want.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pmIn 1964 they pulled it off. In 2008, with little credibility for this government, they had to show their work. And it’s about the level of a junior high school crank call which is the mentality of George W. Bush.
Straits of Hormuz Incident: almost certainly a fake
January 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pmhttp://www.dailykos.com/ story/ 2008/ 1/ 10/ 131910/ 754/ 859/ 434427
WOW I didn’t see that coming. Not the part about it not being Iranian boats, the part where the CIA admitted they got it wrong.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pmOMG. It was the Gulf of Tonkin, 2008 version. Who will be held responsible for this attempt to provoke a US attack on Iran?
January 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pmThom Hartmann just mentioned this on the radio. If youre reading this , HI THOM!!!! YOURE AWESOME!!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pmIt may not have come from Iran, but it sure did come in time to give warmonger McCain a boost in NH!
Woohooo… Americans are the most stupid idiotic sheeple to ever walk the face of God’s green Earth.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pmThank God Bush won’t have his hand near the button for too much longer.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pmThere will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple.†-VV
Pure? NO
Simple: You got it.
The Presidunce summed himself up nicely with that last word.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:44 pmGee… I didn’t realize that the Israeli Mossad had boats in Iranain waters.
WHAT A SURPRISE!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pmhttp://ccoaler.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ blackwater-dropped-blinding-tear-gas-on.html
Blackwater gases US armed forces
January 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pmThis incident COULD have been serious, IF our government had any credibility at home or abroad.
Come to think of it… our government also has a history of ignoring good sense and the will of the people, and doing what they damn well please anyway so maybe it IS serious after all…
January 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pmAm I surprise by this? I think not. Another bag of tricks from the Mangler-in-chief to promote an attack on Iran. Most of the American people are hipped to the Hot Air President’s tactics.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pmLemme guess, it was really Captain Nemo and Jules Verne’s Nautilus.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pmBlackwater gases US armed forces ccookz
January 10th, 2008 at 2:48 pmStory was reported in Think Fast today.
Iran has called the video of the nations’ nautical incident in the Strait of Hormuz (SN reported) “fabricated” in statements carried on state-run television. The Revolutionary Guard Navy disputed that the event occurred.
Wow… the Iranian government is more honest than the US government.
WHAT HAS BECOME OF US?
January 10th, 2008 at 2:48 pmSorry, I meant ccokz.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pmHmmmmmm
January 10th, 2008 at 2:50 pmBush, at a hastily-organised press conference, said: “Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to drive speed boats.”
Bush, questioned by a reporter who said he looked dispirited, said: “I feel … pretty good about life,” and claimed “nothing’s changed” in relation to the danger posed by Iran. “What’s to say they [the Iranians] couldn’t start a speedboat programme,” the president said.
“Iran is a threat to world peace,” Mr Bush declared. “Iran was a threat, Iran is a threat and Iran will be threat to world peace if the international community does not come together and prevent that nation from the development of the know how to drive speedboats,” he said.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:51 pmThe sad thing is that if and when any vessels DO actually threaten us, nobody will believe it. We’ve been lied to WAY too often.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:51 pmWHAT HAS BECOME OF US?
Comment by JPV — January 10, 2008 @ 2:48 pm
As if this was new. Empire America has it’s beginnings in the Korean War.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:52 pmand now people begin to realize how there can be so many conspiracy theories about 9/11… this regime will do just about anything to enforce their will upon the American People….
That being said, I don’t think this regime had anything to do with 9/11 other than exploiting it for their own personal use… their track record isn’t exactly boosting confidence in their ability to pull something that complicated off….
January 10th, 2008 at 2:53 pmIf anything has been learned by the seven years of Bush is that we must question all news. Especially, anything emanating from Defense and Father-Land Security.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pmUnfortunately because of the constant lies coming out of the government (with Bush’s and Cheney’s blessings) you really have to question every freaking thing that they do and say.
It really makes a sad statement about how corrupt these guys have made the entire republican party.
The shear volume of corruption investigations is absolutely staggering.
