Speedboat Bluff in the Persian Gulf

This image released by the US Navy was shot Sunday from the bridge of the destroyer USS Hopper, shows a small blue boat, alleged to be Iranian, purportedly racing near the wake of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. The incident, which President George W. Bush denounced Tuesday as a "provocative act," was videotaped by a crew member on the bridge of the destroyer. (U.S. Navy/ AP Photo )

Here are three takes on the Iranian attack on the USS Hopper this week in the Straits of Hormuz.
First Austin Bay at STRATEGYPAGE.COM:
Speedboat Bluff in the Persian Gulf
by Austin Bay
January 9, 2008
Why would five Iranian speedboats bluff an attack on a U.S. Navy squadron?
Start with a big fact: Under the mullah-led thieves' regime, Iran has become an explosive political mix of ethnic, economic and ideological fragments, a mosaic powder keg.
The Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 Islamic Revolution failed, then fossilized, leaving a corrupt junta of robed kleptocrats who use the dictator's classic tools of murder, terror and economic favoritism to control an impoverished, splintered and increasingly restless populace.
READ IT ALL:

Next is Ralph Peters at FRONTPAGEMAG.COM:
Iran 1, USA, 0
By Ralph Peters
New York Post | 1/9/2008
EARLY Sunday morning, the US Navy lost its nerve and guaranteed that American sailors will die at Iranian hands in the future.
As three of our warships passed through the Straits of Hormuz, five small Iranian patrol craft rushed them. As the Revolutionary Guard boats neared our vessels, an Iranian officer broadcast a threat to our ships, claiming they'd soon explode.
The Iranians tossed boxes into the water. Mines? Just in case, our ships took evasive action.
The Iranians kept on coming, closing to a distance of 200 meters - about two football fields. Supposedly, our Navy was ready to open fire but didn't shoot because the Iranians turned away at the moment the order was given.
We should've sunk every one of them.
Not because we're warmongers. But because the Iranians had made threats, verbal and physical, that amounted to acts of war. When will we learn that resolute action taken early saves vast amounts of blood and treasure later?
Oh, from Washington's perspective we did the right thing by "exercising restraint." But Washington's perspective doesn't amount to a gum wrapper in a gutter. What matters is what the Iranians think.
READ IT ALL:

And fianlly, from ABC NEWS,COM: (The link at ABC has video of the encounter)
By JONATHAN KARL and LUIS MARTINEZ
Jan. 8, 2008

The U.S. Navy released dramatic video and audio of this weekend's stand-off with Iran. The video shows Iranian speedboats swarming around three American warships going through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
At the chilling culmination of the tape, a voice can be heard over the radio, apparently from the Iranians, saying, "I am coming at you. You will explode after a few minutes."

On the tape, the crew of the destroyer USS Hopper can be heard repeatedly warning the Iranian boats to identify themselves and move away.
"I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law," a sailor on the bridge of the USS Hopper says. "I intend no harm."
As the Iranian boats get closer, the USS Hopper sounds its horns.
"You are approaching coalition warships," the USS Hopper's crew warns. "You are straying into danger and may be subject to defensive measures. ... Request you alter course immediately to remain clear."
It is at that point that a heavily accented voice can be heard over the radio, apparently coming from the Iranians.
"I am coming to you," the voice says. "You will explode after a few minutes."
An American voice can be then heard repeating the words, incredulously, "You will explode in a few minutes."
READ IT ALL: