Remembering the July 3, 1988, USS Vincennes-Iran Airbus Incident (During
the undeclared US-Iran Gulf Naval War) --- (excerpt from a BBC article)
Most of those on board the Iranian Airbus were Iranians on their way to
Mecca. The victims also included 66 children and 38 foreign nationals.
An official inquiry carried out by the US attributed the mistake to human
error.
However, the Iranian government has always disputed the American version
of events.
It took four years for the US administration to admit officially that the
USS Vincennes was in Iranian waters when the skirmish took place with the
Iranian gunboats.
Subsequent investigations have accused the US military of waging a covert
war against Iran in support of Iraq.
The US government has never admitted responsibility or apologised for the
tragedy.
Some believe the Lockerbie bombing, carried out six months later in
December 1988, was masterminded by Iranians in revenge for the Airbus
tragedy, although a Libyan man was convicted and jailed in 2001.
In February 1996 the US agreed to pay Iran $61.8 million in compensation
for the 248 Iranians killed, plus the cost of the aircraft and legal
expenses.
It had already paid a further $40 million to the other countries whose
nationals were killed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/3/newsid_4678000/4678707.stm
July 4, 1988
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes and USS Elmer Montgomery were operating
in international waters of the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz. (On
July 2, the Montgomery had responded to a distress signal from a Danish
tanker that was under attack by Iranian small boats and had fired a
warning shot, which caused the breaking off of the attack.) Having indi-
{p.921} cations that approximately a dozen Iranian small boats were
congregating to attack merchant shipping, the Vincennes sent a Mark III
LAMPS Helicopter on investigative patrol in international airspace to
assess the situation. At about 1010 local Gulf time (2:10 a.m. EDT), when
the helicopter had approached to within only four nautical miles, it was
fired on by Iranian small boats (the Vincennes was ten nautical miles from
the scene at this time). The LAMPS helicopter was not damaged and returned
immediately to the Vincennes.
As the Vincennes and Montgomery were approaching the group of Iranian
small boats at approximately 1042 local time, at least four of the small
boats turned toward and began closing in on the American warships. At this
time, both American ships opened fire on the small craft, sinking two and
damaging a third. Regrettably, in the course of the U.S. response to the
Iranian attack, an Iranian civilian airliner was shot down by the
Vincennes, which was firing in self defense at what it believed to be a
hostile Iranian military aircraft. We deeply regret the tragic loss of
life that occurred. The Defense Department will conduct a full
investigation.
The actions of U.S. forces in response to being attacked by Iranian small
boats were taken in accordance with our inherent right of self-defense, as
recognized in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and pursuant to my
constitutional authority with respect to the conduct of foreign relations
and as Commander in Chief. There has been no further hostile action by
Iranian forces, and, although U.S. forces will remain prepared to take
additional defensive action to protect our units and military personnel,
we regard this incident as closed. U.S. forces suffered no casualties or
damage.
Since March 1987, I and members of my Administration have provided to
Congress letters, reports, briefings, and testimony in connection with
developments in the Persian Gulf and the activities of U.S. Armed Forces
in the region. In accordance with my desire that Congress continue to be
fully informed in this matter, I am providing this report consistent with
the War Powers Resolution. I look forward to cooperating with Congress in
pursuit of our mutual, overriding aim of peace and stability in the
Persian Gulf region.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/ir655-statements.html
Operation Praying Mantis
On 14 April 1988, watchstanders aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58)
sighted three mines floating approximately one-half mile from the ship.
Twenty minutes after the first sighting, as Samuel B. Roberts was backing
clear of the minefleld, she struck a submerged mine nearly ripping the
warship in half. Working feverishly for seven hours, the crew stabilized
the ship. Samuel B. Roberts was sent back to the United States for repair.
Three days after the mine blast, forces of Joint Task Force Middle East
executed the American response -- Operation PRAYING MANTIS. During a
two-day period, the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force units of Joint
Task Force Middle East destroyed two oil platforms being used by Iran to
coordinate attacks on merchant shipping, sank or destroyed three Iranian
warships and neutralized at least six Iranian speedboats.
Operating in conjunction with USS WAINWRIGHT (CG 28) and USS BAGLEY (FF
1069), USS SIMPSON (FFG-56) was assigned to the strike on the Iranian oil
platform at Sirri, and shelled the platform. In response, the Iranian Navy
missile patrol combatant JOSHAN approached the three U.S. ships. When
JOSHAN was warned to stand clear, she responded by firing a Harpoon
missile at the group. SIMPSON was the first ship to return fire, striking
JOSHAN with the first of four successful missiles she fired that day.
After JOSHAN was disabled by missile fire, she was sunk by gunfire. As a
result of that action, SIMPSON and her crew were awarded the Joint
Meritorious Unit Award and the Combat Action Ribbon, along with numerous
personal awards received by individual crew members.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/praying_mantis.htm
CRITICISM OF THE US RE: THE JULY 3, 1988 IRAN AIR BUS-USS VINCENNES
INCIDENT --
Iran Air Flight 655
by gjohnsit
Sun Jul 02, 2006 at 07:24:03 PM PDT
"I will never apologise for the United States of America, ever. I don't
care what it has done. I don't care what the facts are."
