Caught With Our Pants Down In The Gulf

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Justin Raimondo via AntiWar.com,

Your bullshit-ometer should be making an awful racket in response to the shifting explanations given for the twenty-four-hour Iranian hostage scare involving two US Navy boats intercepted in the Gulf.

First they told us “at least one of the boats” had experienced a “mechanical failure.” Then they said the boats had run out of fuel, although it wasn’t clear if they meant both boats. Then they said “there was no mechanical problem.” Then they claimed that the two crews had somehow not communicated with the military command, although “they could not explain how the military had lost contact with not one but both of the boats.” As the New York Times reported:

“Even as Mr. Kerry was describing the release on Wednesday morning, American military officials were offering new explanations about how the two 49-foot patrol boats, formally called riverine command boats, had ended up in Iranian territorial waters while cruising from Kuwait to Bahrain.”

And they still haven’t explained it – or any of the other distinctly odd circumstances surrounding this incident.

The best they could do was have an anonymous Navy officer aver “When you’re navigating in those waters, the space around it gets pretty tight.” However, as the Times put it:

“But that is hardly a new problem, and the boats’ crews would almost surely have mapped out their course in advance, paying close attention to the Iranian boundary waters. And each boat has radio equipment on board, so it was unclear how the crews suddenly lost communication with their base unless they were surrounded by Iranian vessels before they could alert their superiors.”

We are told they were on a “training mission” – but what kind of mission? The Washington Post adds a helpful detail by telling us that “The vessels, known as riverine command boats, are agile and often carry Special Operations forces into smaller bodies of water.”

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.

Amid all the faux outrage coming from the neocons and their enablers in the media over the alleged “humiliation” of the US – Iran “paraded” the sailors in their media! They made one of the sailors apologize! The Geneva Conventions were violated! – hardly anyone in this country is asking the hard questions, first and foremost: what in heck were those two boats doing in Iranian waters?

And if you believe they somehow “drifted” within a few miles of Farsi Island, where a highly sensitive Iranian military base is located, then you probably think there’s a lot of money just waiting for you in a Nigerian bank account.

Anyone who thinks the adversarial relationship between Washington and Tehran has turned into “détente” due to the nuclear deal is living in Never-Never Land. Our close ally, Saudi Arabia, has all but declared war on the Iranians and that means we are being dragged into the rapidly escalating conflict. In this context, two US military boats coming a mile and a half away from a major Iranian base in the Gulf isn’t an accident. This ‘training mission” was a military incursion, and although we have no way of knowing what mission the US hoped to accomplish, suffice to say that it wasn’t meant to be a kumbaya moment.

Rachel Maddow is also raising questions about this: after a load of nonsense about how showing the sailors on Iranian media violated the Geneva Conventions – they didn’t: we aren’t at war with Iran yet – she pointed out the suspicious nature of the Pentagon’s shifting story during her January 13 broadcast.

To add another layer to the mystery, the Iranian government released the sailors after holding them for less than twenty-four hours – which isn’t the sort of behavior one might expect if those sailors were on a spy mission. And the Iranians issued an Emily Litella-ish statement, as reported by the Los Angeles Times:

“’After explanations the U.S. gave and the assurances they made, we determined that [the] violation of Iranian territorial waters was not deliberate, so we guided the boats out of Iranian waters,’ said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.”

So if those two boats were “snooping,” as the Fars News Agency originally claimed, why  would Tehran come out with this all-is-forgiven statement?

None of it makes any sense, at least not until one realizes that the Iranian government is hardly a monolith: power is divided up between various agencies and factions, with only the loosest sort of unity being enforced by the Supreme Leader. Farsi Island is controlled by the hard-line Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the hard-line faction of the ruling elite, which wields enormous political and economic power within the multi-polar Iranian state apparatus. It was the hard-liners who released the video and photos of the American sailors with their hands in the air, and their spokesmen demanded an apology from the US. It was the diplomats, however – the moderates, who negotiated the Iran deal – whose contacts with the US facilitated the sailors’ quick release.

But it isn’t just the Iranians who are riven with factions and conflicting lines of authority: the American empire is overseen by a vast national security bureaucracy involving both military and civilians, and it isn’t monolithic, either. Although, in theory, civilians are in the drivers’ seat and the military just follows orders, in reality the Pentagon is an independent power that can obstruct or even effectively veto whatever diplomatic or military plans the White House has in mind. And while opposition to the nuke deal was centered in Congress, the Pentagon insisted at the last moment that sanctions on conventional arms and particularly those related to ballistic missiles remain in place. Iran’s recent testing of medium range ballistic missiles must have the generals in an uproar, and it could well be that this “training mission” in the Gulf was related – as either a spying mission, or an outright provocation designed to imperil relations. Or perhaps both.

