Rhetoric With Persia Heats Up
Yesterday, President Bush called for the release of Americans held in Iran. After weeks of American scholars, journalists and tourists disappearing in Iran, Bush has finally addressed the issue formally.
Coincidentally, Bush's comments come on the heels of IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei's comments that 'crazies' in the Bush administration are seeking war with Iran. (Of course, kidnapping Americans, not to mention British sailors a few months ago, would not be seen as a provocation)
Coincidentally, as Pat Dollard notes, a third U.S. Aircraft Carrier, the USS Intrepid, is headed to the Gulf.
Personally, I believe that military conflict with Iran is doubtful at this point. However, keeping in mind Operation Praying Mantis, (the U.S. military's 1988 response to Iran's mining of the Persian Gulf, which resulted in damage to an American vessel), a surgical American military strike to scare the Iranians would not be extraordinary. After all, the 1988 attack helped force Iran to end its war with Iraq, and that was the last of the mining of the Gulf. Now that the British have lost face after the sailor kidnapping debacle, force may be the only avenue with which to remind Iran it cannot act with impunity against American citizens, or U.S. interests.
2 comments:
If you are interested in Operation Praying Mantis, perhaps you would like to read my new book. My name is Harold Wise and I am the author of a new non-fiction book just published by Naval Institute Press about the 1987-1988 Persian Gulf. That was an under-reported and little-known (outside the military) period in U.S. Navy history but it holds important implications for current and future Gulf events. It is written in an engaging manner based largely on interviews with veterans of all levels.
The name is Inside the Danger Zone. It happens to be the featured book this week on the Naval Institute web site. See www.usni.org. Also there is more info here www.insidethedangerzone.com.
Thanks Harold, I will definitely pick it up.
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