By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Tasnim and FARS, both semi-official Iranian news agencies with very close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, have reported that on Wednesday an American naval ship turned and ran away from the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Oman.
According to the report, Iran was in involved in naval maneuvers when the US ship appeared on the scene. The Iranians told the Americans about their war games and the US ship quickly turned and left.
The United States should never have been in the area and left themselves open to another encounter with the Iranians - but once they were there, it was wise not to let this escalate and turn into "incident" or a "situation" as it did last time.
But - and this is important, this non-situation is another in a growing list of examples of how the right-wing in Iran uses mundane and simple issues to its advantage at home.
The press report describes the United States naval vessel high tailing it and running away from the awesome Iranian navy. The Iranian naval chief is quoted as saying that he thinks the US ship was there to "learn our tactics".
This kind of news plays well for those in Iran who think that conflict is good and that Iran is a peer of the United States when it comes to military strength.
Again, the United States did the right thing - it was a trap that Iran had set out for them and, this time, they nibbled, but did not swallow the bait.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
Read my latest book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com
Tasnim and FARS, both semi-official Iranian news agencies with very close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, have reported that on Wednesday an American naval ship turned and ran away from the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Oman.
According to the report, Iran was in involved in naval maneuvers when the US ship appeared on the scene. The Iranians told the Americans about their war games and the US ship quickly turned and left.
The United States should never have been in the area and left themselves open to another encounter with the Iranians - but once they were there, it was wise not to let this escalate and turn into "incident" or a "situation" as it did last time.
But - and this is important, this non-situation is another in a growing list of examples of how the right-wing in Iran uses mundane and simple issues to its advantage at home.
The press report describes the United States naval vessel high tailing it and running away from the awesome Iranian navy. The Iranian naval chief is quoted as saying that he thinks the US ship was there to "learn our tactics".
This kind of news plays well for those in Iran who think that conflict is good and that Iran is a peer of the United States when it comes to military strength.
Again, the United States did the right thing - it was a trap that Iran had set out for them and, this time, they nibbled, but did not swallow the bait.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
Read my latest book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com
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