We’ll probably never know for sure: but what we certainly can know is that the official explanation for this latest incident stinks to high heaven. There’s no denying we were caught by the Iranians with our pants down. The only question is – how were we trying to f—k them over?

I warned after the signing of the Iran deal that we are in for a long series of provocations in the Gulf, and this is only the beginning. In order to keep all this in perspective, just remember that the long dance between Washington and Tehran involves at least four partners, including their hard-liners and ours.

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Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:47 | 7060134 Jurgster
Jurgster's picture

It's all Jewish hysteria over this Iran thing >> http://bit.ly/1UgSpfb

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:49 | 7060145 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

Just think if our swift boat boys had violated Turkish waters...

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:52 | 7060154 Save_America1st
Save_America1st's picture

supposed millions in cash blown up on ISIS bombing strike:

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/watch-millions-in-islamic-state-cash-bl...

 

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:03 | 7060194 Otrader
Otrader's picture

Airstrike vids on MarketWatch. lol 

That cash belonged to the U.S. taxpayers.  In the end, more profits for the unFederal Reserve.  Now, that the cash is blown up, new money (debt) will be created and loaned back to the taxpayers who will pay the interest until maturity.  Win-Win for the Fed/MIC/Rothchilds banking mafia. 

Wash, rinse and repeat.  The winning formula for the Fed since 1913.

 

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:07 | 7060207 Xibalba
Xibalba's picture

Ma-Grav

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:33 | 7060274 Oracle of Kypseli
Oracle of Kypseli's picture

What if... the baksters orchestrated this event with Kerry to stop others from shorting oil thinking that with this incident, the lifting of sanctions will be delayed.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:41 | 7060317 Richard Chesler
Richard Chesler's picture

The bullshitter-in-chief,

"President Obama on Sunday defended his historic nuclear accord with Iran as proof that “smart, patient and disciplined” diplomacy can improve relations with a longtime foe,"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-speak-to-the-nation-on-...


Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:10 | 7060398 Dame Ednas Possum
Dame Ednas Possum's picture

'...we are in for a long series of provocations in the Gulf...'

The Gulf... meaning the PERSIAN Gulf.

Persia... meaning Iran.

If the US doesn't want to be involved in a long series of provocations in the Persian Gulf... then perhaps they should simply remove their invading forces.

My grandma's dead dog could work out that one.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:13 | 7060407 Pinto Currency
Pinto Currency's picture


"... Moreover, at no point did either of the ships notify anyone that they had inadvertently “misnavigated” into Iranian territorial waters, a significant enough event that would warrant some sort of radio or other notification. “U.S. defense officials were befuddled about how both vessels’ navigational systems failed to alert them that they were entering Iranian waters,” reported the Daily Beast’s Nancy Youseff on Tuesday night. Carter sought to explain this away by saying, “It may have been they were trying to sort it out at the time when they encountered the Iranian boats.” Not one sailor on either of the boats could communicate the “error”? Beyond that, “misnavigating” within a few miles of an Iranian Guard Corps naval base is a striking coincidence (the LA Times summarized an exciting and remarkable tale of how the boats were perhaps running out of gas, entered Iranian waters merely as a “shortcut,” experienced engine failure when they tried to escape, and then on top of all these misfortunes, experienced radio failure).

What we know for certain is that the storyline of “mechanical failure” and “poor U.S. boat in distress” that was originally propagated — on which Lake exclusively relied to blame the Iranians — was complete fiction. At least according to the government’s latest version, the boats were working just fine. But, as always, the bulk of the U.S. media narrative was built around totally unverified, self-serving claims from the U.S. government, which, yet again, turned out to be completely false. ..."

https://theintercept.com/2016/01/15/the-u-s-radically-changes-its-story-of-the-boats-in-iranian-waters-to-an-even-more-suspicious-version/

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:19 | 7060429 Gaius Frakkin' ...
Gaius Frakkin' Baltar's picture

Uncle scam has been running around ass naked and high on coke for years... yanking on his dick with one hand while he flips the bird to anyone who passes by.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 23:16 | 7060549 I reckon so
I reckon so's picture

methinks the title to this article was peddled by BO herself.... just a thought

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 00:56 | 7060727 wee-weed up
wee-weed up's picture

 

 

Yep, the Washington/Tehran nuke deal is nothing more than Obozo attempting (foolishly) to establish his "legacy."

What a fukin' fool!

