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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

US must respond to Iranian ship hijacking?

In the aftermath of Tuesday's Iranian hijacking of a Danish (corrected) ship bearing the flag of the Marshall Islands in the Strait of Hormuz, Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report the Marshall Islands has a defense treaty with the United States that bars it from taking action on its own.
When asked if his country would request that the U.S. rescue the cargo ship from Iran, Junior Aini, the charge d'affairs for the Marshall Islands Embassy in Washington, told us he was still awaiting guidance from his foreign ministry. But he also suggested that his country had no other recourse than to hope the U.S. responds.   
"The United States has the full security responsibility over the islands and for the defense of the islands, this is what our treaty says," he told us. Aini was referring to a 1986 accord between the U.S. and the island nation that set the terms for independence. The Marshall Islands has no standing army. News that Iran had boarded the Maersk Tigris surprised Aini. He said he initially learned about the incidentfrom watching Fox News.
Aini also said his nation is barred by the 1986 agreement from doing anything that would challenge America's role in this regard. "We cannot take any action that will impact the U.S. responsibility," he said.  Under a 1983 Compact of Free Association, the U.S. has “full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands,” according to a State Department fact sheet.
...
By taking a non-U.S. ship under questionable circumstances at a moment of high tension in the region, Iran has again put Washington in a tough spot. Given that the U.S. Senate is simultaneously debating its bill on oversight of Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, the repercussions are going to spread far beyond the Strait of Hormuz. 
The Israel Project's Omri Ceren reports by email that the Obama administration is already trying to avoid taking action. 
The first wave was about how the security arrangement between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands affects Washington: is the Obama administration now affirmatively bound to confront the Iranians over the capture? The short answer is that it's not clear. Some analysts have defended potential White House inaction by saying there’s a legal loophole, under which a vessel so flagged would not count as part of the Marshall Islands conducting its foreign affairs.
Ceren argues that trying to avoid taking action would be a disaster, further expanding on Lake's and Rogin's last paragraph above.
American inaction under this scenario would be a one-two punch to Washington's credibility: the Americans locked up the Marshall Islanders' freedom of action by promising to take care of defense for them, and then when the time came the Obama administration refused to act. It would be a nightmare scenario: the U.S. would be using security assurances not to shield allies from Iran but to shield Iran from allies.
Gulf leaders, who will be in Washington next month to discuss how the U.S. can protect them in the aftermath of a bad Iran deal, would not miss the signal. There’s already a healthy about of regional grumbling about the U.S. using its leverage over the Israelis and the Saudis – leverage that it has as a protector – to hold them back on Hezbollah and Yemen.
The State Department briefing this afternoon was inconclusive:
Reporter: What do you consider the Iranian act? Is it a -- an act of piracy, act of violence?
Rathke: Again, I'm -- this I think is underway. I'm not going to apply an adjective to it right now. We are following the situation very carefully, but I'm not going to...
Reporter: But do you condemn it?
Rathke: Well, again, we're gathering more information. I don't have further reaction at this point. Yes, Brad? (http://www.c-span.org/video/?325639-1/state-department-briefing at 13:57)
Keep in mind something else here: 40% of the World's oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Will the US allow Iran to choke that supply off? If it does, US credibility will be zero, but how exactly will other countries react?

What could go wrong? 

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5 Comments:

At 3:36 PM, Blogger Sunlight said...

Since the Anti-Carbon Religion is being shown every day with groundtruth observed data as a FRAUD, the actual answer to this conundrum is to FREE the ENERGY SUPPLY. My state is attempting to get the U.S. Govt to nullify the law from the '70s gas lines that prevents O&G exports. The way to eliminate threats related to the Straights of Hormuz is to DRILL, BABY, DRILL. And mine COAL. (Work on better scrubber tech, instead of Defective Solar, Israel!) It's all self inflicted to keep the Obama/Clinton/KhmerRouge Kerry Criminal $lu$h rolling. My sympathy level is dropping like a stone at this point because Israel STILL has no one coming out against the WAR ON THE POOR that the Gaia Fraud is... Euthanizing $lu$h apparently is the priority. Pathetic.

 
At 3:52 PM, Blogger Jamocha said...

You know, lemmings who voted in 1980, en-masse, for Jimmy Carter told me if I voted Republican in 2008 and 2012, that an Islamo-friendly anti-Israel guy would get into the White House and and let the Persians get away with murder......

By G_d, they were RIGHT!

 
At 4:22 PM, Blogger Empress Trudy said...

This is perimeter testing. First a harmless cargo ship. Soon Iran will block oil tankers from the Straits of Hormuz. Oil prices will skyrocket. Obama will announce he's proud to drop all sanctions. Iran walks away from these silly nuclear talks, announces it's a nuclear armed nation and gains a permanent seat on the UNSC.

 
At 5:28 PM, Blogger Abe Bird said...

The United Nations should also release immediate stern announcement against Iran, convene the Security Council and vote for tough condemnation of Iran and alerting to punish Iran if it would not immediately release the ship and crew. Do you believe that all this would happen?

 
At 10:38 AM, Blogger Smijj said...

Are you serious? Scientists are pretty universal on the damage of carbon emissions.

And surely the most effective way to remove power from Iran is to reduce our dependence on oil.

 

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