Action alert: What can we do to reduce the risk of a naval incident between the US and Iran triggering a war?

Yesterday I heard about Incidents at Sea agreements for the first time and posted about it here. According to Jim Lobe, there exists “…[T]he possibility that the Navy and the Pentagon chose to dramatize the incident [the recent confrontation in the Straits of Hormuz] 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.

Here’s what I’ve learned and what I think we can do to jump start an effort to get the Bush Administration to start talking with Iran about an Incidents at Sea Agreement.

1. What is an Incident at Sea Agreement? According to the Federation of American Scientists, “The Incidents at Sea Agreement serves to enhance mutual knowledge and understanding of military activities, to reduce the possibility of conflict by accident, miscalculation, or the failure of communication, and to increase stability in times of both calm and crisis."

2. Has the U.S. entered into an Incidents at Sea Agreement with other countries?

Yes.

A. Russia (formerly the USSR): The Agreement was signed by Secretary of State John Warner and Soviet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov during the Moscow summit meeting in 1972. There’s a good summary of the Agreement at Global Beat Syndicate. This agreement was reached in the middle of the Cold War.

B. China. In January, 1998, China and the United States signed the Agreement.

3. Why won’t the Bush Administration enter into an Incidents at Sea Agreement with Iran if the Navy and Pentagon want it? Beats me.

4. Is Iran open to it? Yes, according to William Arkin, who blogs for The Washington Post, they appear to be open to it. “At this point, Washington has two choices: It can release every shred of intelligence and information it has in an attempt to show how the Iranians are lying. Or it can let the matter drop and focus instead averting these types of incidents in the future. If it chooses the latter, it may find that Iran is a more willing partner than it appears. What Tehran is saying, after all, is quite similar to what the U.S. Navy is saying.”

5. What can we do? Former Secretary of the Navy, John Warner, who signed the Agreement on behalf of the US with the USSR, is an influential Republican US Senator. He retiring at the end of his current term. Why not contact him and ask him to use his power and influence to persuade the Bush Administration to start Incident of the Sea Agreement negotiations with Iran?

How to contact Sen. Warner:
1. Use the CONTACT FORM on his website
2. Call his office: Capitol Switchboard: 800.828.0498, or directly, 202.224.2023
3. Fax or mail a letter: fax: 202.224.6295; Senator John Warner, 225 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510.

(photo of US Naval ships: op-for.com)