Iran'll respond strongly to hostile action in Persian Gulf: Navy commander

[seemslikeadream]

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Abbas Mohtaj on Thursday dismissed a report that Israeli submarines had entered the Persian Gulf to attack the Bushehr nuclear power plant, asserting that Iran would deliver a strong response to any hostile action in the Persian Gulf.

“Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a resolute and forceful response from us,” the rear admiral told the Mehr News Agency.

...

“Such a plan may have been tentatively proposed, but it would not be practicable in the operational stage. “Today, the Naval Forces have full control over all surface ships and submarines which enter the Persian Gulf waters.”

On the recent decision by the National Geographic Society to use an unacceptable name for the “Persian Gulf”, he stated that the idea of changing the name of the Persian Gulf is also part of the psychological warfare program orchestrated by the U.S. that is meant to sow discord among Persian Gulf littoral states because there would be no room for the U.S. to rampage through the Persian Gulf if regional countries united.
more
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/8/2005&Cat=2&Num=004

To: National Geographic Society

Dear National Geographic Editors,

We the undersigned, through this letter, protest your irresponsible and unscientific actions.

This letter is in concern of publication of a map by your organization, which, according to all international organizations, is fraudulent and distorted, and its publication guarantees the violation of undeniable international legal rights.

It is a proven scholarly fact that the name of the Persian Gulf is a genuine name, with historical roots, and using any fraudulent names such as the “Arabian Gulf”, and islands “Occupied by Iran” is in fact inducing political animosity.

We did not expect National Geographic, as a prestigious international scientific institution, to ignore the proven obvious, and damage its own reputation on the basis of political intentions, and thus create an atmosphere of public mistrust in its content, and hurt the national pride of the millions of Persian speakers while doing so.
more
http://www.petitiononline.com/persian/petition.html

[Guns Aximbo]

1. This scares me a little

This is disturbing news yet news that I have expected for some time. This a very dangerous situation, more so than if the U.S. was the threat. If Isreal attacks, we could see the entire middle east at war with us.

Iran & Syria would enter the war in Iraq and who knows what would then happen in Saudi Arabia.

The actions of Israel could escalate the war out of U.S. control.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. Nat'l Geographic tried to change the name of the Persian Gulf???

:wtf:

That's pretty fucked up, if you ask me...:grr:

BTW - is it bad of me to hope Iran does to Israeli naval ships what the Israeli AF and Navy did to the USS Liberty in 1967?

[NNN0LHI]

3. Freedom Gulf n/t

[Florida_Geek]

7. no

golfe français

[Florida_Geek]

4. Yep you bad

:evilgrin:

people always forget about the Liberty.

[StaggerLee]

6. Nope

I read book about the Liberty when I was a teenager. I was pissed when I read the firsthand accounts of that attack.

I still am.

BTW- I later enlisted in the USN- did six in the canoe club.

[MADem]

14. READ THIS BOOK

'Assault on the LIBERTY' by Jim Ennis. He was the OPSO on the Liberty during the incident. HELLUVA BOOK. That guy tells the tale, and does it well. He doesn't just tell of the incident, you learn about the skipper, the XO, the crew. I wish some wealthy Hollywood type would make that book into a movie--it would be a smash fucking hit. It's got action, it's got real characters, in all their bravery, weakness, quirks and glory, and it is TRUE.

Of course, it does not sit well with our gub-mint, so the Public Affairs types will not send a Liaison Officer to ensure the sets were correctly portrayed, the uniforms and haircuts fit the times, and procedural issues like military customs and courtesies are accuractly reflected, but I'd be more than happy to work with them for no pay as an advisor, just to see the picture made. That would be a film WORTH SEEING!!!!

God bless the Sailors of the Liberty, those that didn't make it back, and those that did.

A lot of that damage was caused by napalm, in addition to a/c firing on the vessel, FYI....

