HOME PAGE: No matter what your political views might be... One thing is for certain. In these days of fast news and even faster life styles... We all seem to have forgotten those moments in history that so abruptly and tragically changed this beloved Country of ours... 9/11… How soon we forget…
About News Video: Video and audio recordings of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, and a voice speaking in heavily-accented English can be heard threatening that the American vessels were going to explode, military officials said. The Pentagon has released video footage of the confrontation between US and Iranian boats in the Gulf. Video post on LiveLeak by jdischord
Some great Video footage here... so be sure to click it out. AubreyJ.........
Admiral Details Iranian Challenge to U.S. Ships Monday, January 07, 2008 Written by Jim Garamone .
The commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Middle East today called the behavior of Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that buzzed three U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday "unduly provocative."
Navy Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, who also commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, briefed Pentagon reporters via video teleconference from his headquarters in Manama, Bahrain.
He said the USS Port Royal, USS Hopper, USS Ingraham were inbound to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz yesterday morning. The ships were in the midst of a routine transit in the early daylight hours, the admiral said. Five Iranian Revolutionary Guard high-speed craft came from the north and approached the U.S. ships.
"The five boats approached the U.S. formation on its starboard bow in international waters slightly inside the Gulf from the apex of the strait," Cosgriff said.
The Iranian boats broke into two groups and went on both sides of the U.S. formation. "The groups maneuvered aggressively in the direction of the U.S. ships," Cosgriff said.
U.S. captains called on the radio and sounded the ships' horns to warn the Iranians off, he said. "The (U.S.) ships received a radio call that was threatening to our ships to the effect that they were closing our ships and that the U.S. ships would explode," Cosgriff said.
Subsequently, U.S. sailors observed two of the Iranian boats dropping objects in the water generally in the path of the USS Ingraham. "These objects were white box-like objects that floated," the admiral said. "Obviously the Ingraham passed by safely."
The boats maneuvered close astern, and after 30 minutes they returned in the direction from which they came, back toward Iranian territorial waters. The Iranian boats approached within 500 yards of the U.S. ships, the admiral said.
"It was transit passage in international waters incidental to a routing inbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz," Cosgriff said. "The U.S. ships were clearly marked. It was daylight, (with) decent visibility.
"The behavior of the Iranian ships was unnecessary," he continued, "without due regard to safety of navigation and unduly provocative in the aggregate of their maneuvers, the radio call and the dropping of objects in the water."
The admiral praised the U.S. ships' crews, saying they stepped through procedures carefully, with good discipline and with due regard for all the factors. "I was very proud of their performance and the training they received," Cosgriff said.
From news articles by DoD’s American Forces Press Service Map from CENTCOM
**************** >>> TimesOnLine.co.uk has a great write-up on this story and it goes in part like this-- ...it was the warning transmitted as they closed in that threatened to turn a potentially hostile maneuver into a dangerous incident that could have spiraled out of control. “I am coming at you, you will explode in a couple of minutes,” the message said... Read the rest at link below... ‘Reckless’ Iranians threaten to blow up American warships in the Gulf .................... >>>DAWN.com has this take... US warns Iran of tough action after Gulf face-off
