Serious Questions About a Persian Gulf Humiliation

Four short years ago this month, the U.S.S. Kidd, a Navy guided missile destroyer, rescued 13 Iranian fishermen from the hands of Somali pirates.  They were not asked to do it.  They just acted in the best custom and tradition of civilized mariners.  In fact, around the world, the United States Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress. 

That is what makes this week’s seizure of two U.S. Navy riverine boats by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf so outrageous.

The Obama Administration tells us that two 49-foot patrol craft were travelling between Kuwait and Bahrain on the Persian Gulf on Tuesdaywhen one vessel suffered a mechanical breakdown.  Both boats reportedly floated into Iranian-patrolled waters near Farsi Island.

But instead of rendering assistance, elements of the Iran’s Navy seized the boats, “arrested” the crew at gunpoint and detained them overnight.   While the ten crewmembers were in custody, the boats were searched by armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval forces. 

The President never mentioned this serious incident in his State of the Union speech to the nation on Tuesday night.  Further, when the sailors returned to a U.S. base in Qatar on Wednesday, Secretary of State Kerry thanked Iranian authorities for their “cooperation and quick response.”

Yes, he thanked them for seizing our sailors. 

In this regard, I have plenty of questions for our Navy commanders.  Such as:

Why did the U.S. fleet headquarters lose communication with the two Navy boats? Did the Navy even know the boats were in distress?

Did the Iranians remove any classified or sensitive U.S. military gear from the boats and what countermeasures is our military taking to keep other sailors and troops operating in that area safe?

With the USS Harry Truman carrier strike group operating in the Persian Gulf and a major U.S. naval base in Bahrain, wasn’t the Navy capable of providing assistance to its own sailors?

Unbelievably, a faceless, yet senior, Obama Administration official is quoted as saying “There is nothing to indicate the capture was a hostile act on the part of Iran.”

From what I know today, I view this incident as a deliberate humiliation by the Iranians who are sending a message that the United States is weak and cannot protect its own sailors, let alone our allies in the region.

The Obama Administration’s fawning response helped the Iranians make their case.