Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

2nd US Navy officer fired over Iran’s detention of 10 sailors

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It’s unconscionable that the Navy is making Rasch and Moses the fall guys for this incident after the Obama Administration pretended that nothing amiss had happened in the first place. After the sailors were released, Vice President Joe Biden dismissed the entire incident as the routine treatment of boats with mechanical difficulties. Denying that the U.S. had apologized to Iran, as had been widely rumored, Biden said: “When you have a problem with the boat, (do) you apologize the boat had a problem? No. And there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice.” The sailors were blindfolded, made to kneel at gunpoint, and interrogated for hours. But Biden maintained that the entire situation was routine: “The Iranians picked up both boats — as we have picked up Iranian boats that needed to be rescued.” The Iranians, he said, “realized they were there in distress and said they would release them, and released them — like ordinary nations would do.”

Defense Secretary Ash Carter sounded similar notes, thanking Secretary of State John Kerry “for his diplomatic engagement with Iran to secure our sailors’ swift return. Around the world, the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress, and we appreciate the timely way in which this situation was resolved.”

Kerry, in turn, was grateful to the Iranians: “All indications suggest or tell us that our sailors were well taken care of, provided with blankets and food and assisted with their return to the fleet earlier today.” He ascribed the Iranians’ swift release of the sailors to communications channels that had been opened during the nuclear negotiations: “I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago, and in fact it is clear that today this kind of issue was able to be peacefully resolved and officially resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure and strong.” He thanked the Iranians for their “cooperation and quick response.”

So if everything was that wonderful, why fire Rasch and Moses?

There needs to be a thorough housecleaning of the Obamoid military. But will it be forthcoming?

Navy sailors detained Iran

“2nd US Navy officer fired over Iran’s detention of 10 sailors,” by Lolita C. Baldor, Times of Israel, June 25, 2016:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US Navy has fired a second commander in connection with the 10 American sailors who wandered into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf in January and were captured and held by Iran for about 15 hours.

Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan, commander of Naval Forces Central Command, has relieved Capt. Kyle Moses of his duties as head of the command’s Task Force 56. Moses has been reassigned.

A US official says additional punishments against seven other sailors are under review and decisions will be announced next week. The seven include the squadron commander who already was fired and reassigned, and his executive officer, as well as three of the sailors who were detained.

Donegan says he initially took administrative action against Moses based on the preliminary results of the investigation into the Iran incident. He says that after going over the results of the final investigation he decided that more action was necessary.

The US official says that Rear Adm. Frank Morneau, head of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, is considering whether additional actions should be taken against Cmdr. Eric Rasch, who was executive officer of the unit when the incident occurred. He was reassigned last month, before the final investigation was completed.

To date, no action has been taken against Cmdr. Greg Meyer, who was serving as commander of the squadron when the incident happened. He is no longer in a command job, but he is one of the seven who is facing possible discipline.

The official said that in addition to Rasch, Meyer and three of the detained sailors, there also may be action taken against an officer and an enlisted sailor who were based in Kuwait and had oversight of the boat teams.

Several other sailors have already received administrative reprimands in connection with the January incident.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran detained the sailors, nine men and one woman, after their boat drifted into Iranian waters off Farsi Island, an outpost in the middle of the Persian Gulf that has been used as a base for Revolutionary Guard speedboats since the 1980s.

The sailors were on two small armed vessels, known as riverine command boats, on a 300-mile journey from Kuwait to Bahrain, where the Navy’s 5th Fleet is located. The incident, while brief, raised tensions between the US and Iran because of images Iran published of the soldiers kneeling with their hands on their heads. It caused political uproar at home, too, coming on the day of President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address and months after the signing of a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from financial penalties.

An early account of the incident said the crew stopped when a diesel engine in one of the boats appeared to have a mechanical issue. The second boat also stopped….

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Comments

  1. What piece of garbage Joe Biden is. I realized this back when I first heard of him during Obama’s campaign. After he trotted out the “little guy from Scranton” routine and a bunch of worn-out crafted stories about half-a-dozen times in a couple of weeks, I was amazed that all of you Americans couldn’t see right through him like a plate glass window.

    • You are right Don, after all He took the job under President Obama, and is stiil there.

    • I’m surprised by the Americans gullibility on a daily bases. I’m dumb struck by their naivety or their self-blinded arrogance.

      The dumbing down of their education for the past 50 years has made them an un-enlightened danger.

      • I wonder who issued the order to NOT fire at the Iranians? Two boats dont break down at the same time. If one broke down the other boat is obligated to tow it out of danger. But when the Iranians filmed them leaving, both boats were running. Are we to believe that the terrorists fixed the boat too.?

      • What sources do you cite for our “dumbing down”? Usually stupid opinions are made by ignorant people who like to pretend they know what they are talking about. In case you didn’t know, which is obviously true, the vice-president is mostly window dressing, so people had to.vote for him who were democrats. Now Obama is another story in itself. We plainly had sufficient numbers of voters who believed the symbolism of a black President was more important than his worthiness to hold the office. Now go lambast all of the U.K. for leaving the EU even though slightly more than half of the 70% of eligible voters who voted for Brexit sealed the fate of all the U.K. Don’t blame all people for the actions of a minority of those affected.

    • I knew about Biden years ago when he was running for President in the Demo primary. He said in a speech, “You, know, as I was coming here today I was thinking that I am the first member of my family to graduate from college……..” Not bad, except Neil Kinnock, running for PM in England had said a couple of weeks before that that “You know, as I was coming here today I was thinking that I am the first member of my family to graduate from college…….” Word for word. Biden dropped out of the race and was called “Xerox Biden” for a short time after. Left Wingers will steal anything, even someone else’s speech.

      I’m voting for Trump.

    • Don’t forget, John Kerry is a riverine gunboat hero from Vietnam, so he knew exactly what to do. Well, perhaps he didn’t know precisely what to do, but he knew what to feed the open ears of Americans. Turns out, our guys were just praying when they were captured in that photo of them on their knees. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

    • A great many of us did see through the guy, Don. He has a history of foot-in-mouth and thumb-in-the-eye going back to his days as a US Senator. But — we have an electorate that is growing dumber and more brainwashed by the day — and they all vote Democrat.

    • Some years ago I spoke to a repair technician who did a LOT of work for a large military base not far from my home. He told me that the military was FORCING people ===who were approaching their 20 year retirement time == out of the service in DROVES….

      How does this have application to this article you might ask? It seems that his been the modus operendi for the Obama administration — anything to undermine our men and women in uniform….

      I’m sure the same thing holds true for the reason of these two military men being fired….I cant wait till Obozo is out of the WH and wearing and orange jump suit and sitting in a cell.

  2. These men give their WHOLE life to the military and Obama just rips it away from them? This is meant to undermine the confidence of our military! There is no other reason. Even if there was some covert plot(highly doubtful) created by these Commanders, what ever happened to trusting a Commanders judgement? Isn’t that why they got to the level of Commander? Impeach Obama for this!

    • The whole story seems a fabrication. Were it a simple breakdown the powered boat would simply have towed the other. If they had no lines, a short one could have been made from their belts and kept them in international waters. The whole thing could be resolved in an instant by the Pres. declassifying the incident.

    • All part of the plan to degrade and demoralize the US military. A family member left due to changing culture in military – was in long enough to retire, but could have stayed 10+ more years for better benifits, said many of their military friends did the same. Did not like changing military environment and did not want to compromise values, so they left.

      The PTBs can make situation in military so bad that many good people leave, but they cant Un-train them. Why do you think the PTBs are so in favor of gun control?

    • Of course there was no covert plot by the top brass in the military. Wouldn’t say that about Obama and Kerry, though. They have tried to reduce our military to a Boy Scout troop for some time. Obviously something happened and we have pictures to prove it. I don’t blame the men and one woman who were detained, made to kneel and were blindfolded. If someone told me to do that, and they were pointing guns at me, I’d do it too. The problem was upon whose orders were they there, why didn’t the other boat tow them and who gave the orders to surrender and grovel. I’d say the idiots in Washington who are trying so hard to appease Islam and Iran. Biden, of course, had no hand in it as he is a fool with no power and no brain.

  3. Public sector employees can’t be fired. At the federal level this is because of the OPM rules, but every state and city has its clones of the same. Public servants are serving us, so how can we fire them? True, the AEI did a major study that found federal employees are paid 30-60% more, including benefits, and get to retire early at 90% of their final salary as a pension for life, but they served.

    One the other hand, those who serve in the armed service *can* be fired. The military must have strict discipline, so the OPM safeguards don’t apply to them. Plus, the public servants in DC dislike military people, and are quite willing to sell their careers down the drain for political expediency. Oh it’s a fine country in which we live.

    • ?????Public servants are serving us and we can’t fire them? Of course we can fire them if they stop serving us. We can, but Washington won’t, especially if they are serving the Administration and not the people. Like Lois Lerner. She retired, was not fired, even after taking the Fifth many, many times.

  4. Why does America continues to share the entire world that we are weak and that America happens to be the source of what ails our enemies.

    America Bows Again!

    That ploy will STOP soon!

    • No it won’t. Obeisance to Moslems is on the rise. I see the commonsensical trumpeted by Trump and the sudden mental clarity with Brexit in the UK as mirages, but the bowing and kowtowing and apologizing and hairy palm greasing will continue over at least two more decades. My scenario is this: there is a nuclear detonation on American or EUrabian soil, not a dirty bomb but a portable fission device. Accusations fly that the Moslem tiny minority of extremists did it, but those are met with charges of Islamophobia and racism from the MSM, which still owns the media. As things slowly return to normal, there is yet another detonation, this one bigger and mass murdering tens of millions. Only then will the moral and intellectual authority of the news entertainers and academicians will finally be challenged, and the kowtowing will stop. At that point expulsion and isolationism will be adopted as policies of civilized nations. Maybe. The angry Moslems will then turn their wrath on India.

      • I think Brexit is giving courage to those who want to break out of this madness and see more defections from the EU. France will eventually have Le Pen in charge. And Italy has about had it, too. Merkel is on a downward spiral and she’ll resign soon or be driven out. You can only flood civilized countries with so many moslems and lie about them before the citizenry revolt and civil wars break out. Brexit represents an averting of a British civil war. Maybe.

        I think you are right though that it’s going to take some nuclear bombs going off before the Mainstream Media is shamed into honesty about Islam. They are that pathetic. Likely you are right about India as a sitting duck target for moslem fury. However, it may result in an actual atomic war. Atomic war was always been where Islam is headed. It is inevitable. I only wish that somebody with the power and the ability could see that the first place that should be nuked is Mecca so that Islam would implode on itself.

      • APF,

        If the isis petroleum production fields would come to a screeching halt would it put a devastating pinch on Islam’s shenanigans for the next two decades? Yeah, some of the 57 muslim’s states most likely would step-in to fill the revenue resources gap to sustain islam’s ambitions. Those that jump into the fray may too will have to feel the wrath that will be imposed by the freedom loving allies that want to eliminate islam’s continual torments.

        • Edward says: “…That ploy will STOP soon!”

          That will require a Trump victory. Let’s assume and hope for that, there wont be anything ‘soon’. He will have to de-Clinton, de-Bush and de-Obama your *entire* military, probably from the ground up.

          Let me put it this way, an air force officer is forced to leave, by his comrades, during a flag ceremony. Reason: He mentioned, that is said: ‘God’. Personally, I have no doubt, would he have said/mentioned ‘Allah’, he could have stayed.

          Watch it >>>: https://youtu.be/B59XKDpG0lc

          Good luck guys, you’ll need it as much as we do.

      • I have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that this will happen too. It is only a matter of time. And Jihadis don’t care if thousands of Muslims are killed either, because the Jihadis are sending them to Paradise!! So it is virtually unpredictable where this will happen.

      • How often are your psychic predictions correct, Pig Farmer. Trump is not a mirage nor was the English vote to exit the EU. Start from that point, not an imaginary situation.

  5. Ashton Carter needs to be escorted out of the Pentagon by 2-MPs for total incompetence and not following advice I’m sure was given to him to bottle up that island until the return of our Men.
    John Kerry needs to be escorted out of the State Dept by State Dept Agents Lying to the American Public about the entire Iran Deal & Dealings plus his Full knowledge about the disposition of our sailors. He’s a disgusting excuse for a human being.

    • John Kerry needs to be escorted out of the State Department simply for being John Kerry.

  6. “I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago, and in fact it is clear that today this kind of issue was able to be peacefully resolved and officially resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure and strong.”

    God bless our diplomatic corps. God bless the hidden benefits of the nuclear negotiations.
    God bless our military – better we give them the bullet than our ‘friends’.

  7. What a strange report this is. People have been “fired”, but the reason for the firing is not given. Didn’t any reporter ask for the reason? Also strange is the statement “The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.” But he *did* discuss the matter publicly (although not disclosing everything that a reader would want to know). Discussing a matter and allowing use of one’s name are independent acts; one does not imply or preclude the other.

    • “ Didn’t any reporter ask for the reason?”

      Question the government? That’s racist!

  8. Oh bomb ah. I just can’t write his name correctly. Well, these sailors, our true national heroes, were thrown ‘ under the boat’. Laughable if not tragic. The world is upside down!

  9. Robert, where can I obtain a good reading list about Islam to send to a friend who needs education (and I’ll read as well when I have the time)?

    Thanks in advance.

  10. In contrast to the politically correct legislation now in vogue around the globe, “The American College of Pediatricians warned legislators and educators…to reject all policies that condition children to accept transgenderism as normal, adding that attempts to normalize a condition classified as a mental illness is child abuse… When an otherwise healthy biological boy believes he is a girl, or an otherwise healthy biological girl believes she is a boy, an objective psychological problem exists that lies in the mind not the body, and it should be treated as such… Pointing to data from the DSM-V, the American College of Pediatricians said as many as 98 percent of gender confused boys and 88 percent of gender confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty”

