CAIRO, Egypt - A civilian ship contracted by the U.S. military fired warning shots at two small boats approaching it in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said Friday, describing the latest of a string of similar incidents that have triggered concern in Washington.
The U.S. military has been wary of small boats operating near its ships ever since an explosive-laden vessel rammed the USS Cole as it refueled in a Yemen harbor in 2000, killing 17 sailors onboard.
Those fears were heightened in recent months by several incidents in the Gulf’s narrow Strait of Hormuz where small Iranian boats approached American warships despite warnings to alter their course. Senior U.S. military officials have warned Iran about the risk of triggering an unintended conflict if its boats continue to harass American ships in the Gulf.
The U.S. Navy said it does not know whether the two boats that approached the Western Venture cargo ship on Thursday morning were from Iran. Iranian officials have denied their vessels were involved in the incident.
The Western Venture was transiting north in international waters in the central Gulf when it was approached by two small boats of unknown origin, said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
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U.S.-contracted ship fires on boat in Gulf
Why are we playing games with these clowns?? There is a solution, and it’s so simple that even a moonbat like Ahmadinejad should be able to immediately grasp it, in fact, it may be the only response he would understand…
Sink these little annoyances, forget warning shots, make splinters of them and their craft and continue on your course to your destination…
The rights of defense are clearly with the ships being harassed, and given the current complexion of the politics and anti-U.S. sentiments in the region, it would be foolish to not take a solid defensive posture as soon as one of these small craft are sighted, these people know the rules, if they continue to ignore them, give ‘em something to think about the next time they want to play…
As long as these people are allowed to harass our ships on the high seas, they will continue to do so, stop them NOW, send them to the bottom of the Persian Gulf, and if this harassment continues, keep on blasting these moonbats OUT of the water, and be sure to get it on video, a picture is worth a thousand words…
And what the hell, the fish have to eat too…
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On July 3, 1988 the USS Vincennes celebrated the 4th of July by shooting down an Iranian airliner full of future terrorists. It’s about time we start celebrating again, only early.
Bob, I really like the way you think!!
Once you sink one it would stop or something more final will come of it. Either way done deal.
How insensitive…I love it. When did the law of the sea go away? When are our ships’ Captains going to realize that the ENEMY is probing our defenses at sea? How close can they get before firing? How many patrol boats will it take to bring down an MPF ship?
Put ‘em all under, and they’ll never get what they want. Crap…did I say that out loud?
Call in a ‘Specter’ nothing we fly-boys like better than sinking some swabbies. A few dozen rounds of 30 or 25 MM cannon fire will make toothpicks out of these pests.
Yes, John, out loud and everything. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
My impression is this is what happens when you outsource your work - your targets of opportunity get away from you. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.
Iran is playing with fire. For all of his loud talk, Ahmadinejad is just a bag of hot air. Actually pull a stunt like that did with the British and that bag of hot air will be burst.