Indian fisherman killed in U.S. firing

[FarCenter]

An Indian fisherman has been killed and three seriously injured after an American naval ship fired on the small motorised boat in which they were travelling off the coast of Dubai.

The Emirates’ state news agency citing a foreign ministry official confirmed the incident, which took place about 48 kilometers off the Jebel Ali port, southwest of Dubai. The U.S. naval activity in this area has been stepped up after tensions with Iran have recently escalated over free passage along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 per cent of the world oil supplies pass.

The fisherman who was killed has been identified as Sekar of Periyapattinam in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The injured are Muniraj, Panpuvan and Murugan who also hail from Ramanathapuram, according to Karaiyur Fishermen Association President Malairajan.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3646855.ece?homepage=true

Winning friends around the world.

[limpyhobbler]

1. oops .nt

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. And Yosemite Sam (John Bolton) was bloviating on Fox...

...about how it was an Iranian terrorist boat probe.

My condolences to the victims of paranoid imperialism.

[Marinedem]

3. LOL, the what?

The naval presence in that region is there specifically to disrupt piracy.

A boat was shot up in an unfortunate incident. These things happen. Doesn't make it any less tragic or unexcusable.

What I don't see is how this is "Paranoid imperialism". The imperialism part, in particular.

We can sit here and exchange pithy sayings and memes, but the fact is, the Gulf of Aden and the surrounding waters are possibly the most important waterways in the world, next to the Suez and the Panama Canal. Global commerce and trade would be severely impacted by unchecked piracy in the region. We already face the risk of being drawn into ground escalation in Puntland if kidnapping of American crewmen/citizens continues. The issue is far to complex to dismiss as Imperialism.

I'll defer to the judgement of the CNC in this instance

[FarCenter]

5. This was about 10 km off the port of Dubai in the Persian Gulf -- Not the Gulf of Aden

No piracy there. The area is full of warships.

[ohiosmith]

21. This post was alerted on. The jury voted 5/1 to let it stand.

At Tue Jul 17, 2012, 05:56 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Love That So Many Of These Militant Brand New Posters Are Gungeon Players
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=963689

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Accusations of freeperhood based on being new and/or having posted in the gungeon are personal attacks. Yes, some are, but overall? The bigotry gets old.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Jul 17, 2012, 06:07 PM, and the Jury voted 1-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: I agree with hang on kids about the gungeon and it's gun toting inhabitants.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Many on DU are due thick skin and many experiences.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: "Accusations of freeperhood based on being new and/or having posted in the gungeon are personal attacks. Yes, some are, but overall?" Perhaps the poster is talking about the "some". Leave it!

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[malaise]

7. Those men were in their back yard

not yours - it is paranoid imperialism when you believe you have the right to shoot to kill anytime it suits you

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. If you don't see it, you don't see it.

But in my book, killing innocent fisherman on the other side of the planet because you're afraid they're pirates or terrorists is pretty much the definition of paranoid imperialism.

On the other hand, maybe we have reason to be paranoid, what with our imperial wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, our attempts to oust Assad, and our threats against Iran. Oh, and Somalia, too. Busy, busy.

[Drahthaardogs]

12. They fired warning shots across their bow.

This was not an attack like on Bin Ladan. I am not big into presumption, but I can assure you, if I see a 300 yard long battleship lobbing missiles over my bow, I shut down. The fact that they kept right on trucking was their demise. Imperial or not, you do not run your boat at ANY naval vessel.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Yet another glorious victory!! USA! USA!

[The Northerner]

6. Hmm, would this have occurred if US warships were NOT present there?

[Ganja Ninja]

8. I nearly shot a guy in Scotland when I was standing topside watch on ...

The submarine I served on. We were just pulling out of port and he was coming at us in a sailboat (sails down using his engine). He was ordered to change course and just ignored the order and kept coming and coming. I took out my 45 and held it over my head while looking straight at him. Then while still holding it over my head I inserted the magazine, pulled back the slide and loaded the gun. Still he kept coming. By this time he was about 25 yards away. I pointed the gun at his head and shouted for him to veer off. Still he kept coming. By this time the captain ordered the engine room to speed up and he began to fall back. Then the Scottish Police intercepted him.

This was back in the 70's. Had it been nowadays the guy would probably have been killed.

[The Northerner]

10. Was he heading towards the submarine to protest the US military presence in Scotland?

[Ganja Ninja]

22. No it was just one guy in a sailboat that was about 25 to 30 feet long.

I have no idea what was going through his head. And he only turned away when the Scottish police were almost on top of him.

[Hugabear]

11. Not killed...murdered

There was absolutely no reason to suspect this boat was a dire threat to anybody.

[hack89]

13. So the USS Cole attack can never be repeated?

until the explosion, no one thought that boat was a threat either.

[Poll_Blind]

14. This boat was at least 1,200 yards away from the Rappahannock, hardly a USS Cole situation. nt

PB

[hack89]

18. Two things to consider

1. The speed of the vessel - 1200 yards can be covered in less than a minute.

2. The potential blast radius of a large bomb - the Cole bomb would have done extensive damage even if exploded several hundred yards away. Considering that the Rappahanock is loaded with fuel and ammo, waiting until they were right next to them could have been a deadly mistake.

The small boat ignored multiple warnings. You need to remember that this happens all the time in that region and has been like that for decades - when that one boat out of a hundred ignores your warnings you are going to assume the worse.

[Poll_Blind]

19. New information from a few hours ago puts the boat at 150 & 90 yards- so I retract my comments.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/17/12788956-pentagon-skiff-came-within-150-yards-of-us-navy-ship-in-persian-gulf?lite

I still feel that at 1,200 yards the situations would not be comparable. However, at 150 and 90 yards, I would not raise my voice against a comparison.

PB

[Marooned]

16. From what I've read the boat was warned off

numerous times according to peacetime SOP. Regrettable what happened but if you ignore the warnings approaching a Naval vessel you're responsible for the consequences.

[Hugabear]

20. I think there are ways to handle the situation without resorting to bloodshed

For instance, they could send a few people to check out the boat if they really thought it was questionable.

[Are_grits_groceries]

15. The damage a boat even of that size loaded with explosives

would be extensive. Remember the USS Cole? The boat that hit it was a small craft.

I don't think we should be there either. That would avoid these mistakes. However, if you were commanding tht ship, would you blithely let that boat near enough to do a lot of damage? There was no time and no way to find out their intentions. Would you take that chance?

I loathe our policies in that area. The demands and decisions we make of those we put in harm's way are impossible to reconcile when considering that our allies and enemies are hard to separate.

In the heat of the moment, the people under your command are your responsibility. I am not talking about unarmed people on the ground who have no way to attack you.