  11. When this story first broke, my first questions were:

    1. Were the U. S. riverine boats in international waters at the time that they were boarded?

    I had this question, because the tactic of boarding U. S. vessels in international waters by an adversary is not unprecedented. For instance, in early 1968, the North Koreans boarded the USS Pueblo in international waters, killing one of the crew, and escorting the vessel shore. There was a reason for this: the Pueblo was an intelligence-gathering vessel, in essence, a floating antenna field. Years later, it was determined that the purpose of capturing the Pueblo was to acquire crypto gear, including the KW-7, which was used for secure tactical communications. Chief Warrant Officer John Walker, responsible for the worst spy-ring in U. S. Navy history, had provided the Soviet KGB with some encryption gear maintenance manuals and encryption key lists; however, they did not have enough information to reverse engineer the KW-7. Capturing the Pueblo provided the perfect opportunity to acquire the equipment, as well as other crypto equipment, technical information and classified documents. Ultimately, the crew was held as POWs for almost a year, being routinely interrogated, tortured and starved. But the Soviets got what they wanted: equipment, current encryption lists, and technical maintenance manuals. As such, one might wonder: What was aboard these two boats that might have been of intelligence or communications value to the Iranians?

    2. Did either of the two riverine boats issue a SITREP (Situation Report), prior to their capture? Aware of the potential for hostile encounters with Iranian naval forces, it would be standard operating procedure to advise their chain of command of mechanical problems impacting their transit timeline and need for assistance.

    3. Why was the GPS malfunctioning? Prior to departure, there should have been a checklist review of geolocation accuracy, as the port of departure does not move.
    That GPS malfunctions would occur on both boats simultaneously is a curious occurrence, at best.

    Something about the official narrative just does not pass the common sense “smell test.” The questions I had initially remain unanswered.

      • Linnte, I suspect that we may never know fully what transpired before, during and after this event.

    • It took two boats to deliver the million’s, in cash that Iran demanded. Before they would sign Obola’s nuclear agreement.

  12. Why was nothing reported about why these people were disciplined? All those words, and the article doesn’t seem to even broach the subject of what the individuals did wrong in the eyes of the Navy.

  13. “What was aboard these two boats that might have been of intelligence or communications value to the Iranians?”

    Or was the whole incident engineered to allow the Iranians to capture something that would mislead them? But that is probably too clever for the CIA.

    • Baucent, you ask a valid question. Yet, given the relentless preferential treatment given to Iran by the Obama administration, I doubt that the same administration would try to mislead them. Obama is only interested in misleading us.

  14. I presume the US Navy was prepared to take their hi-jacked sailors back by force. The same thing had happened to British sailors including a female in 2007. The British Government reacted by doing nothing ,the Female sailor was seen on Iranian TV forced to wear a Hijab. There was even talk of them being hanged. Britain would have watched that execution AND DONE NOTHING .Britain should have been at war with Iran within hours of the act of piracy. Why did not the US learn and expect another similar action. It is time Iran got a severe thrashing. When Muslim Obama has gone things may change.

  15. This is mind-boggling but not unexpected w/ the Obamoid military. So why wasn’t Hillary Clinton “fired” as Sec. of State for her depraved indifference for American lives in Benghazi which was obviously much heinous. I guess because it wasn’t a BIG ENOUGH embarrassment to Obama. I don’t think anyone was held accountable within the Obama administration for the Benghazi massacre. This is absolutely sickening to have Obama and Hillary as leaders of an American political party. What an absolute disgrace, This is not even America anymore.

    • This isn’t about a political party, it is about the country. Why would an Indonesian Muslim and a corrupt ex-Secretary of State be in charge of the country? I don’t care abut their party?

  16. Obama and Biden…put the 2 together in a mixing bowl…blend at low speed for two minutes,,,add 5 lbs.
    sugar, 5 lbs. softened butter, a bottle of vanilla extract, a box of chocolate chips and a box of raisins,
    blend for 5 minutes at medium speed,,,pour ingredients into a large round pan and bake in oven for
    approximately 35 minutes or until done…..remove from oven and let cool for approx. 30 minutes…..top
    with either chocolate or vanilla sugar icing….slice into equal wedges and serve……..Result?
    S T I LL T A S T E S L I K E B U L L S H I T!!!!!!! At this point why should either of them make an effort
    at telling the truth? They both know and clearly, that their elected political careers are History! I will be
    only TOO Happy to see the two of them leave DC….don’t let the door hit you in the ass guys……

  17. Previous news articles stated, Joe Biden called the Iranian’s and told them where the boats were and asked for Irans help recovering the boats. If this is true he is the reason for the mistreatment of our sailors , why would you discipline military leaders for a White House dicision . These Globlist politicians are going to be the end of this country.

  18. Well, Obama fired all of our real military leaders and now the Obama a$$ kissers are left in charge!!

  19. Fired? That’s it? He should be in jail for being a disgrace to the USA…Fucking pussy-fart coward