Posted on 01/20/2008 7:54:44 AM PST by Flavius
The confrontation this month between U.S. Navy warships and small boats of Iran's Revolutionary Guard may have come as a surprise to the public, but not to me.
I witnessed a very similar event five years ago during the invasion of Iraq. It was April 4, 2003, and in support of the British assault on the city of Basra in southern Iraq, four U.S. Navy patrol boats, under a navy command in which I served, were dispatched up the Shatt-al-Arab, the waterway marking the Iran-Iraq border. The senior officer present - a navy captain - was an experienced Seal who was fluent in Persian, having lived in Tehran as a teenager. We took great pains to avoid a confrontation, staying well within Iraqi territorial waters and even erecting a makeshift Iranian flag on one of the boats, which our captain felt would display our peaceful intentions.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
If someone wants to fight, best solution is kill them. Fight over.
Iran’s small boats are not the problem. Our response to the small boats is the problem. Going out of our way to demonstrate “peaceful” intentions merely encourages them to push the envelope.
And keep them loaded and ready, with gunners ready to go. It wouldn't take any more than a well-aimed .50 cal to tear up those small boats right quick.
They are. M-60s, .50 cal, and 25mm chainguns.
We didn't always keep them loaded and ready (i.e. not out in the middle of the ocean), but one would think that they would when transiting Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran’s small boats are not the problem. Our response to the small boats is the problem. “
Thank you. It was also the problem of the French and English before WWII. If only they had fought back earlier or simply stood up to Hitler and Germany, WWII might have been avoided.
A little courage and an early lethal response works wonders and saves lives and money in the end.
“Our response ... is the problem.”
Precisely. Declare and enforce rules regarding right of way and clearance distances to warships and this nonsense will go away, or the Iranian Navy will. As in go to Davey Jones’ Locker. Their choice.
Very simple solution; publically tell Iran and the world that if they come within XXX yards of any US Ship in open water, they will be warned once. If they come within YYY yards they will be vaporized. And then do it. Period.
There are several things that might be done, short of blowing them out of the water, the preferred choice. Several of these alternatives would also be entertaining for the US ships’ crew.
For example, it should be easy to set up an Active Denial System dish on board, with minimal effort. This is the one that makes skin feel like it is burning. It is effective up to 500 yards.
Second, many US vessels have radar powerful enough to smoke and most likely blow up any electronic gear aboard their boat, just by pointing it at them.
But I’m sure that the USN has invested lots of time, effort, energy and money into make the efforts of Iranian speedboaters futile.
Can’t we fly helicopter gunships (Cobras) with our convoys coming through the straits? They should be able to mence those speedboats at a considerable distance.
focus an Aegis on them till they turn around...
What!! Provide air cover for ships! What a revolutionary concept! Think of the HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales.
From 12,000 or so miles away, one wonders if we have an adequate amount of aircraft available to support the Fleet.
I believe the USMC still deploys Sea Cobras to the Gulf
LOL! Classic. Thank you.
They do....My daughter was out there a year ago on the USS Boxer, LHD-4 and she told me of these harrassments back then...I was amazed that it took a solid year for it to hit the media.
All of our naval vessels in the Persian Gulf area should be fitted with proper deck armament to engage several small targets at the same time, from all angles.
I think they are. They all have what is referred to as R2D2. A computerized fire control system that can spit out several thousand rounds per minute. (50 cal.) And may be able to target all five boats at one time. Only one angle would be needed and they would be toast. All our ships have at least one of these critters, and may have more then one.
Congress already gave the go ahead to attack any terrorists in the gulf region with the Iraq invasion resolution. The Revolutionary Guard is now designated by congress as a terrorist organization.
So, what’s the holdup?
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