Iranian TV: US video images, audio recordings of encounter in Gulf was 'fabricated'

[Robbien]

Source: AP

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Wednesday called video and audio released by the Pentagon showing Iranian Revolutionary Guards boats confronting U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz «fabricated,» an English-language state-run television station reported.

«The footage released by the U.S. Navy was compiled using file pictures and the audio has been fabricated,» the state-run English-language channel Press TV quoted an official in the Revolutionary Guards as saying.


Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/iranian-tv-us-video-images-audio-r377957.htm

---

We cannot even see logs of who visits our taxpayer owned White House as it is so classified and would endanger security, but we get to see tapes of warship maneuvers in a high security zone? Something here smells.

[MADem]

1. It doesn't smell. That tape is not inherently classified.

And it runs continuously, sorta like the video in cop cars.

[Robbien]

5. The sign-in logs at the WH are not inherently classified

but somehow our viewing them is a threat to national security.

A video made from cameras which runs continuously on a WARSHIP is okay for general consumption, no threat to national security at all.

Very logical.

[MADem]

11. Ah, the old TWO WRONGS argument!

There isn't even a HOPE of making the "Executive Privilege" argument aboard a warship. The EP argument is bullshit, but that's the wall they're throwing up about those logs. Apples and oranges.

I mean, really-think it through. Apply some of that logic, why don't you, instead of tossing the word out like a rebuke.

Certainly, the US can exercise discretion in what they release--that video IS FOUO--but if it benefits them to release it, they're fools not to. Even when it fucks them, they've released warship video as a learning tool, like when they made that hideous error on the bridge of the VINCENNES. That certainly didn't make the Navy look good, but it was important to know exactly how that mistake was made, and that video made that clear.

USN has a long tradition of accountability in that fashion. Way back in the day, before bridge video was common, they recorded what happened on flight decks. It's why we have video of John McCain escaping his burning aircraft when the Forest Fire FORRESTAL had that ghastly fire.

I'm wondering if you're in that well-meaning but ill-informed "Sainted Iran Can Do No Wrong" crowd at this stage...

[Robbien]

14. Anyone questioning this admin and their selective release of info

at strategic times is automatically to be lumped into a well meaning but ill-informed crowd? Iran lovers?

Nonsense.

[MADem]

15. That's not what I said. Go back and try reading it again. nt

[Lance_Boyle]

24. Was it continuous loop video?

The wording in this article makes it sound like a member of the bridge crew videotaped the incident in a more ad hoc fashion:

"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."

I'm not sure what to make of it. If the incident was captured by continuous loop cameras that are always on, wouldn't they say so, instead of pointing out that a crew member taped it?

[Submariner]

2. It's called "chicken of the sea"

We used to play that game with the Soviet navy, resulting in 16 U.S. submarine collisions with Soviet ships and submarines during the cold war. A couple of years ago I would hang out on the bridge of a work ship in the Gulf, and it was obvious to everyone listening to the radio chatter between the coalition (U.S. really) navy and the Iranians, that they were constantly fucking with each other.

The Iranians are not innocent in this, but I wouldn't put it past Chimpy and Darth to push a "setup" to save their smelly carcass of a legacy.

[CJCRANE]

3. It coincided with Shrub's visit to the ME.

It was timed to give Shrub a talking point no doubt.

[Supersedeas]

29. rather strange isn't it

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I think it's quite telling that we have been misled so many times

by this administration and a complicit media that we even find ourselves giving any credibility to the Iranian version of this story. We have been fed such a string of lies over the years that we can't trust those who should be telling us the truth.

[Robbien]

6. Exactly

And this admin is so stingy with releasing any info at all to the general public but in this case we get to see military video within hours/days of the event?

[IsItJustMe]

16. Yep, seems like some folk are destined to be fooled again and again, never learning the lessons that

history is trying to teach them. The msm in this country is nothing more than a tool for the power structure of this country. Anybody that can't see that is just plain damn naive.

You would think that after going to war with a country over WMD that didn't exist, more people would see the light.

[Squatch]

7. Who to believe....our own government or *Iran*?

Jebus, what the fuck has happened to our country?

[winter999]

26. I may not like or trust our government, but I sure don't believe Iran.

[Imagevision]

51. Who to believe....our own government or *Iran*? - sad to say when our own president is suspect in

accusations of others.

[sattahipdeep]

53. Who is the liar?

Pentagon backtracks on KBR rape probe
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=38095§ionid=3510203

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=Pentagon+backtracks+on+KBR+rape+probe+&btnG=Search+News

[dipsydoodle]

8. BBC has the video

or should I say "a" video. I notice they describe the boats as "unidentified "small" surface craft.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7170000/newsid_7178000/7178082.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

[lumpy]

33. How did the US identify and conclude the boats were

Iranian Revelutionary Guard boats?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

44. Probably because they identified themselves as such.

They did so in the video Iran released, at least, so nobody is disputing that part of it.

