According to a “CNN exclusive” report today, prominently headlined on Drudge, the Iranian military caught a US predator drone spying on Iran from over international waters in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians launched a manned aircraft to shadow the drone, which eventually exited the area. No shots were fired.
But it was all the Iranians fault for bothering the drone as it went about its business. As CNN writes in the first paragraph: “It was the latest in Iranian efforts to thwart the U.S. military’s airborne intelligence collections efforts in the region.”
How dare the Iranians attempt to thwart US intelligence collection efforts (presumably including targeting information in advance of a potential US attack)!
The article continues by stating that “the U.S. is concerned about Iranian intentions in incidents like this and whether it could unintentionally trigger hostility.”
It is not the presence of US drones spying Iran, which occur with some frequency, that could “trigger hostility” but rather Iran’s heretofore moderate response to a clear military threat off its coast. The Iranians should just shut up and allow the US to prepare for an attack. Anything more would be to…well…invite US attack!
Imagine if an Iranian drone was collecting targeting data from off the US Atlantic coast after routinely warning the United States that a military attack on the United States remained “on the table.”
On Twitter @DanielLMcAdams
2:34 pm on March 14, 2013