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
January 10th, 2008 at 2:57 pmWow, almost another new Gulf of Tonkin type of event, hardly surprising from Bush and the neocons.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pmReport reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/ s/ afp/ 20080108/ pl_afp/ usvietnamintelligence512
i posted about this on the FAST thread this a.m. …
also this:
Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks
Tue Jan 8, 9:45 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - North Vietnamese made hoax calls to get the US military to bomb its own units during the Vietnam War, according to declassified information that also confirmed US officials faked an incident to escalate the war.
The report was released by the National Security Agency, responsible for much of the United States’ codebreaking and eavesdropping work, in response to a “mandatory declassification†request, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said Monday.
From the first intercepted cable — a 1945 message from Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to his Russian counterpart Joseph Stalin — to the final evacuation of US spies from Saigon, the 500-page report retold Vietnam War history from the perspective of “signals intelligence,†the group said in a statement.
[…]
http://news.yahoo.com/ s/ afp/ 20080108/ pl_afp/ usvietnamintelligence512;_ylt=ApyCGXOhHutNdoeKsrxQblWs0NUE
NEVER trust… ANYone… EVER…
sad…
January 10th, 2008 at 3:00 pmfu(k this $h-it!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:00 pmWag the Dog isn’t working anymore. I guess the fake Bin Laden tapes were’re enough now Gates has to explain the fake attack. You wonder what no one believes the US. Oh and my boy Rudy uses a fake bomb to get votes, as he knows the fake phone call from the 3 rd wife worked.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:01 pmkaty and Uncle Ho-
January 10th, 2008 at 3:04 pmAMEN!
huh… how ’bout that, 1984…
January 10th, 2008 at 3:04 pm*jinx*!
I just called McWar’s office. Surprise. They knew nothing about the Navy’s reassessment of the “incident.” The timing of this news story on Sunday no doubt was a boost to the war-mongering campaign speeches of McCain. Where is his response to this story?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pmDitch Mitch KY - hey, was that you i just heard on ed schultz?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:06 pmLike the boy who cried “Wolf” about Iraq -none of it was true. The administration is trying to do it all over again in Iran.
This is why the Bushies have a credibility gap bigger than the Grand Canyon. They should be hung for the war criminals they are.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pmGulf of Tonkin?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:09 pmIn the spirit of this new revelation I would like to revisit the new casulties figure that TP posted yesterday . Door to door surveys when millions have left their homes to become refugees ? The new figure is DRAMATICALLY lower than any I have heard before ,how nice for the pro war candidates .
January 10th, 2008 at 3:10 pmI doubt it is even remotely accurate !
It onviously isn’t the boogie man he always says I’m coming to get U .
January 10th, 2008 at 3:14 pmWe should all remember Bush’s desire to use a plane painted in UN Colors to lure Saddam into an hostile act which could then justify the war…
January 10th, 2008 at 3:14 pmWhy isn’t the administration in jail? Why does sh*t like this not trigger outrage? Because we, the people, have been neutered?
The Pentagon idjits should have lost their jobs for provoking a war. They had to know the intelligence was questionable rather than this half-@ssed “oopsie” crap.
Why are we tolerating having a bunch of children play with our military like they were a bag of plastic army men? Why are they still in power?
Er..that is, besides the liability of the spineless enabling dems, the idiots in NH who actually voted for McCain, or Romney, or the drooling inbreds in Iowa who actually voted for Huckabee, or the brainless buffoons who voted for bush at all…or the lackwits who approved e-voting machines….
Nevermind…I think I see the problem….
January 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pmThe Pentagon made the same comments yesterday, and merely clarified them today. Quit trying to make a story where there is none TP!
Oh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
All you apologists for totalitarianism go home now. Nothing to see. Move on.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:19 pmTypical - an event happens. WH paints it with a “TERRAH!” label. Liberals question it. Trolls vehemently defend the prez.
Facts come out which force backtracking.
No apologies or corrections from the WH. No apologies or corrections from MSM. No apologies or corrections from the Trolls.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:21 pmOh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
No, he did not. That was a particular interpretation of language translation. It was a more poetic phrase referring to the historical rift and removing the animosity.
