TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  It is very easy to ridicule the military claims of smaller powers.  It is also dangerous.  You know, those little yellow men with poor eyesight could never attack the mighty American fleet at Pearl Harbor.  Right? 

Iranian military leaders are making some startling claims.  Some Americans will laugh.  I'm not laughing.  The United States Navy operates in waters near Iran, and it is vulnerable.  Recall the attack by Iraqi missiles on the guided missile frigate USS Stark in 1987, in which 37 American sailors lost their lives.  Recall the attack, launched by a small boat, against the Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer USS Cole, while in port in Yemen in 2000, killing 17 sailors.  From The Times of Israel: 

The naval commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, said Monday that the destruction of the US Navy is a major operational goal of his forces, an Iranian news agency reported. In an unusually aggressive interview, he was said to have declared that Iran’s navy had been conducting drills on how to sink US vessels in any potential combat, that Iran “naturally” wants to sink these vessels, and that it could sink a US aircraft carrier in less than a minute.

“Conducting trainings, exercises and drills to get prepared for operational goals is always on our agenda and Americans and all the world know that one of the operational goals of the IRGC Navy is destruction of the US naval force,” Fadavi said in what the semi-official Fars News Agency called an exclusive interview.

US air power totally depends on fighters flying from its aircraft carriers, Fadavi was quoted saying, “hence, that is a natural thing that we want to sink these vessels.”

Fars said Fadavi also spoke of the vulnerability of the United States’ giant warships and aircraft carriers, notably in any potential combat against Iranian missiles and speedboats in the Persian Gulf: “If you take a look at [former US defense secretary] Robert Gates’ book, you will see how he counts the vulnerabilities of aircraft carriers to the IRGC Navy and (that’s why) he asks for a change in the US naval strategy. This is no easy task, but they (the Americans) have started doing so as he has emphasized,” Fadavi said.

US warships are a very easy target for the IRGC naval force, given that “we have very precise analyses of the design, construction and structures of these warships and we know how to act.”

COMMENT:  I would imagine our Navy is taking this very seriously.  Iran may not be a major power, but it does possess modern weapons.  Only a few missiles getting through could take a supercarrier out of action and possibly sink it.  And remember that Iran, essentially Persian, is an ancient seagoing nation, with an experienced maritime tradition. 

Smaller powers can wreak horrible havoc in war, and inflict terrible casualties.  Think Korea, think Vietnam, indeed think World War II in the Pacific.  Japan was no match for the U.S., but we paid a ghastly price to prove that point.

May 6, 2014