Last Friday, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters at the Pentagon about the
recent incident in the Strait of Hormuz where five Iranian speedboats
were alleged to have harassed three major U.S. warships.
An immediate White House statement urged the Iranians to “refrain
from such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous
incident.” Mullen uttered the same talking points in his
press conference, claiming he had never seen something as “provocative
and dramatic.” But just five minutes later, Mullen conceded
he hadn’t actually seen the full tape of the encounter:
MULLEN: The — there have been other situations
where certainly ships transiting the Straits of Hormuz have
been approached. To my knowledge, I have not seen one as both
provocative and dramatic as this.
[…]
Q: Is there any reason why the full videotape of the entire
episode can’t be released?
MULLEN: I know the secretary’s got it. We’re
considering it, and I can’t say it will be addressed
this afternoon, but I know that request is there. From my
perspective, first of all, I haven’t seen the full video
myself. But I’ve been told about it and I’m told
there’s nothing, you know, particularly inconsistent
or alarming with it from that perspective.
Watch it:
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In the days following the initial media reports of the Iranian
encounter in the Persian Gulf, the Bush administration has offered
a dissembling response to three key elements of the alleged
threat:
1. The Dangerous Verbal Threat. Initial media reports said
that a “threatening radio call from the Iranians”
warned that the U.S. “ships would explode.” Later,
we learned that the verbal threat may not have come from an
Iranian, and may instead have been the voice of a famous heckler.
2. The Boxes In The Water. After the verbal threat, the Iranian
boats were observed “dropping objects in the water.”
But as the Washington Post reported, U.S. ships at the time
of the incident determined the boxes “posed no threat
to the American vessels.” “After passing the white
objects, commanders on the USS Port Royal and its accompanying
destroyer and frigate decided there was so little danger from
the objects that they did not bother to radio other ships
to warn them.”
3. Boats Coming At The Ships. Initial media
reports said “the Iranians ‘maneuvered aggressively’
in the direction of the U.S. ships.” But as the video
shows, “the only boat that was close enough to be visible
to the U.S. ships was unarmed.” “The footage of
the boats maneuvering provides no visual evidence of Iranian
boats ‘making a run on U.S. ships.’”
Piggybacking off the media reports of the “provocative”
encounter with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, Bush has sounded
the urgent need to confront Iran at almost every stop along
his Middle East journey.
UPDATE: Newshoggers has more. Watch the full video of the incident
here:
