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Navy official: Ship fired warning at Iran boatAdmiral says U.S. will defend ships with ‘deadly force’ against Tehran WASHINGTON - The U.S. Navy said Friday that one of its ships fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat in the Strait of Hormuz in December during one of two serious encounters that month.The USS Whidbey Island fired the warning shots on Dec. 19 in response to a small Iranian boat that was rapidly approaching it, said a U.S. Navy official."One small (Iranian) craft was coming toward it, and it stopped after the Whidbey Island fired warning shots," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. It was the first official confirmation that the United States had fired warning shots in any recent confrontation with Iran in the Gulf.In the second incident that month, the USS Carr encountered three small Iranian craft on Dec. 22, two of which were armed, said the official. The USS Carr did not fire warning shots, but sent warning blasts on the ship's whistle, which caused the boats to turn around.Diplomatic protest lodged in another incidentThe reports come a day after the United States lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Iran over an incident Sunday in which Iranian speedboats harassed U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.Adm. William J. Fallon, the top U.S. military commander in the Mideast, said Friday that Iran runs the risk of triggering an unintended conflict if its boats continue to harass U.S. warships in the strait.And Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that the United States is ready to counter any threat."The incident ought to remind us all just how real is the threat posed by Iran and just how ready we are to meet that threat if it comes to it," Mullen told reporters."We will defend ourselves and our ships, and we will do so with deadly force if need be," he said at the Pentagon.Latest incident in Persian GulfFive Iranian speedboats maneuvered aggressively close to three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, as the U.S. ships received a radio transmission threatening an explosion, according to the United States.The United States released its complete 35-minute video of the incident, but it contained little new from the 4-minute edited version released earlier this week.The United States has formally complained about the incident. But Iranian officials have dismissed U.S. objections, saying the encounter was normal and the Iranian boats were merely trying to identify the U.S. vessels.
There's a reason why patriotism is considered a conservative value. Watch a Tea Party rally and you'll see people proudly raising the American flag and showing pride in U.S. heroes such as Thomas Jefferson. Watch an OWS rally and you'll see people burning the American flag while showing pride in communist heroes such as Che Guevera. --Bob, from some news site
Why were the Iranian-identified vessels allowed to threaten and provoke the vessels at length, especially an Arleigh-Burke Class Destroyer like the USS Hopper, when a ship like the USS Cole had its hull breached in nearly the same manner?
