[antimedia] antimedia: Seldom have I ever read something....

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Posted by antimedia:
Seldom have I ever read something....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1199852159.shtml


   ....that I disagree with more than [1]this Ralph Peters piece on
   [2]the recent encounter between the US Navy and Iranian motor craft.
   Peters argues that, because we didn't shot the Iranian motor boats out
   of the water, the US wimped out and it will have dire consequences in
   the future.
   I couldn't disagree more. With the [3]Phalanx it would take a second
   to obliterate a boat that size - five seconds to obliterate all five
   boats. With that kind of killing power, the Naval commander on scene
   is well justified in using caution before giving the order to fire.

     On Sunday, the Iranians tested us. We failed. They'll probe us
     again. And every time we fail to react decisively, we raise the
     number of future US casualties.
     Remember the USS Cole? You bet the Iranians do. They plan to better
     that attack by an order of magnitude.
     For almost 70 years, we've deployed the finest navy in the history
     of the world. But it looks increasingly as if we've gone from "Damn
     the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" to "Will this interfere with my
     next promotion?"

   Please spare me the hyperbole. The jihadis used planes to attack us on
   9/11. They'll never be successful again, because the passengers will
   kill them first.
   The jihadis blew up the USS Cole and killed 17 sailors because we
   weren't at General Quarters. There's no way a boat will ever get close
   enough to damage our ships again. 200 yards is nowhere near close
   enough to threaten us. Even at a 100 yards they can't close fast
   enough to outrun the Phalanx system.
   If the Iranians want to think that we are weak, that's their mistake.
   That's what Al Qaeda thought. Have you noticed that you're not reading
   about Iranian shaped charges killing Americans in Iraq any more? Looks
   like Iran got the message there. If they push the envelope with our
   Navy, they'll get the message loud and clear again.
   Tags: [4]Iran [5]US Navy [6]threat [7]response

References

   1. http://www.nypost.com/seven/01082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/iran_1__usa_0_380577.htm?page=1
   2. http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/080108_iran_ships
   3. http://www.videotiger.com/vids/amazingmilitarydefensiveweapon.wmv
   4. http://technorati.com/tag/Iran
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/US%20Navy
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/threat
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/response