Iran warns U.S. carrier not to return to Persian Gulf

[bruno]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...persian-gulf/2012/01/03/gIQAm9UEYP_story.html

TEHRAN — Iran’s army chief on Tuesday warned a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf, as Iran’s navy ended 10 days of tense war games in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Defense Department promptly rejected the warning.
Gen. Ataollah Salehi, the commander of the Iranian armed forces, lauded Iran’s defensive skills and lashed out against the USS John C. Stennis and its battle group. The carrier and its accompanying ships left the strategic Persian Gulf last Thursday, their departure filmed by Iranian drones.

“We warn this ship, which is considered a threat to us, not to come back, and we do not repeat our words twice,” Salehi said, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

We've been listening to this since 1979-Just make them glow and end the whole thing.

 

[pennak]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...persian-gulf/2012/01/03/gIQAm9UEYP_story.html



We've been listening to this since 1979-Just make them glow and end the whole thing.

Amen Jeez I am so tried of this $)() from this regime

 

[cisco]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...persian-gulf/2012/01/03/gIQAm9UEYP_story.html



We've been listening to this since 1979-Just make them glow and end the whole thing.

Well, they don't repeat their words twice.
They repeat them for 33 years.

 

[patentesq]

This is pretty funny --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INfZPrVFky4

 

[pennak]

This is pretty funny --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INfZPrVFky4

I laughed so hard I cried. "glass"!!

 

[goaliedad]

So what is the over/under in hours from the time they launch the first attack until the entire Iranian navy is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf?

Seriously, though we have a regime that is very divided that one mouthpiece says no way would they do this and the other mouthpiece upping the ante. Could be a recipie for rogue elements acting out either against us or in a coup. If it is a policy of trying to paralyze the US with unpredictability, they don't understand the dynamics of a US election year.

Question is, can we keep enough assets in the region until this issue is settled without looking like we are overstaying our welcome?

 

[patentesq]

Question is, can we keep enough assets in the region until this issue is settled without looking like we are overstaying our welcome?

I'd say we're welcome in Bahrain for as long as we are willing to look beyond that regime's human rights abuses. Lesser of two evils, I suppose.

 

[goaliedad]

We have been welcomed in the region since the end of WWII. I do not see that changing anytime soon.

Beyond sinking the Iranian Navy, if we do get into a military engagement with Iran, we get the choice of defending slow moving tankers in a vast sea against what I suspect will be Iranian hit and run operations over an extended period of time (just enough to keep the shipping companies leery) or another militarily orchestrated regime change in the region. Neither are trival pursuits.

Unfortunately, I fear we will attempt the former at the cost of another recession that may make the current situation look like good times.

 

[Beaz]

Go navy beat iran!

 

[Christcorp]

The Stennis and its battle group was scheduled to leave. As soon as Iran made their B.S. "Pretend to be tough", threat; Obama should have told the Stennis to turn around and stay another 30 days. Or at least bring in another carrier group to replace it. Call their B.S. bluff. This, among other things, is why I can not in good faith vote to re-elect Obama. He is not a leader. He can't get the legislative branch to work together; he can't lead the country's economy in the right direction; and his foreign affairs policy and actions (Lack of actions); prove he is not a leader.

 

[Idzak]

So, if you were advising JFK on the Cuban missle crisis, just raise your hand if you would have "vaporized" Cuba.

 

[cisco]

The Stennis and its battle group was scheduled to leave. As soon as Iran made their B.S. "Pretend to be tough", threat; Obama should have told the Stennis to turn around and stay another 30 days. Or at least bring in another carrier group to replace it. Call their B.S. bluff. This, among other things, is why I can not in good faith vote to re-elect Obama. He is not a leader. He can't get the legislative branch to work together; he can't lead the country's economy in the right direction; and his foreign affairs policy and actions (Lack of actions); prove he is not a leader.

Way to spam up the thread bashing our commander-in-chief.

