Pentagon planted the story about the 1/6 Strait of Hormuz incident

Maybe this thread should be called "How to start a war", because this is an interesting story worthy as an example how disinformation works, and is at work.

www.truthout.org...

The encounter between five small and apparently unarmed speedboats, each carrying a crew of two to four men, and the three US warships occurred very early on Saturday January 6, Washington time. No information was released to the public about the incident for more than 24 hours, indicating that it was not viewed initially as being very urgent.

The reason for that absence of public information on the incident for more than a full day is that it was not that different from many others in the Gulf over more than a decade. A Pentagon consultant who asked not to be identified told IPS he had spoken with officers who had experienced similar encounters with small Iranian boats throughout the 1990s, and that such incidents are "just not a major threat to the US Navy by any stretch of the imagination".

Just two weeks earlier, on December 19, the USS Whidbey Island, an amphibious warship, had fired warning shots after a small Iranian boat allegedly approached it at high speed. That incident had gone without public notice.

How could "not a major threat... .... by any stretch of the imagination" become a story blown so much out of proportions, that MSN reported it as a close-to-declaration-of-war incident?

Because Pentagon wanted it seen that way! Why?

Because the president was going on a Mideast trip with no other apparent agenda than confirming one of the biggest arms deals (with the Saudis) ever ...and yes of course assuring the Israelis of everlasting US support. Then it's nice to have some report of recent aggressions from the mullahs.

But... as this article states, this are incidents happening all the time, probably like several times every month.

However this was the first time Pentagon bother to report, though not before they had pepped it up with the voice of the infamous "Filipino Monkey".

Initially the incident was in a release from the Navy, which no news outlet found worth reporting.

The release reported that the Iranian "small boats" had "maneuvered aggressively in close proximity of [sic] the Hopper [the lead ship of the three-ship convoy]." But it did not suggest that the Iranian boats had threatened the boats or that it had nearly resulted in firing on the Iranian boats.

On the contrary, the release made the US warships handling of the incident sound almost routine. "Following standard procedures," the release said, "Hopper issued warnings, attempted to establish communications with the small boats and conducted evasive maneuvering."

The release did not refer to a US ship being close to firing on the Iranian boats, or to a call threatening that US ships would "explode in a few minutes", as later stories would report, or to the dropping of objects into the path of a US ship as a potential danger.

That press release was ignored by the news media, however, because later that Monday morning, the Pentagon provided correspondents with a very different account of the episode.

Yes, Pentagon fabricated the whole thing. Why, to create fear and to paint their picture the way warmongers like it.

Disgusting.






[edit on 21/1/2008 by khunmoon]

Well, "The Pentagon" is not a monolithic entity, neither is the military.

The impression I get actually is that the military and intelligence leadership is not particularly enthusiastic about a confrontation with Iran, hence the recent NIE.

It's the civilian leadership that's pushing for war in this case - they may be using the DoD machinery to do it, however.

But it should be noted that as soon as the story broke, the bridge crews of the ships involved were pointing out that it wasn't that big a deal, and that the voice on the radio was probably not from one of the boats.

If "the military" as a whole was gunning for an Iran war, you can bet those guys would have been shut up quickly.

In this case the military is a fair bit more realistic than the civilian leadership.

[edit on 1/21/08 by xmotex]

Well, I'm aware Pentagon is made up of people installed by the administration, and with that pointed out, it just makes them so much more a threat to stability and worldpeace.

[edit on 22/1/2008 by khunmoon]

The thing that amazes me is that if I was in a speedboat and dropped parcels in front of a US warship in a hostile region and radioed to them that they will explode in a few minutes, I'm certain I would have my head blown off..

Nice post. It does make sense. I wondered as well, why would they have let it go without firing a warning shot if it was such a close call. It did have some impecable timing with Bush's trip to the ME. Pretty amazing that Bush goes on a campaign to show how much of a threat to the world Iran is and they just happen to give him some fresh evidence right off the bat.

I am sure that not everything is a conspiracy, but hey... since we are here, we might as well try to find one.

Iran's own video shows the blue offshore racing type boat getting way to close to the navy ships. All it takes is for one of the Iranians to pop up out of the cabin with an anti-tank shoulder launched missile and we loose the bridge of one of our ships. In the 80s they pulled this crap and we did have to fire on them many times. Those boats are a threat only when the captain of the navy ships lets them get so close.

Sky watcher,

Not even the Iranian military denies that there was a get together. They state they approach and ask for identification any time a convoy like this starts through these waters. What the Iranians claim is that the audio dubbed over this video is BS and that the confrontation the audio depicts did not happen. They state the encounter went as any of the other encounters do: they asked for identification, they received it, they went away. I mean seriously, this isn't three mullet-headed terrorists in a rubber dingy floating up beside the Cole to do a dirty deed. This is the Iranian military - I'm sure they are going to come out and announce "we explode you in a minute!" In speedboats no less.

The thing about it, too, is that international waters begin only something like 12 miles beyond the shore of ANY country! I think that is what the distance is, nowadays, anyway. It used to be wider but they've narrowed it in recent years and I do believe it was, in part, due to such incidents like this.

International waters! No one was technically out of bounds.

It seems that many people do NOT realize that NO country can just start a war if they feel a little threatened. THERE must be an attack! And since the last world war and other things in the last half-century...any country that DOES attack better have a darn good reason because if not, an unwarranted attack which disrupts peace is a WAR of AGGRESSION and IS a crime!!

The US has, so far, gotten away with breaking that international law with the war in Iraq. And obviously it shows that unfortunately enough, those laws are still needed since SOME governments still seem unable to SELF-GOVERN.

Meaning: act with maturity, wisdom, and concern for OTHERS' rights in the same way as for their own!

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It is propaganda! And the most effective propaganda is actually TRUTH because all propaganda really means is to use wide-spread dissemination of information to influence public opinion!

THIS type of propaganda isn't working all too well...less and less all the time.

BECAUSE it is not truth!

The biggest threat to world peace the American People are facing and indeed the entire world is facing is coming from right here in America.

This is not a Democratic thing or a Republican thing this is an EVIL thing that has been flourishing in the shadows of our Democracy for 50+ years now.

This Administration and the folks that are controlling it are aching to bomb Iran. They even make up little songs about it(McCain) and get lots of laughs from everyone.

What I see happening in this country horrifies me. And most of the American people simply don't give a sh*t. We the American people care only about getting through the work week and putting our boats in the river for a little fishing, or watching our precious big flat screen Televisions.

Therfore we deserve exactly what were fixing to get.

If that was there way of "bringing fear into america for war-craving purposes" than bring it on..

That in no way made me think- Oh jeez...we're all in danger- those mini boats mean business!
I dont believe anything from the governments mouth- the truth tends to unfold all on its own.