America Is Itching For A Fight
IRANIAN WAKEHOPPERS “BATTLE” MIGHTY U.S. NAVY
FITSNews – January 11, 2008 – We’re not sure if the video above represents a “serious international incident” or just some crazy Iranians looking to jump a little Destroyer wake (much like ace jet skier Sic Willie searching for an unsuspecting pontoon boat on Lake Murray). But since this is an election year, the GOP presidential candidates were fired up as hell about it in last night’s big debate in Myrtle Beach. Literally.
For example, Mike Huckabee had this to say:
I think we need to make it very clear, not just to the Iranians, but to anybody, that if you think you’re going to engage the United States military, be prepared not simply to have a battle. Be prepared, first, to put your sights on the American vessel. And then be prepared that the next things you see will be the gates of Hell, because that is exactly what you will see after that.
And former Navy man John McCain added this doubly-serious statement:
Don’t think that this wasn’t a serious situation of the utmost seriousness in one of the most important waterways in the world, because of so much of the world’s oil goes through there.
For the record, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani also treated this thing like it was the second coming of Pearl Harbor.
Look, we can’t stand Iran as much as the next Lee Greenwood freak, but you Republicans might want to consider dialing it down to “5″ on this one. It’s called “wake-hopping,” and while doing it to a U.S. Destroyer in hostile waters is probably not the smartest way to hone your skills, this incident hardly constitutes such stern sabre-rattling.
Seriously, anybody who’s watched (or starred in) Hunt for Red October should know stuff like this really isn’t all that big a deal until somebody in a thick Southern drawl tells Seaman Beaumont to “put one across his nose.”
You wanna see a real “clear and present danger?” Try standing within 100 feet of Sic Willie after he’s eaten Mexican food. Aye-yay-yay!
UPDATE – We really do hate to give a bunch of whiney ass liberals credit for anything, but this website has a pretty good recap of this whole “incident.”
Comments
By Chris on January 11th, 2008 at 2:34 am
You forgot Fred Thompson’s (Faux New’s darling of the evening) oh-so-noble quotation:
Link
I agree with you on this one, Sic. All this “sabre-rattling” is ridiculous. Of course, the ONLY candidate on the stage (who was smeared by Faux News at every opportunity) with the solution is treated like a clown.
I’m sick of all hat, no cattle. Screw these war-mongering idiots espousing this garbage. Let them pay the damn bill if they want it so badly. Ooohhh, the “terists” are coming! Yeah, in speedboats.
Just admit it already. You’re with us…. I’m almost certain an endorsement from FITSNews would push us over the top.
By Darrell Jenkins on January 11th, 2008 at 8:15 am
I agree that Fox News was hard on Ron Paul, but that guy is living in a fantasy land. We may or may not be over extended in our military affairs, but to take the extreme isolationist position that we should pull back and bury our head in the sand is laughable. It is that mentality that caused us to shed American blood all the way from the beaches of Normandy to Berlin. Unfortunately, the world is not black and white and we must strive to strike the balance and not swing from one extreme to the other.
And what is this brilliant trade model that Ron Paul proposes? Are we going to start importing dates and pistachios from Iran? No thanks. The Middle East seems almost incapable of entering the modern global economy. When the demand for oil declines, the Middle East will return to the dark ages.
By Speak Softly on January 11th, 2008 at 11:31 am
As someone who has served in the military, I have to agree with you, Will. It’s all easy for many of the candidates to be cavalier when they’re talking about killing, but it is a hard thing to do, and have to live with afterward. The person who’d actually have to kill those Iranians was probably male, probably under the age of 25, probably high-school educated, and probably someone who didn’t really have anything personal against them. He’d have to follow his orders and live with the consequences for the rest of his life.
Notice who was saber-rattling — the guys who had never served in the military — and who wasn’t – the war hero, John McCain. McCain simply discussed why it was a very serious situation. It certainly is. Saber-rattling only sets the markets in a tizzy, and actually strengthens Amadinejad’s hand domestically, as Iranians understandably rally around their leader [even one they don't like] when he’s threatened.
By Michael on January 11th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Are all of your commentors Ron Paul? Just like he had to be corrected last night, so do these guys.
All of the candidates agreed that the passive response was the correct response.
By Amazed on January 11th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Besides it was a rubber boat that blew up the USS Cole……. Surely these little things can’t be a threat….. Hmmmmmm How soon we forget!!!
By Earl Capps on January 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
With the Iranian elections approaching, this was probably planned, in hopes of a violent reaction stirring radical voter turnout in their elections, thus shoring up the declining fortunes of the present regime.
Not firing was probably denying them what they most wanted, so it was a smart move.
Even if it would have been tempting to aim those defense batteries, and just before firing, respond to the “2 minutes” warning with a simple “you first” …