Game on in the Middle East:
I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020
This is in response to recent Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps boats harassing U.S. Naval vessels in the Persian Gulf:
US will act against Iran, Trump says,
after armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps boats conducted what the US Navy considered dangerous and harassing approaches on US ships at sea. https://t.co/4IkqCsK6rp— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 22, 2020
“This is a serious warning,” to be sure:
This is a serious warning and should be taken as such by the IRGC. Bravo @realDonaldTrump. #Clarity https://t.co/hVJY0S2wT9
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) April 22, 2020
Iran, you’ve been warned:
Last week, the U.S. Navy sent warships into northern Persian Gulf to train for first time in months not far from Iran. U.S. Army Apache gunships also took part. https://t.co/LA30yOxxFv
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) April 22, 2020
Background here:
There was a fairly significant situation back on April 15. https://t.co/JTL6jlKEji and more background here https://t.co/EcSWgia0IS https://t.co/r3KDX8ECB2
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) April 22, 2020
Tehran-based journo Syed Zafar Mehdi warned of consequences:
So you are deliberately and foolishly putting your Navy in harm's way. Remember they are 7,592 miles away from their homeland, fishing in troubled waters. Also dozens of US military bases in the region, all within striking range of Iran's ballistic missiles. Wake up! https://t.co/EVkNnvIbXZ
— Syed Zafar Mehdi (@mehdizafar) April 22, 2020
And, of course, we’re going to get an entire day of this, despite everyone knowing exactly what he means:
Shoot down the boats with the invisible planes https://t.co/6VkT93vUlz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 22, 2020
How does one shoot down a boat? Well, we suppose it’s with a missile, but you do you:
How, pray tell, does one "shoot down" a boat? https://t.co/xa4cpZKJPY
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 22, 2020
Yes. They’re called helicopters:
Setting aside the gravity of this for a moment…..I am no military expert, but how do you shoot down a gunboat? Are there flying gunboats in service? https://t.co/GxeuDSzufp
— Josh "Wash Your Elbows" Gerstein (@joshgerstein) April 22, 2020
Never. Change:
Ok, Admiral Bone Spurs https://t.co/YuL5floSZl
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) April 22, 2020
And here’s Clinton spinmaster Joe Lockhart saying Naval officers won’t carry out the order:
That would be illegal order based on mere harassment and I'm sure no naval officer will carry it out unless there is a clear and present danger to his ship and sailors. It does show how desperate the @realDonaldTrump is to distract from the pandemic. Just like immigration, https://t.co/AiEZ1jNQPl
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 22, 2020
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