[forintegrity]

9. Not Surprised

I wouldn't put ANYTHING past this administration! They cannot be trusted for a second! And that's the problem with lying...you'll never know when there REALLY is a threat now. As far as I'm concerned at this stage...it's ALL fabricated for their gain, whatever that might be.

The war drums continue...

[Roland99]

10. Iran tyring to play down rogue elements?

[USA_1]

12. Bush Wants More War + War Profits ...

... for his fellow wealthy elites. Another Gulf of Tonkin incident is bound to happen, soon.

[rockybelt]

13. I'll say it again

This government has lied to us about EVERYTHING. Do not believe anything that comes out of this administration unless it has been verified six different ways by twelve different organizations.

Lies?

WMDs, Iran's nuclear capabilites, Hugo Chavez, "We don't torture", "I want Osama BinLaden dead or alive", No one in the White House leaked Valerie Plame's identity, etc, etc.

THEY ARE SETTING UP FOR AN ATTACK ON IRAN!!!

The shrub has taken lessons from Johnson and Musharraf.

[IsItJustMe]

17. You thinking what I am thinking? A little wag the dog? I put nothing past this administration or

our msm.

[rockybelt]

20. Absolutely

Nothing should be put past this administration. My guess is that there will be an "incident" close to election time and the shrub will declare martial law, suspend what is left of the Constitution and cancel elections. The Congress and the msm will aid him in his treachery.

[tridim]

36. If Bush cancels the elections I will go to D.C. and throw his ass to the curb myself

I know I can't do it all myself, so everyone is encouraged to join me.

[rockybelt]

40. Count me in

Unfortunately, that is exactly what it may take.

[IsItJustMe]

43. Well, the msm sure aided him in building a false case for wmd, so if he decides to do the martial

law thing, I am sure that our msm would be right there behind him telling us all types of fearfull things and telling us that it was for our own good.

Damn shame

[bdamomma]

45. I do not trust *co or cheney for one minute, their a$$es need to be

thrown out. This (our) regime we have is provoking an incident to happen.

[focusfan]

18. Bush won't be happy until he starts a war with Iran

i wish someone would get him out and beat the hell out of him.

[bdamomma]

46. the only threat that everyone else sees in the world right now

is the nutcase in the WH.

[truthisfreedom]

19. Perfect timing with this article:

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Report_reveals_Vietnam_War_hoaxes_f_01082008.html

[Ian David]

21. Here are some stills from the video

[crim son]

22. I've seen the video and I can' t tell what's happening.

The real danger is that we have zero faith in the Administration. We don't know if we're in danger or if we aren't and that is a direct consequence of the shrub's mishandling of virtually everything, his lies and corruption, his cronyism... well, you all know.

[MarkInLA]

23. "Iran is a threat to world peace"

And now Bush is proclaiming Iran to be a threat to "world peace". And the U.S. isn't?

Another war looms.

[bdamomma]

47. how about Pakistan??? totally forgotten here isn't george?

oh, I forgot Musharraf is your friend on the "war on terror". what total BS!!

[Selatius]

25. Well, SOMEBODY is lying here! Who could it possibly be???

Anybody have a guess?

[ohio2007]

32. Well, some are on record saying they can never tell a lie

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.israel/



http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=209736&s=&i=&t=Ahmadinejad_eyes_spending_boost_in_Iran_budget

Somebody needs a boogy man

[Judi Lynn]

27. Iran Says Pentagon Video is Fake

Iran Says Pentagon Video is Fake
Associated Press | January 09, 2008

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of fabricating video and audio released by the Pentagon showing Iranian boats confronting U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.

The video from Sunday's incident shows small Iranian boats swarming around U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz. In the recording, a man speaking in heavily accented English threatened, "I am coming to you. ... You will explode after ... minutes."

"The footage released by the U.S. Navy was compiled using file pictures and the audio has been fabricated," an official in Iran's Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying by the state-run English-language channel Press TV.

State TV did not give the name of the Revolutionary Guard official and did not offer more details about how the official knew the footage was "fabricated."

More:
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,159669,00.html

[951-Riverside]

28. It seems like Iran doesnt deny that happened

From Iranian Press

Earlier Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the incident was a normal identification request by the Iranian side.

Hosseini explained that exchanging messages to identify ships in the Persian Gulf is routine.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=38025§ionid=351020101

An Iranian official has dismissed Washington's claims that IRGC speedboats harassed three US navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US vessels approached the Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf on Sunday, warning they were in the red zone, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Press TV on Monday.

