Iranian Navel Vessel photographed passing through Suez Canal - image msnbc.com
Opinion
The headline from Ynet News: “Iranian Navy gets new cruise missiles” speaks to claims from Iran’s Minister of Defense that cruise missiles, capable of a 200 KM range with both on and off shore targeting options, had been delivered to the Iranian Navy. In terms of miles, that’s a 124 miles reach, or, to put it more bluntly, should Iran, as stated deploy navel ships off the U.S. East Coast, in international waters, in order to build up their “open sea” presence(ABC News), U.S. territory ends approximately 14 miles from the coast, putting cruise missiles well within reach of all major U.S. East Coast Cities, including Washington D.C., New York and Boston.
Image depicting International Maritime Boundaries U.S. Coast - NOAA.gov image
However much the Iranians may have a “right” to travel in international waters, the Obama administration’s remarks regarding Iran’s Capabilities, or lack thereof, more to the point, are somewhat disconcerting:
(U.S. China Daily News)
The White House on Wednesday dismissed the reported Iranian threat to send naval ships near the United States, saying such maneuver exceeds the limits of the Islamic republic's capability.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made the remarks during his regular press briefing, saying the White House doesn't take these statements "seriously."
"They do not reflect at all Iran's naval capabilities," said Carney.
Flashback: Carter and the Hostage Crisis, Nightline's Daily Update image housing panic blogspot blog
Consider the dismissive nature of the press briefing, while Iran has to date, not hesitated to use their Naval Resources outside of their own waters, most specifically crossing the Suez Canel in February of this year(CNN World News). Is it possible that the Iranian Navy has cruise missiles, yes, and is they capable of cruising into international waters 14 miles off the U.S. coastline – absolutely.
One has to ask if the administration is downplaying the latest round of Iranian Saber Rattling in an attempt to calm the populace that is aware of the situation, or are they taking the “Jimmy Carter “route to an entirely new level? Carter’s moniker as a Paper Tiger during the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 (Anchorage Daily News, Google archives November 14, 1979), was appropriate. As the Crisis was downplayed originally by the administration, with repeated attempts at negotiating with Iran, gave Carter, 30 years ago or more, the appearance of helplessness and the Title. A “Paper Tiger” is loosely defined as a Leader or Leadership that is not capable of defending itself, or its nation, all word, no action, or combination of both, seen as vulnerable on all fronts.
Granted, this may be a case where Iran is over stating their capabilities, however, one would hope that the White House has intelligence to back up the claim that the Iranians pose no threat, and are entitled to go where they will in International Waters. However, how comfortable are we with one of the world’s most egregious regime’s, parking their navy 14 miles from say New York City or Boston, with enough fire power to take out strategic interests which are known to be located in both New York and throughout New England?
How committed to the nation is this administration, should the Iranians cross the line and prove themselves capable of not only traveling to U.S. waters, but also testing a few weapons right outside the 14 mile limit (say 15 miles) – even if an error occurred on the part of the Iranian Navy, and alleged cruise missiles were fired, in the wrong direction, and hit say: Boston or beyond, what type of response would one expect from the administration?
One would hope that Obama would find his inner Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann or reach back and grab Maggie Thatcher, in order to “man up” to the situation. Otherwise, this type of Hostage situation scenario is beyond the scope of Carter’s, and brings the definition of “Paper Tiger” to an entirely new level.
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