U.S. rescues Iranian ship held by pirates

[quest7]

The U.S. Navy has rescued an Iranian fishing vessel that had been held hostage by pirates for up to 45 days in the Arabian Sea, the military said Friday

The rescue was performed Thursday by forces from the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, part of the 5th Fleet that was warned this week by Iran not to pass back through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a Navy press release, forces flying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd detected a suspected pirate vessel alongside Iranian fishing dhow Al Molai, which had also sent out a distress call saying it was being held by pirates.

Iran's posturing may mask concerns of leaders Iran plans new drills near Strait of Hormuz

Al Molai's crew was detained for between 40 and 45 days, enduring harsh conditions and possibly being forced to assist the pirates in other operations against their will, the Navy said.

"When we boarded, we gave them food, water, and medical care," Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd, said in the statement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on the rescue in a "Face the Nation" interview scheduled to air Sunday.

"It's what we do. And it's what we do in that part of the world. We get a distress call, as we did in the case, even though it came from an Iranian ship when the pirates went after them we respond to those calls," Panetta said. "We did what we have to do in that situation. I think it just sends an important message to the world that the United States is going to abide by international rules and international order and that's exactly what we did here."

Video: Iran continues threats against oil shipping Iran warns U.S. to back off from Persian Gulf U.S.: Warships will sail despite Iran's threats

In the same interview, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the 15 suspected pirates surrendered without incident.

"I think in the face of the overwhelming combat power that was presented I think the pirates made the right decision," he said.

The suspects are currently being detained aboard the USS John C. Stennis. They had been using the Iranian vessel as a "mother ship" for pirating operations in the Persian Gulf, the Navy said.

U.S. officials say the Iranian captain expressed his gratitude.

The rescue comes amid escalating threats from Iran that it could block the Strait of Hormuz in response to stronger economic sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear enrichment program.

http://m.cbsnews.com/fullstory.rbml?feed_id=2&catid=57353833&videofeed=38

The navy just scored some cool points from me.

 

[Gmash]

I was reading about this earlier. The funny part is the Iranian fishermen were so happy to be rescued that they went on their way wearing US Navy ball caps lol.

 

[cmybliss]

I can't wait to see how Ahmadinejad spins this. Probably something along the lines of the U.S. paid the pirates to capture the poor fisherman and treat them terribly just so our Navy could come to the rescue and look like heroes.

 

[Frisco]

Iran has congratulated the U.S. Navy and declared the action "a humanitrian action."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/intern...n_hails_gesture_rescue_cFy4yMQpfzbA7zMOKUicHM

 

[Sak01]

^^hugs and kisses all round then, eh?

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

"I think in the face of the overwhelming combat power that was presented I think the pirates made the right decision," he said.

Ya think?

 

[Frisco]

^^hugs and kisses all round then, eh?

Oh sure.

 

[TJGoSurf]

As someone who has been on both sides of the Iranian border I'm going to tell you something that will make your head asplode. Iran's government are a bunch of dicks, yet the people of Iran love American culture. I have a full issue of Iranian military uniforms and medals that I traded with the local border guards.

 

[OstrichSaK]

Iran's government are a bunch of dicks, yet the people of Iran love American culture.

I think this is pretty well known but unfortunately that doesn't change our relationship with those dicks. They need to overthrow their crap government and then all will be well. Until then it doesn't matter if their population is 70% American because it's the government that poses the threat.

 

[TJGoSurf]

I think this is pretty well known but unfortunately that doesn't change our relationship with those dicks. They need to overthrow their crap government and then all will be well. Until then it doesn't matter if their population is 70% American because it's the government that poses the threat.

Your solution is if people don't like the government they should overthrow it? I don't like my government are you saying I should work to overthrow it?

 

[OstrichSaK]

Your solution is if people don't like the government they should overthrow it? I don't like my government are you saying I should work to overthrow it?

Yep.

