Breaking - Iran Holding Two US Navy Boats, Detains Crews

[Ben]

John Earnest says not to worry, this is why we have the "Iran Deal". Hopefully the sailors wil lbe released soon and unharmed.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/12/as-many-as-10-us-sailors-detained-by-iran.html?intcmp=hpbt3

http://twitchy.com/2016/01/12/pentagon-reports-that-two-navy-boats-are-in-iranian-custody-crew-to-be-returned-promptly/

[Andiron]

A competent president would give them 30 min to release our *expletive deleted*it before the missiles start flying.

[MillCreek]

^^^^Since the USA uses the 'navigation error' or 'equipment breakdown' excuse frequently as a cover for espionage, it behooves us to treat these cases politely, unless we want to start getting our troops back in coffins after they have been summarily executed for spying.  The Cold War has many examples of this.

[never_retreat]

[Andiron]

^^^^Since the USA uses the 'navigation error' or 'equipment breakdown' excuse frequently as a cover for espionage, it behooves us to treat these cases politely, unless we want to start getting our troops back in coffins after they have been summarily executed for spying.  The Cold War has many examples of this.

True in those cases,  but that's not how the Iranians work.

[Perd Hapley]

Interesting timing.

[De Selby]

True in those cases,  but that's not how the Iranians work.

How do they work exactly?

[lee n. field]

How do they work exactly?

Hold onto to the foreign nationals until the very day the next US POTUS is being sworn in.

[T.O.M.]

^^^^Since the USA uses the 'navigation error' or 'equipment breakdown' excuse frequently as a cover for espionage, it behooves us to treat these cases politely, unless we want to start getting our troops back in coffins after they have been summarily executed for spying.  The Cold War has many examples of this.

This.  Looks like Iran is learning the game.  We deny it's an intel op.  They don't make it too big of a deal and send the sailors home alive and well (while keeping the gear and analyzing the hell out of it all).

[RoadKingLarry]

The solution to that is once we have our people back safe and the other party refuses to return equipment we blow our stuff to hell and everything and everyone close by (1000 yd radius) goes with it.
Blame it the other guy monkey fingering ordnance  they didn't know how to handle.

[BobR]

The solution to that is once we have our people back safe and the other party refuses to return equipment we blow our stuff to hell and everything and everyone close by (1000 yd radius) goes with it.
Blame it the other guy monkey fingering ordnance  they didn't know how to handle.

And they should start with a small yield weapon down the stack of the USS Pueblo. 

bob

[MillCreek]

The crews and boats were released this morning.

[Hawkmoon]

Yup. Release is in the news.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/13/iran-says-prompt-release-detained-us-sailors-is-speculation.html

Boats released, too. The U.S. story now is that one of the boats had a mechanical "malfunction," causing them to "drift" into Iranian territorial waters. Nice try -- you mean Navy boats don't have any rope on board, so the functioning boat could attach a tow line to keep them out of hostile territory?

There's no doubt about it -- this country needs a regime change. The whole gummint has been best with incompetence.

[RevDisk]

Releasing the sailors the next day was very courteous of them. Ditto the boats. While you should never forget the past, especially for actions taken by governments, the past should not be shackles either. If Iran wants to turn over a new leaf and from here forward acts on it, it's in our interest to do the same. We have enough enemies in the world. Even mildly hostile but amicable enough relations are better than enemy, assuming both parties live up to it.

[Ben]

Boats released, too. The U.S. story now is that one of the boats had a mechanical "malfunction," causing them to "drift" into Iranian territorial waters. Nice try -- you mean Navy boats don't have any rope on board, so the functioning boat could attach a tow line to keep them out of hostile territory?

"Why didn't they tow?" was my first armchair quarterback thought as well.

Apparently the Iranians kept the GPS/nav equipment, but the US quoted source said it was no big deal, which could lend itself to the "on purpose" theory. Though they had a woman on board. Given how women, especially women prisoners, are prone to be treated in that part of the world, if it was an intelligence gathering op, you would think it would be an all male crew in case of capture. Who knows. Maybe that was part of the plan. If there was a plan. :)

[dogmush]

That was not an Intel op. I know those boats. They are the port security boats that the US Navy uses around our stuff in the Gulf. That route  (Kuwait to Bahrain) is an often used run by US military vessels. There's an approved  course line. Due to some crappy geography and a couple islands claimed by Iran you don't have a lot of wiggle room before you run into them.

Also, no those boats don't carry towlines all the time. Emergency procedure would be to rig a hip tow with mooring lines, but wind and sea conditions could easily make that untenable.

[Ben]

That was not an Intel op. I know those boats. They are the port security boats that the US Navy uses around our stuff in the Gulf. That route  (Kuwait to Bahrain) is an often used run by US military vessels. There's an approved  course line. Due to some crappy geography and a couple islands claimed by Iran you don't have a lot of wiggle room before you run into them.

Also, no those boats don't carry towlines all the time. Emergency procedure would be to rig a hip tow with mooring lines, but wind and sea conditions could easily make that untenable.

Well, Occam's razor comes through again. :)

[RevDisk]

Well, Occam's razor comes through again. :)

Here's the list of probability of how and why things occur as they do.

RevDisk's Razor of Causation:
1. Bad %#)#&#@ luck
2. Incompetence
3. Something incredibly simple and/or stupid
4. Something incredibly petty
5. It was actually planned ahead of time in an organized, coherent manner for some mundane purpose.
6. Every other possible or logical conclusion
7. It is a conspiracy or dark sinister purpose

[MillCreek]

^^^This should be engraved on a stone tablet somewhere.

[Mannlicher]

looks like the Republican Guards first humilated the sailors, and America, and then let them go.  We have never had such a bunch of pussies in the Pentegon and the Administration before.  Even Jimmy Carter would have been tougher.

[dogmush]

Well *expletive deleted*it.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/iran-releases-video-of-u-s-sailor-apologizing-that-was-our-mistake/

And that's why you don't say ANYTHING on tape while detained.

[seeker_two]

Were the sailors all related? And was their last name "Bergdahl"?....

[BobR]

Due to some crappy geography and a couple islands claimed by Iran you don't have a lot of wiggle room before you run into them.

That's the truth. When we were taking leisurely jaunts around the Gulf at night back in the late 80's early 90's looking for pleasure boaters laying mines it was not uncommon to see AA fire coming up from some chunk of land/oil rig you didn't even know had people on it. They just shot at the sound, we were blacked out and I don't believe they could see us. Some of the times it happened around Farsi Island.

bob

[Jocassee]

I've seen it speculated that they ran out of gas. That's a long run in a tiny boat. Maybe the fuelling rig missed the RV? That would explain why both were adrift.

[dm1333]

That was not an Intel op. I know those boats. They are the port security boats that the US Navy uses around our stuff in the Gulf. That route  (Kuwait to Bahrain) is an often used run by US military vessels. There's an approved  course line. Due to some crappy geography and a couple islands claimed by Iran you don't have a lot of wiggle room before you run into them.

Also, no those boats don't carry towlines all the time. Emergency procedure would be to rig a hip tow with mooring lines, but wind and sea conditions could easily make that untenable.

In the Coast Guard (and Army too, I was an 88K) we use these things called "knots" or "bends".  You can join several mooring lines together and use that as a tow line.     (having taken an obligatory dig at the Navy, I wasn't there, don't know what happened or how quick it happened and I'm joking.)