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 01:13 | 7060752 Four chan
Four chan's picture

and to think i bought that bullshit broken boat story.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 01:28 | 7060764 jaap
jaap's picture

Indeed a BS story. If it were real, Kerry or someone else would protest that showing those men is fully against the Genevain Convention. Like they were all over it when some caught Ukrainians were showed in a street march.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:06 | 7061083 SoilMyselfRotten
SoilMyselfRotten's picture

If any explosives were found on board that would explain a lot

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:28 | 7061114 Muddy1
Muddy1's picture

Iran missed an opportunity.  I'm surprised they didn't force the sailors to strip naked for the photos before kneeling them down with their hands behind their heads.  Payback for what happened in Abu Grab.  They could have opted to let the woman sailor keep the scarf on her head.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:32 | 7061123 MilwaukeeMark
MilwaukeeMark's picture

IMHO the Iran Nuc deal was about buying time to recalcuate. The Russian involvement into Syria wasn't expected and it has put the US, UK, Saudi, Israel co-op back on it's "timeline heels" to move against Iran. So in their little "Peace in our Time" moment, the US has taken the part of Von Ribbentropf and signed "just a piece of paper" giving them time to refigure how now to get at Iran.

So .. yes .. there will be more provocations with more economic demands, and expect some mysterious port explosions and hysterical screaming that the Iranians are the ones violating international law, until the west can figure a way to create a FF big enough get the sheep back home to fully engage in a Libyan style overthrow. This you can take to the bank.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 23:19 | 7060553 red red wine
red red wine's picture

Whatever the Liar in Chief says, the opposite is true.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:32 | 7061117 TxExPat
TxExPat's picture

There's dirt at play, but I'm not sure it's Uncle Sam's Dirt.  "GPS was Malfunctioning, and led them into Iranian waters".  The House of Saud has a lot of money, and would love to see relations between the US and Iran get even colder than they already are.  I could see the Saudi's spending some serious money for GPS jamming/misdirection equipment as part of their cold war with Iran.  The unusual behavior between the US and Iran on this one might be because of the suspicion that "someone" is/was attempting to play them both off as suckers (Only a fool fights in a burning house...).

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:11 | 7060216 sam i am
Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:05 | 7060198 Otrader
Otrader's picture

What if it was Israeli waters, the Israelis would have made a 'mistake' and USS Liberty'd them. 

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 01:58 | 7060793 Main_Sequence
Main_Sequence's picture

"Just think if our swift boat boys had violated Turkish waters..."

 

The Turks would have done nothing since they were not Russian.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:15 | 7061095 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

In the dark, all cats are grey.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 09:08 | 7061196 sam i am
sam i am's picture
The Middle Eastern Wars SITREP Syria Russia Iraq ISIS January 18th, 2016 by Rambo

http://thesaker.is/the-middle-eastern-wars-sitrep-syria-russia-iraq-isis...

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:58 | 7060163 Jurgster
Jurgster's picture

This Iran thing with the hostages feels like it was a set up with the complicity of the USG. It was orchestrated to prove that Iran is not as suicidal as the neocons want us to think. It was necessary to put on that show because from the very beginning the Jewish neocons who want to bomb Iran for IsraHell were all hysterical about the negotiated deal with the Persian powerhouse >> http://bit.ly/1UgSpfb

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:41 | 7060319 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

No General at the Pentagram ordered an invasion of a foreign country without approval from the White House.  Not only would such an ass kissing piece of brass sacrifice his pension, but he would also hand Obama a slam dunk treason conviction, and take the "purge" of half-hearted ass kissing generals to a whole new level, and imperil any like minded brethren left.

The funny thing about revoking lawful sanctions or laws, is that the revocation does NOT nullify previous convictions under those laws while they were in force.  Iranians imprisoned in the US would not be released without either an explicit and separate commutation or pardon by the president... or a convenient prisoner swap.  And either side maintaining effectively hostages or political prisoners after the P5+1 agreement was implemented would be an impediment to cooperation.

These sanctions have been implemented through countless rounds of legislation and executive orders over more than three decades.  It took a lot of planning to undo those thousands of individual enforcement actions.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 23:02 | 7060524 Hedger4Life
Hedger4Life's picture

Not too sure if the Iran deal means anything in terms of an end of tension with Iran. US and UK made a deal with Gaddafi too. Look how that ended.

Although it is intriguing, as to why end the embargo and return the 150bn. We will see what the agenda is...

 

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:51 | 7060148 DownWithYogaPants
DownWithYogaPants's picture

Can't help hoping bad things for the Iranians.  Never have forgiven the 1979 thing

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:55 | 7060169 SgtShaftoe
SgtShaftoe's picture

Don't worry, they haven't forgiven the us for the CIA coup in the 50s, the Civilian airliner in 1988 or all the other bullshit either

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:59 | 7060183 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

Bump . . .