He added that the Iranians had asked the warships to identify themselves, as such radio communications are usual between vessels in the Persian Gulf.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=37833§ionid=351020101

[Megahurtz]

30. I Totally Believe It. n/t

[kitty1]

31. I don't believe the audio part, only the visual of the boats converging

around the war ships. How convoluted does this sound ;We are coming at you and will blow you up" It's like the equivalent of a bad ME Terminator script. Really pathetic, who ever made this stuff up.
How could an explosive on a speedboat (barring a nuke) be strong enough to damage a huge battleship the size of a small village.
Do we not have sophisticated enough technology to scrutinize those boats at very close range and determine if they were even armed.
I don't think it would take much available means to close in and decide if that these people were even mouthing those words or not. You can read people's lips with high tech visual equipment.

[Thothmes]

34. The same way

A small boat blew a big hole in the side of the USS Cole. Shell plating on these type of ships is not armor steel and is 5/8" to 3/4" thick. Couple of hundred lbs of a good grade of explosive is sufficient to cause heavy damage to the shell plating. Each of those boats in the video could carry that amount of explosive.

[Kokonoe]

39. When I heard the audio it sounded like HI FI

Not not a small radio on open sea

[BattyDem]

35. Why would someone announce that they're coming to blow you up?

And why didn't the US blow them out of the water the moment that announcement was made?

Yeah .. it smells.

[raebrek]

50. To provoke a response n/t

on edit: first spell check then post.

[focusfan]

37. it probably was fabricated

i would say they made this up some way.

[sjdnb]

38. I watched it and thought the voices sounded a little like

bad actors over-acting and not quite 'right'. If it was fabricated, I'm worried about the lack of technical sophistication it demonstrates.

[IamyourTVandIownyou]

41. Iran Oil Bourse to Deal Blow to Dollar

The long-awaited Iranian Oil Bourse, a place for trading oil, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, will soon open.

Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters the bourse will be inaugurated during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=37468§ionid=351020103




SHTF soon.

[Roy]

42. General Quarters...... General Quarters.......

All hands grab your cameras and report to your errr.. ahhh....


Nobody had any cameras at my general quarters station!

[donco]

48. Seems to me if you wanted to fabricate something you wouldnt

do it with the populating of several small cities looking on,
every ship in that fleet has several thousand personal onboard.

[ohio2007]

49. Not to mention instant access to the internet so the whole world can be watching in a few clicks

after an upload.
especially now that the Iranians are doing their own "damage control" video release
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3132105

guess the CIA speedboat theory is blown out of the water now eh ;)

[Imagevision]

52. Bush/Cheney are hell bent on creating more $$$ before leaving office by attacking Iran...

[sakabatou]

54. As I said before

A Tonkin incident.

[ohio2007]

55. Vietnamese admit Gulf of tonkin incident Happened

Vietnamese admit Gulf of tonkin incident Happened

In 1995 the retired General Vo Nguyen Giap confirmed nothing ever happened on August 4 -- although he admitted that the August 2 attack was real. He believed U.S. ships were trying to provoke an attack so President Johnson would have a pretext for greater U.S. involvement.


McNamara asks Giap: What happened in Tonkin Gulf?, Associated Press, 1995


Amid steadily rising tensions over North Vietnam's activities in Laos and South Vietnam, at the end of July 1964 USS Maddox entered the Gulf of Tonkin for a cruise along the North Vietnamese coast. As part of a general U.S. effort to collect intelligence in potential Far Eastern hot spots, this "Desoto Patrol" was particularly focused on obtaining information that would support South Vietnamese coastal raids against North Vietnam. One of these had just taken place as Maddox began her mission.

On the afternoon of 2 August 1964, while steaming well offshore in international waters, Maddox was attacked by three North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats. The destroyer maneuvered to avoid torpedoes and used her guns against her fast-moving opponents, hitting them all. In turn, she was struck in the after gun director by a single 14.5-millimeter machine gun bullet. Maddox called for air support from the carrier Ticonderoga, whose planes strafed the three boats, leaving one dead in the water and burning. Both sides then separated.

Maddox was soon ordered to resume her patrol, this time accompanied by the larger and newer destroyer Turner Joy. On 3 August, the South Vietnamese conducted another coastal raid. Intelligence indicated that the North Vietnamese were planning to again attack the U.S. ships operating off their shores, although this intrepretation was incorrect. During the night of 4 August, while they were underway in the middle of the Tonkin Gulf, Maddox and Turner Joy detected speedy craft closing in. For some two hours the ships fired on radar targets and maneuvered vigorously amid electronic and visual reports of torpedoes.

Though information obtained well after the fact indicates that there was actually no North Vietnamese attack that night, U.S. authorities were convinced at the time that one had taken place, and reacted by sending planes from the carriers Ticonderoga and Constellation to hit North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases and fuel facilites. A few days later, the U.S. Congess passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which gave the Government authorization for what eventually became a full-scale war in Southeast Asia.




http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=690_1199983198


Looks like general 'Charlie' is working for the CIA with those comments of his ;)