SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2016

We Interrupt Our Normally Scheduled Saturday Morning “What’s Right With America” E-dition for a message from Ray Starmann at US Defense Watch called “Don’t give up the ship! – Unless you’re in Obama’s Navy.”

Don’t give up the ship! Fight her until she sinks!”
Last Words of Captain James Lawrence, USS Chesapeake, June 1813

I think I can speak for most Americans, that the sight of US Navy sailors on their knees, hands on their heads, surrendering to the Iranians is absolutely sickening.

What happened last week in the Persian Gulf is an absolute disgrace to the US Navy and the United States of America and is an insult to the brave sailors of the US Navy who gave their lives in previous conflicts.

Frankly, I don’t care what the excuses are. The fact the US Navy personnel surrendered to the armed forces of a two bit dictatorship like Iran without a fight, is disheartening and speaks volumes about the decrepit state of the US military’s fighting spirit.

This is the kind of military you get when the troops are more worried about doing PT (physical training) in pregnancy simulators than about training for war.

This is the kind of military you get when the Commander in Chief is a feckless, naïve, left-wing fool.

Numerous questions remain concerning this most recent cluster by the US military:

–Why were such small craft, designed for operations close inshore so far out in the Gulf?

–The episode is now being blamed on a “navigational error” but how is that possible when every decent sized-fishing boat has GPS and radar equipment aboard to determine its position down to a cable-length? Also, how could both boats have had navigational issues? Are we supposed to believe that the GPS and radar equipment malfunctioned on both boats?

–Why, given the small size and vulnerability of such craft were they not being escorted and/or shadowed by more substantial naval vessels in these disputed waters?

–Given the known hostility of the Iranians and the British 2007 precedent, were the Riverine craft under surveillance by US Navy air assets? Where the heck were our air and sea assets when the craft were over-powered by the Iranians?

–What were the rules of engagement for the young officer in command in the event that his boats came under attack?

–Even if the rules of engagement put a stranglehold on the commanding officer, what feather merchant authorized him to surrender his flagged combat vessels of the United States Navy, without offering any resistance? Was he ordered to do so by higher command? If so, who ordered it? The surrender of those vessels violates the US military Code of Conduct, Article II, which states…

I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

–Were the boats prepared to defend themselves as naval vessels of a sovereign power against boarding and seizure, even in disputed waters?

–Were the weapons on the boats loaded and ready for action as one might expect in such a hostile area where terrorists abound? If not, why not?

–Was the commander authorized to make a televised admission of guilt on Iranian television? This is again a violation of the Code of Conduct, Article V, which states…

When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

To me, it sounds like the US Navy needs to hold some classes on the Code of Conduct for its sailors, not more sensitivity training.

Congress should investigate this issue and find out why the US Navy acted as it did and subsequently, why Secretary of State Kerry was groveling to the Iranians, instead of issuing them a firm warning, which should have gone something like this…

If you try something like this again, the Iranian Navy will be destroyed.

That being said, the incident on the high seas last week was a terrific blow to the prestige of the United States. In a nutshell, we look like total cowards to our friends and allies and a virtual pushover in the next conflict to our enemies like the IRANIANS, the Russians, the Chinese and ISIS.

The United States is weak and we are getting weaker by the minute thanks to President Barack Jimmy Carter Obama.

No doubt there will be more insults to injury carried out by the Iranians before Obama leaves office.

More About What’s Right With America Later