Quit trying to make a story where there is none JT!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:22 pmProof that those who don’t read
January 10th, 2008 at 3:26 pmhistorybooks that don’t come with cartoons on the front are doomed to repeat it.What Maplestreet said @ 46. He (she?) said it perfectly.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:26 pmThe timing of this news story on Sunday no doubt was a boost to the war-mongering campaign speeches of McCain. Where is his response to this story?
Comment by Ditch Mitch KY — January 10, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
And we know the regular Republicans are trying to get rid of Huckabee so what better way to boost McWar. Then Rove is out there trying to boost Hillary because they know McCrazy can beat her.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:27 pm45 — JT - Ol’ Chimpy said he was gonna catch Osama bin Laden “dead or alive” and “bring him to justice”….
So…..what the hell’s yer point, boy?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:28 pmHere’s how to be elected in America:
January 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pmTell America it should be afraid, and then miss-inform the public or fabricate as to who’s to blame for their fear. Same old thing has being going on since the dawn of time. Man: Tradition with no Progress.
For anyone who may be knowledgeable about the Tonkin Gulf incident, a brief summery.
The Tonkin Gulf is just off the coast of Vietnam. In 1964, a US destroyer the USS Maddox was cruising around, and was attacked by North Vietnamese PT boats. Shortly after, the Maddox was joined by a another destroyer, the USS C. Turner Joy. Another attack was reported, and LBJ launched retaliatory air strikes in response. LBJ then pushed through the Tonkin Gulf Resolution through Congress with only 2 dissenting votes in the Senate(Wayne Morse & Ernst Gruening). The resolution called for the President to take any measure to “prevent” aggression in SE Asia.(Very much like the resolution granted to W. in 2003 in regards to Iraq)
The 2nd attack NEVER occurred but the administration never came clean about that. They had their desired Congressional approval which was used to greatly expand the war in Vietnam.
The 1st attack happened because the ARVN(South Vietnamese army)was conducting raids on the North at that time. the Maddox was conducting electronic surveillance of the NVA communications during the raid-I.e. in collusion with ARVN in the attacks.
The surveillance was Op Plan 34- DeSoto.
you can read more about it by links: The Pentagon Papers; Tonkin Gulf Resolution; Daniel Ellsberg; Vietnam war; DeSoto? Op Plan 34?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pmOh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
For the record, we don’t live in Israel. And the “fascist regime” is led by Bush/Cheney only you’re too dumb to see it.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pmooops; ist paragraph should read …not knowledgeable…
Sorry.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pmAt least show that you care about America a little bit.
Comment by Daryll — January 10, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
Did you collect some souls in Brazil, Daryll?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:37 pmAt least show that you care about America a little bit.
Comment by Daryll — January 10, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
The part of America you live in Daryll, I say let the Iranians have it. Why don’t you move down to Texas and Iran can take the whole freakin’ state right after W gets back to the ranch.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:37 pmLibs, do not be unpatriotic. At least show that you care about America a little bit.
Comment by Daryll — January 10, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
When do reich-wingers know how to act “patriotic”? Reich-winger demand that US soldiers must die and stay in harms way to save herr dubyah’s face. Reich-wingers, do not be unpatriotic. At least show that you care about America a little bit.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pmBTW, it’s good to see that supposed suicide bombers wear life vest when they mount their attacks by sea.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pmHere is the real truth behind the Iranian “wipe off the map” bongwater:
Juan Cole:
The phrase he then used as I read it is “The Imam said that this regime occupying Jerusalem (een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods) must [vanish from] from the page of time (bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad).”
Ahmadinejad was not making a threat, he was quoting a saying of Khomeini and urging that pro-Palestinian activists in Iran not give up hope– that the occupation of Jerusalem was no more a continued inevitability than had been the hegemony of the Shah’s government.
Whatever this quotation from a decades-old speech of Khomeini may have meant, Ahmadinejad did not say that “Israel must be wiped off the map” with the implication that phrase has of Nazi-style extermination of a people. He said that the occupation regime over Jerusalem must be erased from the page of time.
