US Navy ship fires on small boat in Persian Gulf
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CNN is reporting that U.S. supply ship, the USNS Rappahannock, fired at and disabled a small boat in the Persian Gulf on Monday. Two U.S. Consular Officials in Dubai stated that the boat “came too close” to the ship, and that at least one person aboard the boat was killed and three injured.
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The Rappahannock is a fuel resupply ship (tanker), which means that any errant spark could potentially blow the whole ship to smitherines. The officials described the targeted boat as a forty-foot “small white pleasure craft.” The incident occurred just 10 miles outside the Dubai fishing port of Jebel Ali.
Reportedly, the Rappahannock verbally warned the boat, then fired a shot across its bow before disabling it. The boat was near the Iranian maritime border which may have caused the Rappahannock to mis-identify it as Iranian. U.S. Navy ships are often in close contact with Iranian ships in the Gulf's crowded international waters. Small speed boats, however, from Iran's Revolutionary Guard have a history of passing close enough to U.S. ships to sound alarms all the way back to Washington. Indeed, after a 2008 incident, then President Bush accused Iran of a "provocative act" after five small Iranian craft buzzed the destroyer USS Hopper.
International tensions are high in the Gulf, especially since just last week Iran threatened again to close the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage for twenty percent of the world's oil. That threat was issued in response to tighter U.S. and international sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear program. Before this current incident, the U.S. had already enhanced its naval presence in the Gulf, especially with the addition of more minesweepers.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet has a huge base in Bahrain. An investigation into Monday's affair is being conducted from Bahrain. The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi has had no comment – referring all inquiries to the Navy.
Officials did state, though, that standard operating procedures were followed here.
Given the history of small boat attacks against Navy ships, this incident is completely understandable – even expected. The USS Cole comes immediately to mind. As a Navy veteran myself, stationed aboard a troop transport ship during the Vietnam War, the USS Dubuque (LPD8), we regularly transported as many as 2,500 Marines and their equipment from California to DaNang Harbor in South Vietnam. We had standing orders to shoot any vessels that approached within a five-mile radius – without warning. Fortunately, in the three years I was aboard ship, we never had to execute those orders.
So yes, we will wait for all the investigations to be completed before passing judgment on our sailors' actions; but, again, as an old sailor myself, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Because war is essentially politics by other means, it will be most interesting to watch the Republican Party's and its putative nominee for president Mitt Romney's response to this incident. Does the old adage that partisan politics end at the water's edge apply here? Or will they find some fault with the Obama Administration's response? To date, keep in mind, they have refused to credit the president with any foreign policy successes, including the killing of the world's chief terrorist Osama Bin Laden. In this case, though, it will be difficult for the Republicans to gainsay this president's decision or the naval personnel under his command their right to simply protect themselves. My guess is that they will argue that the president had nothing to do with it. This was a "boots on the ground" decision made in the heat of battle, with the president merely standing by to rubber stamp the Navy's decision. Anything will do, any excuse will apply, any reason or non-reason will be conjured to insure that President Obama does not "look good" in this or any other situation -- domestic or foreign.