Apparently the fishing boat came too close to a US minesweeper and didn't respond to warning protocols. "US officials wouldn't describe the warning protocols" the Wall Street Journal says, anyway, "Our ships have an inherent right of self defense against potential threats" says one US Navy spokesperson. There are eight minesweepers in the region so it might be hard not to come "close" to one. Iran has threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz if attacked which is whey they're there I suppose. Iran is developing nuclear technology and has repeatedly said it is not developing nuclear weapons but the US and Israel insist it is. Either way, a nuclear Iran is a problem as one has to think twice about invading a country or removing a regime that has nuclear weapons. Bush and co never invaded North Korea.
So along with the minesweepers the US has surrounded Iran with battleships, aircraft carriers, has 8000 troops in Quatar another 30,000 or so in Bahrain which is why Washington has refused to stop the absolute monarchy there from denying democratic rights to its citizens and had its flunkies, the Saudi's send troops in to suppress the protesters.
On top of all this, the US has radar facilities in the Negev, Turkey and the surrounding areas. A new site is being planned in Qatar but it is being kept secret as the vast majority of the population of the area that is not the member of a ruling clan is very uneasy about the US military presence. US presence in these parts of the world either mean support for ruthless dictatorships or open military warfare in the endless US War on Terror which should be more appropriately referred to as War of Terror. It is a great recruitment tool for the nebulous Al Qaeda.
The supporters of this blog are clear in our opposition to the regime of the Mullahs in Iran. This regime is a ruthless and undemocratic band of thugs that suppresses workers' rights and the rights of women in the most brutal way. But it has to be recognized that Iran has not been the major problem in this part of the world, US imperialism has and before the US, the British. The US presence in the region is termed "defensive" by the Pentagon and people like Barack Obama who is quite adept and assassinating various figures throughout the world as a foreign policy measure. The US orchestrated the coup that overthrew the secular democratic government of Iran in 1953 installing the murderous Shah. The US encouraged its ally Saddam Hussein to launch the 8 year war with Iran that cost some 500,000 lives as it wanted a weaker Iran in order to remove any obstacle to US capitalism's plunder of the regions resources, namely oil and natural gas. US capitalism has propped up every dictator and thug the region has had for years. Most Americans haven't a clue our government did this; if they did they would see that the US has been the greatest obstacle to secular democratic states in the region. Both Iran and Iraq had powerful workers' parties and Unions that the US and its world network of agents and provocateurs helped to undermine through its cooperation with the likes of Saddam Hussein and others. Many Union and political activists were murdered.
Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton who now travels the world condemning the likes of Bashar Assad with talks of peace and democratic rights considered the dictator Mubarak a friend and supported him financially and publicly until it became obvious through their heroic sacrifice that the Egyptian people were done with him. Among the vast majority of the workers of the world, these two characters have no credibility whatsoever.
"A senior military official said the minesweeping exercise shouldn't be seen as provocative" the WSJ adds. I'm sure the Iranians and others in the region that would like to have some control over their country's resources are reassured by these comments. After all, if there were radar installations, warships, aircraft carriers, and other vessels in the Caribbean off the coast of Texas and 40,000 Iranian (or Venezuelan another axis of evil contestant) troops stationed on Cuba the folks in Washington and the Pentagon wouldn't take that as provocation would they?
Foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy as they say. But the leaders of the workers' organizations in the US (the Unions as we have no political party) completely support US foreign policy which is a predatory and destabilizing global factor. Domestically, workers' leaders support the bosses and their austerity measures aimed at making us pay for capitalist crisis. Globally they support the bosses' foreign policy. Making us pay in particular for the cost of US capitalism maintaining military superiority over its rivals in the plunder of the the world's resources. But our allies, or potential allies are the workers of these countries whose interest it is to live in peace and enjoy the fruits of their Labor. In the case of the Middle East, resources are limited, they cannot eat oil and need to trade it. It is between workers of different countries that such a relationship can develop. By supporting Iranian and all workers in their struggle for democratic rights and to control their own destiny which means opposing US foreign policy, we will find an important ally in our efforts to build a world federation of democratic socialist states.
The tensions in the Middle East, just like the tensions everywhere are a by product of global capitalism, these conflicts are built in to the capitalist system and neither capitalism, nor capitalists can resolve them.
The cost of these this predatory activity to the US taxpayer in money and the victims in terms of lives is staggering, not to mention the environmental destruction. When you can't get health care, education, housing or earn enough (if you're working) to pay the rent/mortgage be thankful its all because the folks in Washington care about your welfare and protect you from the Iranian, er, Afghani, er Venezuelan, er Somali hordes.
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