Again, Ariel Sharon erased the occupation regime over Gaza from the page of time.
http://www.juancole.com/ 2006/ 05/ hitchens-hacker-and-hitchens.html
JT, go haunt some other website with Obama-madrassa crap…
January 10th, 2008 at 3:40 pm#56 Uncle Ho- thanks for the Tonkin Gulf post. I do hope folks here take time to read this and understand the significance to the political climate today.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:40 pmfu(k this $h-it!
Comment by Uncle Ho
Yeah, fuck this shit!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pmcomment by Darryll @ 3:34 pm
So Darryll, have you enlisted yet? After all, you must surely want to be in the 1st wave in invading Iran. If not, STFU!!!!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pmSo Darryll, have you enlisted yet? After all, you must surely want to be in the 1st wave in invading Iran. If not, STFU!!!!
Comment by Uncle Ho — January 10, 2008 @ 3:41 pm
Hell no, Daryll thinks he’s too busy saving souls. The dumbass doesn’t even know he lost his own a long time ago.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:43 pmAll you apologists for totalitarianism go home now. Nothing to see. Move on.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
Go look up “totalitarianism,” fool.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:43 pmOh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
All you apologists for totalitarianism go home now. Nothing to see. Move n.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
And herr dubyah really DID say he wanted to start WIII with Iran. Go explain that one, reich-wingers, as you snuggle with herr dubyah’s fascist regime.
All you apologists for totalitarianism go home now. Nothing to see. Move on.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:43 pmEmpire America has it’s beginnings in the Korean War.
Comment by Namtillaku
Nahh, way back.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pmleftcoast; Many posters are young, and to them, relating to the Vietnam era is like WWII was for me. No familiarity.
Since I came of age in the 1960s, this whole Iraq/Iran crap is deja vu. For those too young to remember, Vietnam was a REAL BUMMER. Iraq is this generation’s Vietnam. I do not care to see another wall with tens of thousands of names engraved.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pmThe Iranians are coming! The Iranians are coming!
Same tactic, different decade.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pmThe really BIG question, and one that of course is not being asked, is what on Earth would Iran have to gain by attacking US ships in the region?
The Bush administration has certainly shown that they are extremely trigger happy and are just chomping at the bit to use nukes against Iran.
So the other really BIG question is… who has the most to gain from an incident such as what this one could have so easily developed into?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pm“I am coming to you,†a heavily accented voice says in English. “You will explode after a few minutes.â€
You…American…big boom.
Death to Infidels…now or
January 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pmsend Daryll…we don’t have gays…we want some…
Nook-yular Speedboats of Mass Destruction! Whoo-Hoo! We got’s us a war goin’ on! Can we bomb ‘em now, Unka Dick?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pmThe speed coasts are cruising around at high-speeds but the voice is quite clear with no background engine or wind noise. Are you reich-wingers just pretending to be stupid?
January 10th, 2008 at 3:56 pmCorrection: “The speed *boats*….”
January 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pmAre you reich-wingers just pretending to be stupid?
Comment by Dr. Matt — January 10, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
Nope they’re the real thing.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:01 pmWeak and pathetic.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:02 pmLet me understand this: some Iranian speedboats zoom towards some US ships, some threatening words are heard (supposedly at the same time, though that’s uncertain), and the President and Secty of Defense of the most powerful country in the world are going about crying “boo hoo! those meanies!”
What am I missing?
January 10th, 2008 at 4:06 pmWhat made me suspicious of the video was how quickly it was released.
The event occured that day, and they were on television the same day. Both the audio and the video.
Comment by BARTLEBEE
It was actually aired a day or two later, just in time to give McCain a boost in the NH primary.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:09 pmLet me understand this: some Iranian speedboats zoom towards some US ships, some threatening words are heard (supposedly at the same time, though that’s uncertain), and the President and Secty of Defense of the most powerful country in the world are going about crying “boo hoo! those meanies!â€
What am I missing?
Comment by stefan
The part where the MSM was crying about Iranian ships “harassing” an American carrier fleet that has been parked right off the coast of Iran in order to “harass” Iran for the last year.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:12 pmOK, Daryll. I’ll suggest something here to protect America.
