An alternate explanation for the Straits of Hormuz incident
This evening, Jim Lobe, who blogs at LobeLog.com, made an interesting observation about the recent naval incident in the Straits of Hormuz. Lobe is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the neo-conservative influence in the Bush administration. He is also the Washington Bureau Chief of the international news service agency, Inter Press Service.
In his post, About that Straits Incident...., Lobe raises “…[T]he possibility that the Navy and the Pentagon chose to dramatize the incident not so much to isolate and embarrass Iran as to enhance the chances for a new 'incidents-at-sea’ agreement that they have been pushing on the White House without success for many months now….
“It’s been no secret for some time now that the Pentagon, and the head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. William Fallon, in particular, have been pressing the White House — without success — for negotiating a new ‘incidents-at-sea’ agreement with Iran that would reduce the risk of a an accidental confrontation in the Straits of Hormuz and the Gulf itself.
“Frustrated until now in their efforts to get the White House to authorize negotiations over a new agreement, could it be that Fallon … and other Pentagon and Navy officials decided to dramatize the danger just as Bush was embarking on his trip, anticipating that the president would get an earful from his Gulf state hosts about their fears that a naval confrontation could quickly escalate into a real war in which they would suffer significant collateral damage?”
It will be interesting to see if there are any other articles or posts about the “incidents-at-sea” agreement.
See previous posts linking to Jim Lobe’s blog: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
(photo of Jim: LobeLog.com)
2 comments:
How ironic that hawkish but honorable leaders in the U.S. military may be the only real check on Bush's psychotic dellusions of dictatorial grandeur, and his likely plans to do anything, ANYTHING, including staging another false flag attack on Americans, in order to enable an election-saving attack on Iran sometime in the next several months, before November '08.
Thank God for honorable men and women in the military that would likely rebel against any move by Bush toward an Iran attack, martial law in the U.S., etc., etc. They may turn out to be, ultimately, our only hope, and the last defense of our nation from the polluted tide of fascism swelling to a crest in America in the 2000's.
In today's New York Times, a military commander points out that the Iranian boats could have been perceived as swarming the American ships, much as envisioned in a 2002 war game. The article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/washington/12navy.html?em&ex=1200286800&en=fcced6bdad2a32c4&ei=5087%0A
Janie
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