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:06 | 7060385 scraping_by
scraping_by's picture

The question's not if the US-Saudi-Israel axis are the good guys, or the Iranian-Baathist-Shia wear black hats. It's the interest of the American people and nation in however things come out (minimal, and arguable) and the many costs they pay for their government to play the Great Game (not discussed and not small). There are very few people who want the American President to be Dictator of the World. You put it baldly, it becomes clear.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:00 | 7060366 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Anyone who enlists to put on a uniform for these bankster PNAC AIPAC pychopaths is an idiot.  Any parent who let's their kid join is delusional.

Even if trump wins it does not matter. The GOP-e Ryan are selling out Americans as fast as Obola and the Dems.  Pure evil.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 03:35 | 7060857 conscious being
conscious being's picture

NeoCon Zionist maniac John Bolton is Donald's foreign affairs advisor.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:00 | 7060186 LowerSlowerDela...
LowerSlowerDelaware_LSD's picture

What's your problem with yoga pants?  Other than the 200 pounders in them ripping the seams open?

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:53 | 7060347 Stares straight...
Stares straight ahead's picture

("Down" as in, "take 'em off")

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:58 | 7060362 Supafly
Supafly's picture

Down, as in, "Pull them down please."  At least that's what I got!

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:16 | 7060229 Socratic Dog
Socratic Dog's picture

I'll forgive such a stupid fucking comment.  For your avatar, and for your avatar only.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:52 | 7060151 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Executive orders & victory laps.

Nice job Brownie.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:53 | 7060158 SgtShaftoe
SgtShaftoe's picture

Seal insertion?  Seems plausible to me...

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:00 | 7060184 nmewn
nmewn's picture

...they would have gone in unseen.

This is more O'Barry media bullshit, probaly to disguise the fact that the Iranians accepted an interest (audible gasp) payment.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/01/251338.htm

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:02 | 7060191 the6thBook
the6thBook's picture

The boats had a nuclear weapon for the Iranians... special boat delivery...

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:14 | 7060412 The Saint
The Saint's picture

Don't forget that our boats were captured by a few Boston Whalers.  Highly improbable.

Mon, 01/18/2016 - 03:41 | 7060863 fredquimby
fredquimby's picture

The only question is – how were we trying to f—k them over?

Really, how about......

How did some Iranian rubber dinghys captured some big-ass, fully loaded, special forces attack boats....is certainly another question that pops into my mind?



Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:00 | 7060166 kiwigal
kiwigal's picture

Perhaps Washington is sick of Saudi Arabia and are looking in a new direction for allies. It was all very civil for so called adversaries. Saudi Arabia has been crushed by oil prices, foreign policy on Iran enables the oil prices to collapse further. If Saudi Arabia is destabilized, their wealth and power removed a lot of the problems in the middle east are reduced.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:03 | 7060375 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Dr. Jim Willie and a few others over a year ago said there would be a pivot to Iran over the Saudis.

Why?  I am not totally sure.  Big corpoirations aka global facism corporations will sign a lot of deals worth tens of billions with Iran.   The other reason may be the West knows that the Saudis oil fields are rapidly dying. 

Jim Willie alos has said that London/USA have been stealing all the Saudi gold warehoused in London.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 23:45 | 7060607 Z_End
Z_End's picture

Possibly larger oil reserves than Saudi and to drive a wedge between Iran and Russia. Also aids in boosting dissent within Iran among groups.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 22:21 | 7060439 Libertati Aut A...
Libertati Aut Ad Mortem's picture

If you are a zionist, any dead Islamist is a plus one.  Additionally to your point, not only is Wahhabi S.A. a terrorist state, it has been screwing th American consumer for decades.  Maybe, some time for payback.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 20:57 | 7060178 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

There have been reports out of Iran news agencies that the US boats were transporting a new ISIS commander from Bahrain to Kuwait and the Iranians found out about it and intercepted the boats and apprehended the crews (and passenger?).  It was also reported that the recent reports about Iran "testing" a ballistic missile near US warships was actually related to this incident and was more or less a "warning shot" across the bow of the USS Harry Truman that was heading to intercede on behalf of the boat crews.  Who knows what's true on this incident but the reports I've read (and tried to summarize above) seem to make much more sense than what the PentaGram is telling everyone.

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:04 | 7060199 luna_man
luna_man's picture

 

 

Delivery made as intended...None the wiser, except the intended.

 

of course

Sun, 01/17/2016 - 21:13 | 7060215 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

AC/DC,  "Caught With Your Pants Down":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNc3ELaF0K0

From my favorite AC/DC Album/CD "Ballbreaker". 

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