[FreeCajun]

5. Setup for a disaster, and they know it could easily happen.

Google for the "SUNBURN" missile. Most of our navy is in the Persian Gulf right now. There's a good possibility that Russia might want to get back at us for what we did to them in Afghanistan by handing the Iranians a few of these easily concealable, deadly weapons.

[seemslikeadream]

9. Sunburn “the most lethal missile in the world today.”

I was shocked when I learned the facts about these Russian-made cruise missiles. The problem is that so many of us suffer from two common misperceptions. The first follows from our assumption that Russia is militarily weak, as a result of the breakup of the old Soviet system. Actually, this is accurate, but it does not reflect the complexities. Although the Russian navy continues to rust in port, and the Russian army is in disarray, in certain key areas Russian technology is actually superior to our own. And nowhere is this truer than in the vital area of anti-ship cruise missile technology, where the Russians hold at least a ten-year lead over the US. The second misperception has to do with our complacency in general about missiles-as-weapons –– probably attributable to the pathetic performance of Saddam Hussein’s Scuds during the first Gulf war: a dangerous illusion that I will now attempt to rectify.

Many years ago, Soviet planners gave up trying to match the US Navy ship for ship, gun for gun, and dollar for dollar. The Soviets simply could not compete with the high levels of US spending required to build up and maintain a huge naval armada. They shrewdly adopted an alternative approach based on strategic defense. They searched for weaknesses, and sought relatively inexpensive ways to exploit those weaknesses. The Soviets succeeded: by developing several supersonic anti-ship missiles, one of which, the SS-N-22 Sunburn, has been called “the most lethal missile in the world today.”

The Sunburn missile has never seen use in combat, to my knowledge, which probably explains why its fearsome capabilities are not more widely recognized. Other cruise missiles have been used, of course, on several occasions, and with devastating results. During the Falklands War, French-made Exocet missiles, fired from Argentine fighters, sunk the HMS Sheffield and another ship. And, in 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Stark was nearly cut in half by a pair of Exocets while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. On that occasion US Aegis radar picked up the incoming Iraqi fighter (a French-made Mirage), and tracked its approach to within 50 miles. The radar also “saw” the Iraqi plane turn about and return to its base. But radar never detected the pilot launch his weapons. The sea-skimming Exocets came smoking in under radar and were only sighted by human eyes moments before they ripped into the Stark, crippling the ship and killing 37 US sailors.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article7147.htm

:hi:
Thanks FreeCajun

[seemslikeadream]

10. Russo-Chinese interstate commission for military and technical cooperation

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will participate in a session of the Russo-Chinese interstate commission for military and technical cooperation, a source in the ministry informed RIA Novosti on Thursday.

The Russian minister will visit the capital of China, Beijing, on December 12-15, where he will take over the function of co-chairman at the session.

According to the interlocutor, Mr. Ivanov intends to discuss the expansion of military and technical cooperation with China, prospects of new projects in the sphere and issues of combat against international terrorism and the settlement of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. Ivanov is also expected to meet with representatives of Chinese military leadership.

China is Russia's strategic partner in the sphere of military and technical cooperation. Recently Russia has offered a supply of Su-27 aircraft to China and licensed their production in China and sold two 956 destroyers (Sovremenny) equipped with unique 3M-80-E supersonic cruise missiles (Moskit).
more
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5192899&startrow=1&date=2004-12-09&do_alert=0


A high supersonic speed was specified to reduce the target’s time to deploy self-defense weapons, indeed the weapon was designed specifically to strike ships with the Aegis command and weapon control system and the SM-2 surface-to-air missile.

The 3M82 "Mosquito" missiles have the fastest flying speed among all antiship missiles in today's world. It reaches Mach 3 at a high altitude and its maximum low-altitude speed is M2.2, triple the speed of the American Harpoon.

