Juan Cole gives us the 411 on the Iranian speedboat fantasy……….

The Bush administration’s assertion that 5 small Iranian boats confronted big, well-armed US ships in the Straits of Hormuz and threatened to blow up the American vessels is looking more and more like a serious error if not a Republican Party fabrication.

The episode featured prominently in the Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, according to McClatchy:

“One of the most animated exchanges came when the candidates were asked whether they backed the Navy’s cautious response recently when Iranian boats reportedly harassed U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Huckabee said anyone who challenges the Navy again should be prepared to go to the “gates of hell.” Thompson said anyone testing the Navy might soon meet the “virgins” that Islamic terrorists expect to meet in heaven.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul called the bellicose language frightening and reminiscent of the reaction to an alleged naval exchange that led to the Vietnam War. “I would certainly urge a lot more caution than I’m hearing here tonight,” Paul said.

Romney cracked that Paul should stop reading Iranian propaganda, drawing what sounded like boos from the audience and a glare from Paul.”

So the Republicans are embarrassing themselves again, because there was not any reason to send anyone through the gates of hell. Moreover, Huckabee and Romney are not the ones who would suffer if Bush and Cheney managed to get up a skirmish with Iran. Our troops, kidnapped and held in the midst of a hostile Shiite population in Iraq, would be on the line. Getting them blown up for nothing is the opposite of patriotism.

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