US War Plans and the "Strait of Hormuz Incident": Just Who Threatens Whom?

Global Research, January 11, 2008

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Instigated by the Pentagon, a bungled media disinformation campaign directed against Iran has unfolded. Five Iranian patrol boats, visibly with no military capabilities, have been accused of threatening three US war ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to a Pentagon spokesman: The Iranian vessels “showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The encounter [on 6 January 2008] lasted between 15 and 25 minutes, he said. “We haven’t had an event of this serious nature recently,” Whitman said, referring to encounters between U.S. Navy vessels and Iranian warships. (Bloomberg, January 7, 2008) At one point the U.S. ships received a threatening radio call from the Iranians, “to the effect that they were closing (on) our ships and that the ships would explode — the U.S. ships would explode,” Cosgriff said. The Associated Press Pentagon Says Ships Harassed by Iran) The Pentagon said the incident was serious. It described the Iranian actions as “careless, reckless and potentially hostile” and said Tehran should provide an explanation. (Arab Times, 7 January 2008) Media Disinformation Coinciding with Bush’s Middle East trip, the intent of the Pentagon’s propaganda ploy is to present Iran as the aggressor. Continued . . .