When slower missiles, like the French Exocet are used, the maximum theoretical response time for the defending ship is 150-120 seconds. This provides time to launch countermeasures and employ jamming before deploying "hard" defense tactics such as launching missiles and using quick-firing artillery. But the 3M82 "Mosquito" missiles are extremely fast and give the defending side a maximum theoretical response time of merely 25-30 seconds, rendering it extremely difficult employ jamming and countermeasures, let alone fire missiles and quick-firing artillery.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/moskit.htm


Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)
Navy Navy Theater Wide
Navy Theater Wide
Linebacker
Sea Based NMD

The Navy Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) Program is based on the existing AEGIS Combat System (ACS) which was developed for and deployed on 27 Navy cruisers and more than 30 guided missile destroyers. It is an evolutionary program which continues the development of the STANDARD family of guided missiles, begun more than thirty years ago. The Navy Theater Wide (NTW) Program will continue this evolutionary process to enable the ACS to defend a larger area against long range TBM threats and at greater range. The NTW Program is currently in the Program Definition and Risk Reduction Phase of development. The Navy intends to propose the two-phase approach . The first phase, Block I, will address the current preponderant TBMD threat. NTW Block II will be treated as a major acquisition upgrade to the Block I Program. The Navy and BMDO are exploring funding sources above the currently approved budget to accelerate development and deployment of the initial NTW Block I. The Block II NTW system is not completely defined or fully funded.

The Navy Theater Wide system is projected to add the same generic kind of upper-tier coverage capability as the THAAD system, again providing longer-range coverage and protecting a wider area. This system also offers ascent-phase and mid-course intercept capabilities in cases where the Aegis ship can be positioned near the launch point, and between the launch point and the target area.
more
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/leap.htm

[clem_c_rock]

11. Yeah - I've read about these too-we would walk into a huge trap

It sounds like, if we were to go up against these. Everything I've read about these missles points out that there's nothing like them and there's really no defense against them that the US millitary has.

Another thing to recognize is that Iran just signed a 70 billion oil contract w/ Iran and I doubt they would sit back and endanger their economy in the event of a US attack.

What a psychotic mess these guys are playing w/.

[Just Me]

12. They're psychotic for creating this mess!!! n/t

[Redstone]

8. And, unlike the Iraqui army

the Iranian army will fight if we invade.

Though they might want to think twice...the Iraqis seem to have been able to administer us a good, solid ass-kicking by NOT fighting out in the open, thereby saving their strength for later.

Gee, where else was it where we were able to soundly drub the "real army" but couldn't handle the "insurgents?"

Do the acronyms NVA and VC ring any bells anywhere in Washington? Has anyone in this administration ever read a history book?

Redstone

[Swamp Rat]

13. The history books are vetted in order to NOT damage their beautiful minds.

[clem_c_rock]

15. Nice pic! Ha ha

[Swamp Rat]

16. Thanks. Here's the latest:

[sendero]

18. It doesn't take much research..

.... to find out that Iran is nothing like Iraq. If we attack Iran, pray for our soldiers because Irna has a real army, real equipment, and a real national pride.

Iran would make Iraq look like a cakewalk, and I mean that very literally. I hope our leaders are not that stupid.

[DS1]

17. Iran's Navy controls every ship and sub in the Gulf?

Fat f*cking chance, bucko

[NashVegas]

19. We Won't Touch Iran

Until Iraq is pacified ... then it's Iran sandwich time.

[MADem]

21. I don't think we'll go after them

Simply because CHINA is their best customer, and buying more and more from them every year. The Chinese are not going to sit idly by and let us screw with THEIR oil supply. And there's 1.3 billion of those sonsabitches, with an easy commute...!

Much easier to foment a little unrest in Saudi Arabia, then go in "for the good of the WORLD, ya see" and secure those oil fields. Also, Saudi is easier to manage...lotsa wide open spaces, very defined cities and towns, easier to cut them off and isolate them.

We go in either as friends of the House of Saud, or we go in for their own good. Grab the oil, yee haw.

We'd be better off looking hard for alternative energy sources.

[sarcasmo]

20. If this were to happen it would be the official start of WWIII

If this were to happen it would be a bigger nightmare than the old cold war. It would be the U.S.A. the British and Israel against the rest of the world. I'M pretty sure that Russia and China would stay neutral and watch us crumble.