As has beenreported in a lot of places, a group of Iranian boats buzzed a trio of USN vessels in the Gulf this morning. It's unclear whether the Iranian ships were gunboats or simply fast boats with small arms, but the USN vessels included a cruiser, a destroyer, and a frigate. Apparently, no shots were fired by either side. Had it come to fisticuffs, the USN ships would almost certainly have destroyed the Iranians without loss in a matter of minutes. Right Blogistan is predictably incensed. Captain Ed calls it a "dry run" for a replay of the Cole Incident, asks breathlessly "How close were we to war?", and demands the any future encounters end in the destruction of the Iranian ships. Malkin more or less echoes these sentiments. All of this, of course, is utterly silly. U.S. superiority, both tactically and strategically, is presumptive. Were the Iranians indeed to launch a Cole-style attack (seems unlikely to me, but there are undoubtedly some crazy folks in the Revolutionary Guard), the rest of the Iranian Navy would have a lifespan of several hours before facing destruction from USN missiles and aircraft. Indeed, this would be a perfectly appropriate response to an Iranian attack, and I'll call for it myself if such a thing ever happens. But it hardly makes sense to court war by shooting first. Some of those calling for an aggressive response now believed that 15 young British sailors and marines ought to have died for the honor of their country when they were kidnapped several months ago. It's always easier to call for someone else to lay down his or her life for national honor. In the world of grown-ups, cooler heads appear to be prevailing. It's also wrong to assume that the behavior of a group of Iranian boats is indicative of a particular policy decision of the Iranian state, rather than of the Revolutionary Guard or the Iranian tactical commander, although it certainly does indicate that elements within the Iranian state seek confrontation, and that those elements aren't fully reined in by more moderate forces. --Robert Farley
