Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Official: US Ship Fires On Boat Off Dubai, 1 Dead

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    Emirati police and other officials inspect a boat docked in a fishing harbor in the Jumeirah district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, July 16, 2012. A U.S. official in Dubai says an American vessel has fired on a boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, killing one person and injuring three. The official gave no further details, but it appears the boat could have been mistaken as a threat in Gulf waters not far from Iran's maritime boundaries. (AP Photo/Almoutasim Almaskery)Dubai, United Arab Emirates – An American vessel fired on a boat Monday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, killing one person and injuring three, according to a U.S. consular official in Dubai.

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    The official gave no further details, but it appeared the boat could have been mistaken as a threat in Gulf waters not far from Iran’s maritime boundaries.

    Dozens of police and other Emirati officials crowded around the white-hulled boat, which sat docked after the incident in a small Dubai port used by fishermen and sailors.

    The boat appeared to be a civilian vessel about 30 feet (9 meters) long and powered by three outboard motors. Similar boats are used for fishing in the region, though Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also employs relatively small, fast-moving craft in the Gulf.

    Rescue workers were seen carrying one person in a body bag off the boat and placing it in an ambulance as fishermen looked on. Officials moved the boat from the harbor shortly afterward.

    An Emirati rescue official at the scene confirmed the casualty toll. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident between the two allies.

    U.S. military vessels routinely cross paths with Iranian ships in international waters in the Gulf without incident, but speed boats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have passed close to U.S. ships in incidents that have raised alarm in Washington.

    In early 2008, then President Bush accused Iran of a “provocative act” after five small Iranian craft buzzed around the destroyer USS Hopper.

    Tensions are elevated in the Gulf after Iran last week renewed threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz — the route for one-fifth of the world’s oil — in retaliation for tighter sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The U.S. recently boosted its naval presence in the Gulf with additional minesweepers and other warships.

    The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was investigating the Monday shooting. The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi had no immediate comment, referring all questions to the Navy.

    Emirati officials could not be reached for comment.


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    9 Comments
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    honestbroker
    honestbroker
    11 years ago

    In an effort to portray himself as a strong military leader, Mr. Obama has been engaging in some uncharachteristic muscle flexing for the last year, admittedly, with some degree of success(IE Osama Bin Laden). However lets not be fooled by this transparent attempt at reinventing himself, for public consumption. Despite his best efforts at mollifying, and genuflecting, Europe and the Arab world still view him as a weak leader to be toyed with, and the Iranians are playing him like a stradavarius! G-d help us if he is relected. An Obama with no third term to campaign for, will have nothing to restrain him from carrying out his socialist agenda. Nothing would give him greater satisfaction than turning the US into a European clone. Mitt Romney is clearly not the answer, however at this stage he is the lesser of the two evils. Oh but for a strong and principled leader like Ronald Reagan.

    my4amos
    my4amos
    11 years ago

    I am wondering, if this was a British ship threatened by some suspicious boat, what would the Brits do? Wait a second! It did happen about 5 years ago. The Brits surrendered to an Iranian boat without firing a single shot.

    The royal navy persons (I wouldn’t call them men) were captured, brought to Tehran, publicly humiliated, made statements on Iranian TV admitting that they were sent for nefarious purposes, renounced their country and were eventually returned to England. Happy ending of sorts.

    honestbroker
    honestbroker
    11 years ago

    OK You got me !
    Typical gov’t functionary
    Obfuscate, dance around the issue without confrontimg it directly,and ultimately get hung up on a technicality. With the thousands of new gov’t employees Mr. Obama and his band of merry thieves are going to need to implement his new “Affordable Health Care act”, I’m sure he can find a place for another talented yet unnecessary pencil pusher to pick our pockets and help create some more red tape.
    PS I hope everthing is spelled to your satisfaction

    11 years ago

    The U.S. Navy personnel did the right thing. They cannot take a chance of a small boat approaching with potential suicide bombers. In 2000, suicide bombers in Yemen approached the USS Cole with a small boat, and set off a bomb, killing seventeen sailors. This time, the Navy waw much better prepared. They are under strict orders that if a small boat approaches too close, and it ignores repeated warning to stay away, they are to be fired upon. Sooner or later, the message will get out, not to mess with the U.S. Navy. During World War Two, there were similar incidents, whereby U.S. Navy personnel attempted to rescue Japanese seamen, whose ship(s) had been sunk. When they went to retrieve the Japanese, who were in life rafts, some of them opened fire on the ships.