Vice-President George H. W. Bush, August 1988
18 years ago today, Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) took off from Bandar
Abbas, Iran at 10:17 am local time on its way to Dubai, UAE with 290
passengers and crew aboard. It carried 38 non-Iranians and included 66
children. It was running 27 minutes late on its 28-minute flight. The
short flight distance made for a simple flight pattern: climb to 14,000
feet, level off, and then decend into Dubia. It was flying in commercial
air corridor Amber 59, a twenty-mile-wide lane on a direct line to Dubai
airport.
What the nearly 300 passengers of the plane didn't know was that
12,000 feet below it the U.S.S. Vincennes had drifted 4km into Iran's
territorial waters while engaging small Iranian gunboats.
a.. The Vincennes was 40 miles north of the position that that fleet
headquarters had ordered it to be.
The reason for Rogers moving the Vincennes so far away from his
ordered post? The warship was purportedly off to defend its helicopter,
which had been deployed--under orders from fleet headquarters--on a
reconnaissance mission, to check out the group of gunboats hovering
further north. Anti-aircraft rounds from one or more of the gunboats were
fired, giving Rogers reason to approach; when the Vincennes arrived on the
scene, lookouts reported that a few of the gunboats were headed towards
the ship. It remains unclear whether this was actually the case: the
gunboats likely couldn't see the Vincennes, with their low profiles and
amidst the sandy haze hovering over the gulf; also, the gunboats were
within Iranian territorial waters--firing on them here would be a breach
of international law.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what Rogers decided to do. It was in the
midst of this gunfire that Flight 655 took off, and was (as is routine)
identified initially as a hostile aircraft by the Vincennes' AEGIS
monitoring system. The first person to try to establish the plane's
identity was Petty Officer Andrew Anderson, who sent out the electronic
query, "Identify, Friend or Foe?" The automated response from Flight 655
came back as "commair"--a commercial airliner. Anderson tried to confirm
this, but in checking navy listings of scheduled flights over the Gulf,
Anderson apparently missed Flight 655, possibly confused by the Gulf's
four different time zones. The Vincennes sent out the first of four
warnings over the military emergency channel for the plane to change its
course. Three subsequent warnings were sent out over the civilian
emergency channel as well, although none were broadcast over air traffic
control--despite the Vincennes having the capability.
The U.S. claimed that the plane was:
* outside of the commercial jet flight corridor
* flying at 7,000 feet
* on a decent towards the Vincennes
* the Airbus was using a Mode II IFF squawk, identifying it as an Iranian
military aircraft (commercial aircraft respond with Mode III squawks)
One month later, the American government conceeded that all of these
claims were untrue.
The Vincennes tried to warn the aircraft 10 times before it fired.
"Throughout its final flight IR655 was in radio contact with various air
traffic control services using standard civil aviation frequencies, and
had spoken in English to Bandar Abbas Approach Control seconds before the
Vincennes launched its missiles."
The first missle broke the aircraft in two. No one aboard had a chance.
What happened that day was a tragedy. What happened in the days
following was a cover-up.
The official naval report was never fully unclassified. Parts of it
that were given to the public were misleading, if not outright
fabrications.
"One thing is clear, and that is that the USS Vincennes acted in
self-defense. This tragic accident occurred against a backdrop of
repeated, unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful Iranian attacks against
U.S. merchant shipping and armed forces.
"And it occurred in the midst of a naval attack initiated by Iranian
vessels against a neutral vessel and subsequently against the Vincennes
when she came to the aid of the innocent ship in distress." -George H.W.
Bush, [July 14, 1988]
"The suspect aircraft was outside the prescribed commercial air
corridor. More importantly, the aircraft headed directly for Vincennes, on
a constant bearing, at high speed, approximately 450 knots. Decreasing in
altitude as it neared the ship." -William J. Crowe Jr. (Chairman, Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Admiral, U.S. Navy): [July 3, 1988]
"On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes and the USS Elmer Montgomery were
operating in international waters of the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of
Hormuz.." - Ronald Reagan, Monday, July 4 1988
The Vincennes was indeed being fired upon by Iranian gunboats, gunboats
so small they couldn't cause any real damage on the cruiser. But more
importantly, the action was happening three miles inside of Iranian
waters. The USS Elmer Montgomery was even further inside Iran's
territorial waters.
William M. Fogarty (Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, Director of Policy and
Plans, U.S. Central Command, head of the investigative team): During the
early morning of three July, a Pakistani merchant was also harassed.
She also issued a distress call.
Soon thereafter, explosions were heard in the vicinity of a Liberian
merchant, where numerous Iranian gunboats were gathered.
It turns out that the Liberian merchant ship, Stoval, never existed -
except as some radio signals.