You. Get out. Take your fundy pals and corporate whores (one and the same in many cases) with you. Extra bonus points, take Dubya and Dick with you. Found a new nation, call it Jesusland. Also, take the US debt with you. Then we, with our newly debtless country, will obliterate you, Dubya, Darth, and the rest of the American Taliban, not for national security, but for PLANETARY security. Remove a few excess nukes, as well as the greatest threat to the safety and security of the human race.
The fallout will be a small price to pay for removing the American Taliban and its supporters in one fell stroke.
I imagine China will be rightly pissed at us for removing its ability to collect the debt your Most Revered and Holy President (snicker) has run up in the last 7 years, but frankly, I couldn’t care less.
In short.
Daryll?
Get lost.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pmIranians are planning to water ski to America, then attack us.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pmIf we do not attack, they will destroy our nation.
Comment by Daryll
I thought it was Israel that they threatened to destroy… oh wait a minute… “our nation”?
You didn’t say America.
Exactly just what nation are you talking about?
January 10th, 2008 at 4:15 pmWill somebody PLEASE impeach these warmongering, bloodthirsty MONSTERS before World War 3 erupts!
Vote Kucinich!
January 10th, 2008 at 4:16 pmThen Rove is out there trying to boost Hillary because they know
McCrazy can beat her.
Comment by Shayne @ 3:27 pm
mcCRAZY / huckaBIBLE…
January 10th, 2008 at 4:22 pmPentagon Backtracks On Naval Confrontation With Iran, Says Threat May Not Have Come From Iranians
January 10th, 2008 at 4:22 pmIf this story stirred up the masses as they hoped it would, there would be no back tracking.
By now, most of US see this for what it really is.
I know who the voice is. The Penatgon hired the guy who does “Apu” (the Quik-E-Mart owner) on the Simpsons. He’s also the voice of Bin Ladin on all those tapes. But he can do a fanatical Iranian, in a pinch, if asked.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:23 pmDoes Daryll really think that if any nation attacks us we will fall apart? We’ve decimated 2 countries just because of 9/11. Right or wrong is another thread but remember back to the unified outrage and patriotism that took place on and right after 9/11. All of that was missguided for Bush’ missadventures, hence the outrage at our current president.
In no way shape or form does outrage translate into surrender at the sign of an attack.
this country has always been it’s strongest when retailiating, not conducting preemptive strikes.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:24 pmOh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
All you apologists for totalitarianism go home now. Nothing to see. Move on.
Comment by JT
Sorry loon tool JT. The President of Iran DID NOT say he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Here is the real translation of what he said:
According to Juan Cole, a University of Michigan Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History, Ahmadinejad’s statement should be translated as:
The Imam said that this regime occupying Jerusalem (een rezhim-e eshghalgar-e qods) must [vanish from] the page of time (bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad).[13]
Norouzi’s translation is identical.[12] According to Cole, “Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ because no such idiom exists in Persian”. Instead, “He did say he hoped its regime, i.e., a Jewish-Zionist state occupying Jerusalem, would collapse.”[14]
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translates the phrase similarly.[15] On June 15, 2006 The Guardian columnist and foreign correspondent Jonathan Steele published an article based on this reasoning.[16]
January 10th, 2008 at 4:30 pmYou…American…big boom.
Death to Infidels…now or
send Daryll…we don’t have gays…we want some…
Comment by Juan C. — January 10, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
AH HAHAHAhahaha… aaahhhhh…
good one, juan… L O L …
January 10th, 2008 at 4:36 pmIranians are planning to water ski to America, then attack us.
Comment by Dr. Matt — January 10, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
and another! L O L !!!
January 10th, 2008 at 4:47 pmOur fathers weren’t afraid of the entire world, but it seems the new patriot is afraid of his own shadow.
Comment by BARTLEBEE — January 10, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
They have shadows in their mom’s basement where they hide?
January 10th, 2008 at 4:49 pmI guess their computer monitors may cast a shadow….
UPDATE II: Gareth Porter writes, “New information over the past three days suggests that the incident did not involve such a threat and that no U.S. commander was on the verge of firing at the Iranian boats.â€
So, who’s making up this bullshit?
