Sad and depressing article and comments

First off, I am an active duty, mid-grade U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer with extensive experience at sea and in that region. I was not personally involved in this incident, have no inside knowledge, and am speaking merely as a private citizen and long time Salon subscriber.

That said, the tone of both the article and most of the subsequent comments truly saddened me.

First, I will say in no uncertain terms, that unidentified, high-speed small boats approaching your ship or other ships in company is extremely scary. They present a credible, significant threat to our forces, as the bombing of USS Cole demonstrated. Small craft can and do present a threat to even the largest warships. Calling this incident "reckless" and "belligerent behavior" is flat-out irresponsible and wrong. The best I analogy I can make is that you'd be incredibly stupid to ride a motorcycle in a threatening manner at high speed directly at a police officer and then run rings around his cruiser (in a neighborhood where other police had been brutally killed), and then expect that officer to do absolutely nothing at all.

Second, as much as I do appreciate Mr. Jones "quasi-defense of the U.S. military's conduct", he is wrong on a much deeper level than just his use of the term "midshipman". Yes, there are young folks manning most of the watches on those ships. However, they are extremely well trained, and those above them with actual weapons release authority have even more training and extensive qualification processes. On top of all that, a ship like the USS Port Royal is commanded by a very senior captain with a minimum of 20 years of experience, often much more.

Finally, to ApacheTrout, I want to thank you for complying with USS Underwood's instructions. However, I want to make it clear that until the moment you turned away, you were a mortal threat approaching that ship, and they had every right to train weapons on you. Your line: "My mom didn't even look like a terrorist" was probably meant in jest, but was important. We do not profile.

--Anonymous

And to William Timberman, dork that he is; the point about Iran's recent acts of war versus British Naval personnel (yes, the Brits were in inflatables, not a frigate) I am sure was simply to illustrate Iran's active and hostile intentions in those waters.

Otherwise, our naval officer has pointed out the real dangers involved with small speedboats like this acting in this manner.

I don't claim to be a naval expert, but I'm glad the real naval expert seems to agree with me.

I think the goofballs who need to sing "I am the master of the sea, the ruler of the Queen's navy," are the folks at Salon. And you all "are the sisters and the cousins and the aunts."

Now, here is what you do; put some teeth into that position. Get that plank into the Democrat Party Platform -- that all U.S. Navy warships will be removed from the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Out of respect for Iran's national dignity, of course. Get that into the platform, and let the Democrat nominee run on it.

I dare you.

"Now I go into old age unable to take ANY NSAID or drug that is harsh on the stomach. I am in pain daily due to the limitations on what I can take or even eat."

That's a shame that you find yourself in that position. Even more so, because there is, or was, a whole class of really innovative medications called Cox-2 Inhibitors, that were designed for people like you. Vioxx was one of the Cox-2 Inhibitors.

Sadly, the trial lawyers (see, e.g. "John Edwards, et al") have succeeded in stmpeding a credulous popular press and frightened Merck executives into pulling it from the marketplace. All due to litigation costs.

Score it trial lawyers 1, patients 0.

To know that, even in their own primaries, the moonbat, tin-foil hat wearers in the Democrat party are still crying "vote-count fraud." Except this time, the Democrats are left on their own. No adult supervision to guide them. Will Dennis Kucinich ask that the recount take place in a neutral location, like perhaps one of the planets in the Alpha Centauri system?

I was going to try to engage in a little provocation (and maybe some illumination) by asking why, if there was a theory of rampant vote-count-rigging, was no one shedding any light on precisely who it was who had the "motive" and "opportunity" to commit this massive statewide fraud? I had hoped to find out whom among the current Democrat candidates the Salonistas thought was the evil force behind the conspiracy.

Silly me. I should have known. The source of all evil, even in the Democrat's New Hampshire freakin' primary. It was the Republicans. Of course! Darth Cheney, and Karl the Kontroller Rove, operating out of a secret bunker in Dixville Notch! The Democrats would never rig a vote! Not Mayor Daley or Joe Kennedy; not LBJ or Huey Long; and of course not Acorn!

This is way too much fun. Bartender, give me one of what the Salon readership is drinking.

I was wondering if any of the people who were getting all poetic about the sanctity of the voting process had gotten around to writing a letter to your local newspaper editor saying that you also favor a law requiring photo i.d. to vote, like you need to cash a check, or get on an airliner...

Because, after all, our sacred right to vote must be protected.

Good thing for the University of Michigan that Juan Cole is harmlessly preaching about politics and blogging, and not actually running something like the university's football program.

God forbid that Juan Cole be given an opportunity to actually run a segment of American foreign policy.

Then you wouldn't be Democrats anymore, right?