In more complex terms you're saying that we should give Iran some leniency because their populace loves us but the government, who controls the military and missiles, is the real dicks. That's not how the real world works. Unfortunately we have to pay attention to the guy pointing weapons at us in a threatening manner and not his kind mother who means well and actually likes us. Maybe his mother should teach him some manners then we could all just get along. Same thing with Iran, it's government and it's people.

 

[TJGoSurf]

Yep.

In more complex terms you're saying that we should give Iran some leniency because their populace loves us but the government, who controls the military and missiles, is the real dicks. That's not how the real world works. Unfortunately we have to pay attention to the guy pointing weapons at us in a threatening manner and not his kind mother who means well and actually likes us. Maybe his mother should teach him some manners then we could all just get along. Same thing with Iran, it's government and it's people.

And how many years have you lived in a combat zone? And I mean real combat, not sitting on an airbase in Iraq.

 

[OstrichSaK]

And how many years have you lived in a combat zone? And I mean real combat, not sitting on an airbase in Iraq.

Not sure how this qualifies someone for this particular discussion.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

And how many years have you lived in a combat zone? And I mean real combat, not sitting on an airbase in Iraq.

Not sure how this qualifies someone for this particular discussion.

I have to agree, this is a non-issue as it is not a requirement for having knowledge of the subject at hand.

 

[EarlyMon]

Well, hi there.

Clearly you don't understand the value of human life.

The essence of our posting rules is to politely attack issues and not each other.

The follow-on bickering has been deleted. None of that's needed either.

No one comes into a thread expecting to read about a US rescue to get into this sort of rule-breaking nonsense instead.

Choices available:

• Stay on-track and mostly on-topic, posting within the rule's call for common courtesy.
• Move on. Plenty of other topics and people to engage on politics.

And it seems I've just been too long absent from the PCA section here. I think I'll hang out for a while and see if I might once again impress the idea that the highest form of political discourse is to agree to disagree.



Everyone has a perfect right to their opinion and to express it here within the constraints of the rules that we all agreed upon to gain posting privileges here.



There's no cause to make it personal when opinions conflict. Just agree to disagree.

 

[JohnLaird]

Although the rescue op was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it does make me proud of our military. If events continue on the path they are currently on and we are provoked into bombing Iran to dust six months from now, this will still be a bright spot.

 

[quest7]

Yesterday marked the third time in less than a month that the U.S. navy has saved Iranian sailors from some kind of maritime peril. Seriously, Iran, get your shit together.

NYT: U.S. Navy Says It Assists Thir

The repeated aid efforts come as Iran has aimed belligerent warnings at the Navy's Fifth Fleet, which has patrolled the Persian Gulf and its vital international oil-shipping passages for decades. Iran has called American rescue operations standard operating procedure for all navies and dismissed the American accounts of its actions as clumsy propaganda.

 

[ChadKaplowski]

I'm genuinely not sure how I feel about this - it smacks of the sentiment of America : World Police.

Had it been a ship of another nation that was held by pirates (UK, Dutch, France, whatever) then the home nation would have responded by sending troops, the US forces wouldn't intervene.

However, in this case, its Iran. Now one part is that if that Iranian vessel is being used as a launching pad for the pirates in the area then it is in America's interest to liberate it (but is it within the navy's juristiction?) - On the other hand, given the escalating tensions between Iran and the US, the move earns valuable brownie points.

 

[Slug]

Had it been a ship of another nation that was held by pirates (UK, Dutch, France, whatever) then the home nation would have responded by sending troops, the US forces wouldn't intervene.

Nope. It was in international waters and a distress call had been sent, therefore any and all vessels in the vicinity are duty-bound to attend. In this most recent incident, the US warship came across fishing vessels obviously in need of help and offered it. I'm sure some of them had mixed feelings too but they did what is expected of all mariners and should be applauded for it. In a world full of inhumanity and disregard for others, acts like this are a beacon of hope.