January 10th, 2008 at 4:52 pmIs it the clowns in the pentagon, in the CIA, in fox news, in the white house, in karl rove’s bunker?
Iranians are planning to water ski to America, then attack us.
Comment by Dr. Matt — January 10, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
They are planning to use ski-doos and pull lots of rubber inflatable mats behind them, for a more massive invasion.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:53 pmHoly shit, Darryll…you really are retarded. :o/
January 10th, 2008 at 4:59 pmWayne, BARTLEBEE; It’s quite obvious that Daryll is an idiot.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm“We’re saying that we cannot make a direct connection to the boats there,†said the spokesperson.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:04 pmTranslation; It could have been a far to thinly veiled covert operation by the CIA and/or Mossad to provoke a confrontation with Iran.
it’s even MORE obvious that Daryll is a Parodyll…
… i swear…
January 10th, 2008 at 5:06 pmkaty; I probably shouldn’t ask, but I’ll bite. WTF is a Parodyll?
January 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pmKaty. Heh. ;)
January 10th, 2008 at 5:14 pmThe Iranians were obviously practicing for an attack, and anyone who opposes immediate military action against Iran is a traitor who should either leave the country, or be locked up until the war on terror is over.
It’s also obvious we’ll have to postpone the 2008 election indefinitely; can’t change leaders in the middle of a war (on terror).
Or maybe not…
January 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pmAt least show that you care about America a little bit.
Comment by Daryll — January 10, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
We DO care about America.
Unlike MURDERER Bush the COXUCKER punk TRAITOR to the USA.
And TREASONOUS Nazi DoD PSYOPS like YOU.
Sincerely,
NRA Gun Nutes
January 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pmDaryll! You are so right! Iran has the BIGGEST nuclear arsenal in the world, PLUS they control all of the oil. If we do not attack, they will destroy us with drones that can get to New York not in 45 minutes, but 45 seconds, no 45 nanoseconds! What are we to do?
January 10th, 2008 at 5:31 pmhanshiro said that Iran’s president’s declaration that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map was a “poetic” translation.
You have got to be kidding me?!?!? How far will you nuts go to justify fascism? Wow. Unbelievable. I shake my head in utter sadness at how deluded you are in justifying this behavior…
January 10th, 2008 at 5:41 pmOh, and the President of Iran really DID say that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. Go explain that one TP as you snuggle with this fascist regime.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
For the record, we don’t live in Israel. And the “fascist regime†is led by Bush/Cheney only you’re too dumb to see it.
Comment by Shayne — January 10, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
Yeah, we live in a fascist regime. You post on a blog that is highly critical of politics and your posts will never garner repercussions from the government. How do you reconcile your freedom of speech with living in a fascist regime? Given to hyperbole, are we?… Grow up.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pmhanshiro said that Iran’s president’s declaration that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map was a “poetic†translation.
You have got to be kidding me?!?!? How far will you nuts go to justify fascism? Wow. Unbelievable. I shake my head in utter sadness at how deluded you are in justifying this behavior…
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
No, I did not, JT. The fact is, you were spectacularly wrong. Iran’s president never made such a declaration about “wiping Israel off the map.” Dolt. Your claim is as bogus as every other republican chickenhawk, intentionally perpetuating urban myths to justify horrific suffering and worldwide imperialism. It is indeed fitting that you chose a TP column about lying the US into war to push more lies trying to goad the US into war.
Coward.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:54 pmHighly critical of politics? No JT, not all politics just the bastardized version that GW has tried to force feed us.
I won’t call GW’s administration a fascist regime but you ignored evidence that proves the Iranian president didn’t say what you think he said and you attack someone else’s anger with this president.
You like shell games don’t you.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:58 pmSo, Hanshiro cannot factually support his claim, and uses a novel defense of “poetic” translation to justify a former embassy-siege crook/mass-murderer’s words. Then, he resorts to that time-honored tactic used by kindergarten-aged children everywhere: name-calling. Ha, ha! Thanks for the afternoon humor.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:00 pmPoor JT. It must be so very difficult for you to ride the short bus every day.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:01 pmcheney has been playing a sublimmminal song to bush: Bomb,bomb,bomb,bomb Iran…
January 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pmWow. Unbelievable. I shake my head in utter sadness at how deluded you are in justifying this behavior…
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
Well stop shaking that head and stick it back up your rear end where it’s used to being, clueless dimwit.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pmHow do you reconcile your freedom of speech with living in a fascist regime? Given to hyperbole, are we?… Grow up.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
I believe you’re the nimrod who started calling people fascists. Easily confused aren’t you?