How is it his fault that a group of grown men cannot work together?

How is he not leading the country in the right economic direction when the majority of things weren't passed or approved by Congress?

What are his "failed" foreign affairs policies, exactly?

It's not an easy job.

 

[pennak]

Question is, can we keep enough assets in the region until this issue is settled without looking like we are overstaying our welcome?

We have plenty of assets there. It is a matter of political will and preception. The Tanker War back during the Iran/Iraq conflict demonstrated that you can keep the Strait open, even with damage to Tankers and warships. The Iranians have not forgotten Praying Mantis so you be sure that they will come at us better prepared than last time.

The question is less a military capabilities than a matter of whether we are prepared politically and economically to do what it takes. The Iranians appear to be calculating that the Administration will not go to war, viz., that Obama is Carter (and not Reagan -- remember that the hostages were released as Reagan took office). That calculation could be correct in this election year (oil shocks are bad for the guy in charge) and the Iranians might be motivated to try, as it would give them a big boost in the area. We seem to believe that Iranians won't close the Strait because it would close off their own oil which is the lifeline to their economy. But, they might conclude that if they can't sell oil because of the freeze out of the Iranian central bank, then the best way to change that is to be sure that nobody can sell oil. It seems to me that the whole situation is ripe with huge potential for miscalculation. One thing has changed though. Since the Iran/Iraq tanker war, new pipelines have been built that avoid the Persian Gulf entirely. http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/2227.html That helps.

 

[osdad]

So what is the over/under in hours from the time they launch the first attack until the entire Iranian navy is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf?

I'm not sure of the number but the unit of measure is probably hours!

...

Question is, can we keep enough assets in the region until this issue is settled without looking like we are overstaying our welcome?

You may not see them but rest assured they're there.

I suspect that the Iranian shore installations will see at least a couple of streaks high overhead and think "Ha Ha those infidels are terrible shots." Only to get hear major booms far inland.

 

[Christcorp]

Way to spam up the thread bashing our commander-in-chief.

How is it his fault that a group of grown men cannot work together?

How is he not leading the country in the right economic direction when the majority of things weren't passed or approved by Congress?

What are his "failed" foreign affairs policies, exactly?

It's not an easy job.

I've got almost 3,000 posts, and have been around this forum for a long time. i DON'T SPAM!!!

I don't believe he handled Iran's "Idle Threat" properly. The Gulf is international waters and he shouldn't allow a country, especially one like Iran, to even pretend to tell us where we can or can't put our military.

And in my opinion, this is simply "Another Example" or poor leadership. You think that because this is a Military Related forum, and many of us are current/past military members, that we aren't allowed to disagree with the president. I've voiced dissatisfaction with a number of presidents in the past. (Both sides of the political isle). And I'll freely express my dissatisfaction with the current president.

 

[hornetguy]

The Stennis and its battle group was scheduled to leave. As soon as Iran made their B.S. "Pretend to be tough", threat; Obama should have told the Stennis to turn around and stay another 30 days. Or at least bring in another carrier group to replace it. Call their B.S. bluff. This, among other things, is why I can not in good faith vote to re-elect Obama. He is not a leader. He can't get the legislative branch to work together; he can't lead the country's economy in the right direction; and his foreign affairs policy and actions (Lack of actions); prove he is not a leader.

Um, we have two carriers returning to the region, with one participating in an exercise when it gets there. Why turn the Stennis around when you have two incoming. I would hate to be a sailor on the Stennis if I was suddenly ordered to do a U-turn for politics on the way home.

The U.S.S. Stennis left the Gulf last week headed for home and won't be back anytime soon, so Iran can claim the Stennis didn't dare return.

