My error regarding the Marshall Islands and I should have been aware of the arrangement. New Zealand has the same obligations in respect to a number of pacific islands. The problem being that unless they were being attacked by a war canoe there is little we could do.
Looking back in history tough guys have caused more harm than good as most of them were warmongers. Nothing positive there, on the contrary.
Hmmmm. . . What would have happened in Europe if Chamberlain had armored up?
What would have happened if Roosevelt had acted sooner?
Tough guys have to stand up to tough guy wannabe’s. If one can’t reason with belligerence, crush it.
So we in the US should expect to be attacked in the very near future to crush us for our last several decades of belligerence then? We’d deserve it to be fair.
Like the Iranian tough guys are doing now?
For my left-wing colleagues,
The last time I checked, the US is not supporting terrorist proxies. Let’s see who Iran is supporting: ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hizbollah, Houthi.
1979 US Embassy
1983 US Embassy bombing-Lebanon
1983 US Marine Beirut Barracks Lebanon
1988 Mines in PG - USS SB Roberts damaged
1996 Kobar Towers - Saudi A
2001 Support for 9/11 hijackers
2003-2011 Shiite militias & weapons in Iraq
2011 Attempted assassinatin of Saudi Ambassador in DC
2015 Captured & detained US Navy personnel, harassing naval assets PG
2017 Hezbollah plots in NYC
2018 Two Iranian agents arrested in CHICAGO for survellience of targets
2018 Iraq proxies launch attack at US Embassy Baghdad &Consulate in Basra
Yeah, in the past the CIA did dumb shit-Bay of Pigs. And other countries [Soviet Union-Cuba missiles] did dumb shit too.
And the Russians are starting to play bumper-tag again. It’s stupid, sure. But acquiescing and appeasement won’t work. Not having a military strike for the drone shoot down [150KIA for 0KIA] is good. But if they strike a US asset again, spank 'em hard.
The Iranians believe they own the Arabian Gulf and resent any US presence in it. They refer to it as the Persian Gulf but it doesn’t mean they own it.
Was the drone in Iranian airspace or what Iran consider their airspace regardless of international law?
They say, “their space”. US says “international”. . .
They have a hand-drawn map of drone track. US has GPS track. . . Having personally observed their provocative actions from a ship steaming through the area, I’m not pre-disposed to believe them.
In reality though, “international” is the prevailing standard, isn’t it? For example, just because the PRC adds sand to an atoll in the PAC, doesn’t allow them to call “territorial waters” larger than 12NM, right? Heck, I’m not sure they can legally claim territorial water, anyhow. Hence I agree with steaming “innocent passage” through the area.
Yeah, that’s not the kind of things we can let slide. Like the USN can’t run like scared rabbits whenever Ivan aims the pointy end of one of their warships in our direction. On the other hand, if we’re smarter than they are we’ll find a way to diffuse things unless they get so completely out of hand that we have to choice but to wipe them off the planet. We can, we have the technology, but the repercussions are something we can’t predict.
This body of water is historically and internationally known as the “Persian Gulf”. A number of Arab countries dispute the name now and want to rename it to Arabian Gulf.
You’re right. It has historically been known as the Persian Gulf and identified as such on maps. However, the name Arabian Gulf is not new and has been in use for several years by the bordering Arab States. The Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain where our ship was based calls it the Arabian Gulf, the same as our allies in the region so I’m sticking with it.
Iranians also insist on being called Persians but everyone else refers to them as Iranians. They can go pound sand for all I care. 
If you want to stay out of trouble and avoid Hormuz there is another sneaky way to get in or out of the Persian Gulf, through a very narrow alley called Fakk al Asad. It is located between the Musandam Peninsula and the islet of Jazirat Musandam. You can get through, but there is no room to overtake or pass. But it is a (slightly) shorter route and it is fun to hear the sound of the ship’s engines resonating from the rocky channel walls.
Shell tanker Ondina nearing Jazirat Musandam.
There is a bar at the end but with a comfortable 18 fathoms below the keel.
On one occasion a Greek tanker in front of us, when we deviated from our course to enter the alley, called us on the VHF shouting excitedly: “You are heading for the rocks, what is the matter with you?” We answered with: “Thank you we are okay.” When we exited from the alley we suddenly were a couple of miles in front of the Greek who started shouting over the VHF: “You are crazy Dutch people. You are crazy etc.” We answered with: “Next time follow us!”
Does the Mississippi River flow into the Gulf of America?
When I refer to my time there, I call it the Persian Gulf but a recommendation letter dished out with my discharge papers 20 years ago did refer to it as the Arabian Gulf.
Gulf of America? Nah. Gulf of Mexico sounds more romantic.
The North Sea is mainly Norwegian but located south of Norway. I always call it the South Norwegian Sea. It sounds warm and tropical.