January 10th, 2008 at 6:05 pmsorry for being so late to this:
katy; I probably shouldn’t ask, but I’ll bite. WTF is a Parodyll?
Comment by Uncle Ho @ 5:08 pm
it’s daryll… daryll is a parody… daryll the parodyll
(somebody else here coined that term - i forgot to write it down)
Someone Parodying Daryll?
Comment by BARTLEBEE — January 10, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
or that, too…
January 10th, 2008 at 6:05 pmHow do you reconcile your freedom of speech with living in a fascist regime? Given to hyperbole, are we?… Grow up.
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Because when free speech does impact president Shortbus or his ilk directly, he does remove civil liberties, like forcing people to sign loyalty oaths for “rallies” paid for by taxpayers, and detaining protesters and fencing them into “protest zones” to keep them out of view. Then there’re churches who spoke out against the war suddenly finding themselves the targets of IRS investigations, or Homeland security abusing their position.
Lest we forget Rev. Lennox Yearwood getting tackled and having his leg broken for wanting to listen to Petreaus’ testimony while wearing a button that said, “I love the people of Iraq.”
JT, claiming the horsesh*t that you do doesn’t make it true…and your bumpkin histrionics doesn’t make you sound more credible, just more desperate to blame non-republicans for something; even if you have to invent the scenario out of thin air in which to hang Limbaugh and Hannity mythology.
Or, mis-represent plain english to suit your fantasies.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:08 pmSo, Hanshiro cannot factually support his claim, and uses a novel defense of “poetic†translation to justify a former embassy-siege crook/mass-murderer’s words.Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
No JT…Several people, including me, have already posted links to glowingly demonstrate your superior ignorance. Pretending the proof isn’t there is no more effective then closing your eyes so others can’t find you in the dark.
Yer a Huckabee voter, aintcha?
January 10th, 2008 at 6:13 pmPretending the proof isn’t there is no more effective then closing your eyes so others can’t find you in the dark.
Comment by hanshiro — January 10, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
LMAO, I may borrow that some time
January 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pmPretending the proof isn’t there is no more effective then closing your eyes so others can’t find you in the dark.
Comment by hanshiro — January 10, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
LMAO, I may borrow that some time
Comment by Wayne — January 10, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
That’s paraphrased from an old Bill Cosby joke about his daughter trying to hide from him by closing her eyes so he couldn’t see her. :-)
January 10th, 2008 at 6:47 pmTold ya, didn’t I?
January 10th, 2008 at 6:51 pmIran airs its version of encounter with U.S. ships
CNN International - 2 hours ago
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iran on Thursday released video of its naval forces interacting with U.S. coalition warships in the Persian Gulf region — but unlike video from the Pentagon, it did not show a threatening exchange.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:54 pm[…]
http://edition.cnn.com/ 2008/ WORLD/ meast/ 01/ 10/ iran.boats/ #cnnSTCText
You have got to be kidding me?!?!? How far will you nuts go to justify fascism? Wow. Unbelievable. I shake my head in utter sadness at how deluded you are in justifying this behavior…
Comment by JT — January 10, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
Well, at least we don’t vote for fascism, as all you Bush fellators have done. And keep shaking your head, your mother will hear the rattling and find you yet…
January 10th, 2008 at 6:56 pmToday 1/10/08 was a red-letter day for the Bush Administration:
1. The US Navy was forced to admit that the report about Iranian ships confronting the US at the Strait of Hormuz was inaccurate. In other words, it was total bullshit and may well have pushed Sen. John McWar to victory in NH. WHO will be held responsible for this bogus report? Bush? Cheney? Rice? Hadley? Gates?
No one.