But two other carriers, the Lincoln and the Vinson, are on their way to the region, and one of them is already scheduled to take part in exercises inside the Gulf.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57351634/iran-warns-u.s-to-back-off-from-persian-gulf/

 

[Christcorp]

Um, we have two carriers returning to the region, with one participating in an exercise when it gets there. Why turn the Stennis around when you have two incoming. I would hate to be a sailor on the Stennis if I was suddenly ordered to do a U-turn for politics on the way home.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57351634/iran-warns-u.s-to-back-off-from-persian-gulf/

Hornet; I did say: "Or at least bring in another carrier group to replace it." I do not know the timeline for the replacement carrier group. If it's reasonably soon, then that suffices. Point was; even if the Stennis was told to stay for just a couple more days, it would have been a good "Kiss my Butt" response to Iran. Political? Definitely. Meaningful? I believe so.

 

[LineInTheSand]

I just hope the Navy has enough cameras available so we can all watch the pure destruction the Iranian navy experiences at the hands of the United States in the North Arabian Gulf (starting to understand why the U.S. doesn't call it the Persian Gulf anymore).

There are a lot of Iranian sailors who are starting to get worried.... that's for sure.

 

[cisco]

I've got almost 3,000 posts, and have been around this forum for a long time. i DON'T SPAM!!!

I don't believe he handled Iran's "Idle Threat" properly. The Gulf is international waters and he shouldn't allow a country, especially one like Iran, to even pretend to tell us where we can or can't put our military.

And in my opinion, this is simply "Another Example" or poor leadership. You think that because this is a Military Related forum, and many of us are current/past military members, that we aren't allowed to disagree with the president. I've voiced dissatisfaction with a number of presidents in the past. (Both sides of the political isle). And I'll freely express my dissatisfaction with the current president.

Wrong. Never did I state that nor intended on stating that. But this isn't about our President on how he handles Congress and the Economy, yet you bring it up. Express your discontent as freely as you want, but on a personal not, I can't stand it when someone randomly bashes President Obama unless it's the subject being talked about. Kind of like those Yahoo! articles where someone randomly says hateful things about Pres. Obama when the article was about good diet plans.
Like hornetguy said, there's more carriers being sent there and having sailors make a U-turn or stay there so suddenly is a big kick in the face to them. It isn't fair to have them stay their just because we want to tick off a country a little bit. It's not some battle victory if they stay a few days either.

 

[Bullet]

on a personal not, I can't stand it when someone randomly bashes President Obama unless it's the subject being talked about. Kind of like those Yahoo! articles where someone randomly says hateful things about Pres. Obama when the article was about good diet plans.

Sorry you took it that way. Personally, I feel the same as CC on this one. Just ANOTHER example of a blunder by our current leadership. Is it Obama-bashing? Perhaps. But if it was another leader making just as many mistakes, I'm sure CC would be bashing him as well.

Like hornetguy said, there's more carriers being sent there and having sailors make a U-turn or stay there so suddenly is a big kick in the face to them. It isn't fair to have them stay their just because we want to tick off a country a little bit. It's not some battle victory if they stay a few days either.

Certainly there are more carriers on there way. Keeping a carrier presence in that region has been a US strategy for quite a while, for very obvious reasons: to demonstrate our commitment to security in that region and to ensure critical lines of communication could never be closed or threatened.

It's now a matter of LEGITMACY on the world stage. By NOT turning the Stennis around and planting our flag rigth back in Iran's face, we have reduced OURS in the region while stregthening theirs (especially to their neighbors). A calculated risk on our part to ignore it, perhaps to stop the inevitable jitters on the world economy if we did ratchet up the threat a little.
The question becomes, was the loss of our legitimacy worth it? Debatable...

"Not Fair" to the sailors who now have to turn around? News flash, sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines, and coasties SERVE their country. Fairness on how they feel about that service NEVER comes before that service. Get used to it, this ain't the first time something like this happened.

Ultimately, and in MY OPINION ONLY, once the Iranians uttered thier threats, the Stennis should have turned arond and waited until the Lincoln and Vinson were on station. You want to negotiate from a position of strength, and usually the best way to do that is with your knee in their chest and your knife at their throat.