… on the world stage, tinpot dictators WALK all over you!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/iranian-gunboats-point-machine-guns-swarm-us-warship-ln-sea-oman-video/
Categories
… on the world stage, tinpot dictators WALK all over you!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/iranian-gunboats-point-machine-guns-swarm-us-warship-ln-sea-oman-video/
3 replies on “When you project WEAKNESS…”
Meh … I watched that video and it’s clearly propaganda intended for internal Iranian consumption.
I watched it pretty carefully, I recognize those machine guns. They’re Soviet/Russian DShK 12.7MM heavy machine guns. They’re the analog (though quite different in operation and construction) to the U.S. Browning M2 .50 cal. heavy machine gun.
That’s a formidable gun and one of the few Soviet/Russian firearms that could be and is considered “epic”. Those machine guns would present a genuine threat to the bridge and superstructure areas of an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, though they would not be able to actually penetrate the hull of a ship in that class.
The video shows the guns are manned, as one would expect, but I didn’t see them actually pointed at the U.S. vessel(s). That doesn’t mean they weren’t, it just means they weren’t shown doing so in the video.
The Arleigh Burke class destroyer would make very short work of destroying and sinking any other vessel in the video, including the tanker vessel. This is a fact I’m sure was not lost on the Iranians.
It doesn’t really matter what Joe Biden says, no American vessel is going to stand by and be attacked with no response on the high seas. Joe Biden may be the Commander in Chief of the US Military but he cannot order an American Naval vessel to just let itself be chewed up by hostile enemy fire.
It was funny watching the Iranian “helicopter assault” on the tanker. It was mighty considerate of the Iranian “assault force” to land on the designated helipad aboard that tanker, then only walk on the designated areas of the main deck. Our guys would have fast roped (or rappelled) to the tanker deck and immediately taken up assault positions of cover, then executed an overwatch movement against the ship’s command areas including the engine room.
In contrast the Iranians looked to me like a bunch of old women boarding a cruise ship. Just sayin’.
The Iranian assault helicopter was an old Huey UH-1, I’m not sure which model but it looks like it might be a “D” due to a longer fuselage … But it’s hard to tell in those highly zoomed Iranian videos. It was smoking like a chimney when it braked for the landing maneuver. That’s a sure sign of poor maintenance and upkeep. No doubt the Iranians have some trouble getting parts for that American made helicopter and the bird is probably a leftover from the days of the Shah.
If the Iranians were serious that would be a poor choice for an assault ‘copter considering they can be assumed to have more modern, more easily maintained Russian aircraft. (I.E. Mil-17) It’s not that the old UH-1D isn’t a good chopper, it’s that it’s old and obviously poorly maintained — Especially for a combat assault over open water.
It was also amusing to note that the Iranian videographers blurred out the faces of the Iranians shown in what was presumably Operations Command. They have good reason to do that after Qasem Soleimani met his end in a smoking crater. Clearly they’re not quite brave enough to show us (or the Israelis) the faces of anyone calling any shots.
Bill Whittle did a very good video regarding Iranian vs. American confrontation entitled “You Really Ought to Go Home”. If you haven’t seen it its worth looking up.
I’m not horribly concerned over what I saw in the video and I think the American forces gave it all the attention it deserved. Basically saying “No, the Iranians are lying again, it’s to be expected.”
I know that that cruiser could wipe every Iranian dinghy and aircraft involved in this incident, but this whole thing was about optics – the U.S. being made to look weak and rudderless (we are, under the pedo-mummy in chief). It’s just propaganda that the anti-Americans, both in Iran AND in the Oval office, want to show the world, and its vile.
No argument from me on that. However, perspective is very important. Losing perspective can make things seem other than what they really are.
Yes, Potato Head Joe is projecting weakness, and at some level I have to think that’s intentional. I’m just not certain of the reason other than of course the fact that he’s highly unsuitable for the job he’s not really doing anyway.
That’s why I included the reference to “You Really Ought to go Home”. So as to establish some perspective on the consequences of projecting strength instead of weakness.
That said, this video is a propaganda video created for internal distribution. It’s meant to impress Iranians about how wonderful and powerful their leadership is.
You have to bear in mind with this sort of thing that this is the same country that built a flimsy plywood “aircraft carrier” just so they could attack it and blow it up. To prove to their own mostly ignorant and backward population that they could handle the American 5th Fleet successfully. A fleet that could destroy their country in days, maybe hours and is parked just down the road a bit at Manama, Bahrain.
When you claim to be Divinely Ordained by Allah you have to demonstrate a little omnipotence now and then and the Iranians do this by lying.
THOSE are the optics this video was created for. Out here, outside the influence and control of the Imams and Ayatollahs, we all know it’s bullshit and nothing to be overly concerned about.
It’s important to remember too, publishers gotta publish. If they can take something like this and get a few clicks out of it, they have to go for it. That doesn’t mean their interpretation is correct or even close to being right.
I discussed this video with a Navy SigInt type last night. That person says the same thing I do about this particular piece. I wanted to make sure I was “getting it right”. I was and I did.
If you really want something to get worked up about, the Iranians released a video showing their Republican Guards blowing up our Capitol Building. It was covered in the New York Post back on 05 May, 2021. THAT was an obvious and overt threat.
I disdain to the utmost Joe Biden and the unelected committee of Komrades that are pulling his strings. I’m not sticking up for nor making any excuses for those evil little Smurfs. My point here is that there are plenty of things that are worth being exercised over. You do as you like but I try to avoid hyperbole as much as possible because otherwise the situation becomes the same as Leftists calling everyone they don’t like “Hitler” and “racists”. After a while it has no effect at all.
The stuff in the video you posted is all staged for the camera and a good chunk of it is stock footage that didn’t even have anything to do with the incident it claims to cover. My attitude towards that kind of thing is to not give it more due than it deserves. It’s just par for the course and something we’re going to have to deal with until the nitwits running the country implode themselves and we can move on to more responsible leadership. It’s not something I can generate a lot of outrage over myself. YMMV
I’m not saying the optics are not bad, I’m not saying there’s anything good about this, and I’m certainly not saying that the projection of American weakness around the globe is a good thing in any way by any means. I’m just saying that the stuff in this video is nothing to lose any sleep over.
I like The Gateway Pundit but in this instance they’re crying “Wolf!!!” over something that doesn’t rate a lot more than just crying “Gopher!!!”