Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Kilroy says, "look before you leap"

A commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that a commando unit has engraved the military organization's emblem into the side panel of an American warship stationed in the Persian Gulf.
David Seaton's News Links
During WWII this little character in the drawing was chalked onto practically every wall in Europe where Americans had been. They say that Stalin was the first to enter an outhouse especially built for the leaders at the Potsdam conference. Upon exiting, Stalin asked an aide, "Who is this Kilroy?" (quote from Wikipedia).

If the story from Haaretz quoted below is true, then the Iranians have pulled off the "Kilroy" to end all Kilroys.

If true it would be of enormous significance and despite the unsurpassed excellencies of the US Navy, it could very well be true. The Iranians are the "home team" and unlike the US Navy, they don't have the scenarios of hundreds of different contingencies all over the globe to prepare for. They are only threatened by the United States and Israel in their neighborhood and they have had since 1979 to prepare their defenses. To think, to game.

The story reminds me of something the Ghurkas were said to do in the Italian campaign of WWII. They would infiltrate German lines at night and when they found two or three German soldiers sleeping together in a foxhole they would cut one of the enemy soldier's throats at random without waking the others. The next morning the sleeping soldiers would wake to find their comrade dead... The word got around. So where there were Ghurkas known to be in the line, Germans didn't get much sleep. I think military action with Iran could be very nonproductive. All the US needs right now is to have an aircraft carrier sunk.

I wonder if we'll hear more of this story. If it's true some sailor will talk or email it. If it even becomes an "urban legend" among US Navy personnel it could affect morale. DS

Iran Revolutionary Guards: Unit engraved emblem on U.S. ship - Haaretz
Abstract: A commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that a commando unit has engraved the military organization's emblem into the side panel of an American warship stationed in the Persian Gulf. Nur Ali Shushkari, the head of the Revolutionary Guards ground forces, told Iranian pro-government news agencies that the symbol was etched onto the ship by the crew of a submarine that had managed to reach the U.S. vessel without detection by radar.(...) Shushkari warned the United States that if a confrontation arises, all American forces in the gulf as well as targets inside the U.S. itself would be targets for attack. READ IT ALL

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This after the USS Cole? Might this not be the hyperbole?