"It was a decoy which had been organized by U.S. forces in the Gulf to
lure out the Iranian gunboats from the islands in the Strait of Hormuz, so
that these gunboats would come south to attack this helpless Liberian
tanker and would instead find themselves confronted by U.S. warships and
armed U.S. helicopters."
18 U.S.C. § 1001(a). False Statements/Omissions:
" (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any
matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial
branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully --
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a
material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or
representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to
contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or
entry;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or
both. "
18 U.S.C. § 1515(a)(3)(B). Misleading Conduct:
" (3) the term "misleading conduct" means -- ...
(B) intentionally omitting information from a statement and thereby
causing a portion of such statement to be misleading, or intentionally
concealing a material fact, and thereby creating a false impression by
such statement ... "
18 U.S.C. § 2. Principals
" (a) Whoever commits an offense...or aids, abets, counsels, commands,
induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal. "
18 U.S.C. § 371. Conspiracy:
" If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against
the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof
in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any
act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this
title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. "
The Vincennes was operating under a much more aggressive code of conduct
than earlier in the decade. The reason was because on May 17, 1987, the
U.S.S. Stark was attacked by an Iraqi Mirage 1 that cost 37 sailors their
lives. You would expect the president to be angry over this incident, and
he was.
"Mark this point well. The use of the vital sea lanes of the Persian
Gulf will not be dictated by the Iranians." -President Ronald Reagan, May
29, 1987
Huh? Iranian? Not Iraq?
"Ironically, it probably brought us closer to Iraq, because after that
Iraq allowed American teams to come in and talk about deconfliction and to
share intelligence information and this sort of thing." -James H. Webb Jr.
(U.S. Secretary of the Navy, 1987-1988)
As for the fall-out from Iran Air Flight 655, in what was to be
duplicated under George W. Bush's administration, medals of honor were
handed out.
The men of the Vincennes were all awarded combat-action ribbons.
Commander Lustig, the air-warfare co-ordinator, even won the navy's
Commendation Medal for "heroic achievement," his "ability to maintain his
poise and confidence under fire" having enabled him to "quickly and
precisely complete the firing procedure." The Legion of Merit was
presented to Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Commander Lustig.
The Reagan Administration later issued notes of regret over the loss
of innocent lives, but never admitted any wrong-doing or responsibility.
Eight years later, during the Clinton Administration, the United States
agreed to pay Iran US$ 61.8 million in compensation ($300,000 per
wage-earning victim, $150,000 per non-wage-earner) for the 248 Iranians
killed. This was an agreed settlement to discontinue a case brought by
Iran in 1989 against the U.S. in the International Court of Justice.
The United States has not compensated Iran for the airplane itself, to
date.
On November 6, 2003, the International Court of Justice concluded that
the U.S. Navy's actions in the Persian Gulf at the time had been unlawful.
No one was even indicted, much less jailed, for the murder of 290
innocent lives, nor for the coverup that followed.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/2/22243/93880
http://www.fas.org/news/iran/1992/920722-236124.htm
The above URL reference gives the US's defense of its operations, mainly
in response to US media accusations.
After all was said and done, the frequent skirmishes between the
Ayatollah Khomeini's rather meager naval forces and the US's much greater
naval forces produced much favorable propaganda for both sides. Today,
Iran is considerably more militarily equipped than it was then, and the
87-89 undeclared Iran-US Gulf War would likely be comparatively miniscule
in destructive outcome (and economic impact). One thing is important to
remember in looking back on that war crisis, is that the US contended that
it had not been in Iranian sovereign waters during an incident, but later
officially admitted it had (4 years later). Whether this crisis turns out
to be something similar in official admittance (now or much later), we can
only wait and see, of course. But, it's equally important to note that the
15 captured Britons were not harmed, nor have they been mistreated. So
far, no one has been hurt or killed over this incident. And, according to
a British poll, the majority of Britons do not favor military action
against Iran. (see ref. below)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/news/story.html?id=657f3e1f-bf20-4c9f-99c9-dbe1bf2b7ca0
Let's not lose our heads in a crisis that can be resolved peacefully. It
would be horrid and shameful to have any war action started (with
indeterminate longer-range consequences), and people killed or hurt, over
a non-lethal, non-injurious incident that has quickly become a matter of
nationalistic pride, political manipulation, and media exploitation. If we
ever have a war with Iran, let us be sure we enter into it to defend
against an unwarranted violent attack -- and nothing else! The Iraq War
debacle will not be redeemed, nor will the deteriorating Afghanistan War
be 'improved', by foolishly engaging Iran violently for what amounts to a
'slap' in our ally's face, or tragically overreacting as we apparently did
in the 1988 USS Vincennes-Iran Airbus disaster...and risking setting off
another long war quagmire, not to mention an economic disaster. It is also
important to remember that US forces captured Iranian nationals inside
Iraq, under a new aggressive policy started by Bush. US naval forces in
large numbers have accumulated inside and just outside the Gulf. Major
military drills have been conducted by Iran and the US in recent months.
Tensions are running high, as they did back in the late 80s.
Dr. Bipolar
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