2. The US dropped 40,000 lbs. of bombs on a Baghdad neighborhood, in a ten-minute barrage. Wait — the Bush Neo-Con Team says the “Surge” is a marvelous success. Sure. Things are going so well that we must bomb the hell out of innocent civilians in Baghdad? Mitch McConnell, McCain, and all GOP candidates support the “Surge.” Who will call for an investigation into this excessive use of force on a civilian population (40,000 lbs. of bombs)?
No one.
Heckuva Job, Bushie.
January 10th, 2008 at 7:04 pmWho will be held responsible?
As if this was new. Empire America has it’s beginnings in the Korean War.
Comment by Namtillaku — January 10, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
A few years before. In 1947, former Nazis were spirited over here through Operation Paperclip, and one “Great Achievement” was placing them in high positions in the newly formed CIA.
Remember this…..JFK di not want to escalate Vietnam, but the Military Industrial Complex did. 9 months after his assassination, we are in a 10 year shooting war with North Vietnam. The Military Industrial Complex are the biggest F..ups perhaps in the history of the planet.
Here are the Knotheads at Freerepublic on the fabrication by the US with Iranian boats. The usual crap.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1951519/posts
January 10th, 2008 at 10:09 pmanother enormous embarrassment for the US military on the world stage.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:08 amCHECK YOUTUBE: JOHN PILGER WAR ON DEMOCRACY and STEALING A NATION.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:24 amI know who the voice is. The Penatgon hired the guy who does “Apu†(the Quik-E-Mart owner) on the Simpsons.
Comment by 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda — January 10, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
I knew I’d heard that voice somewhere.
Comment by BARTLEBEE — January 10, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
I say it’s the opening scene from “Miami Vice” spliced with some dialogue of Boris and Natatia of “Rocky the flying squirrel” thrown in for good measure.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:34 amFirst of all, Bush can’t remember the difference between territorial and international waters.
Second, how many warships does Iran have off the coast of the U.S.?
Third, Bush and company are lying warmongering war criminals.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:44 amThis is not the government men and women should be asked to die for. The government is riddled with clowns and fakers, liars, and restroom pickup scum. The story is classic Gulf of Tonkin stuff which occurred when LBJ was the President. His resume’ was not pretty either. Yet, we keep putting these people in office and it’s because money runs the entire machine. The money goes to the best possibility for making profits go higher and laws go away. Until this changes we are going to have little children in the oval office instead of grown ups…and children will play. Problematic of course is the fact that while playing they get people, our people, killed and maimed. Then they dummy it all up with some bullshit story to make it all better. This latest from the Pentagon has Cheney’s signature all over it but hey, I could be wrong. Either way it makes our military establishment look like a bunch of idiots and takes our country down another notch in the eyes of the world. Aren’t false reports or collusion to make a false government reports crimes? I’m just askin’ is all.
January 11th, 2008 at 8:21 amRon Paul at the Republican Debate last night was RIGHT. The rest of the candidates on the stage just ACCEPTED without investigating, that it was IRAN that threatened us.
Just imagine if they had their finger on the trigger?
Coonsey’s View
January 11th, 2008 at 9:42 amhttp://www.freewebs.com/coonsey/
Bush will do ANYTHING to trump up another Tonkin Gulf incident to gin up the long-desired war with Iran the neocons want.
Comment by Uncle Ho — January 10, 2008 @ 2:41 pm
perfectly said……..and it’s going to happen……..and if hitlary(clinton) gets in she will make it happen. the first step to prove that is when she signed the paper to deem iran as a terrorist state
January 11th, 2008 at 11:08 amSuicide ?? Why wear LIFE JACKETS ?????
January 11th, 2008 at 11:10 amThe tenor of this conversation amazes me. Why do all of you want to assume that we are the bad guys in this?
Why are your minds so closed to the possibility that we could be doing the right thing?
Why do you possess such a sense of guilt for perceived wrongs? Why not assume that you/we are not guilty of being evil?
Open your minds people! Open your minds…
January 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pmAre there hints of the explosion of the Maine in Havana harbor or the questionable Gulf of Tonkin attack?
January 12th, 2008 at 4:20 pm