America's First Clash with Iran: The Tanker War, 1987-88

ISBN: 1935149369

Author: Zatarain, Lee Allen

Condition: New

In May 1987 the US frigate Stark, calmly sailing the waters of the Persian Gulf, was suddenly blown apart by an Exocet missile fired from an Iraqi jet fighter. A fifth of the ships crew was killed and many others horribly burned or wounded. This event jumpstarted one of the most mysterious conflicts in American history: The Tanker War, waged against Iran for control of the Persian Gulf.This quasi-war took place at the climax of the mammoth Iran-Iraq War during the Reagan administration. Losing on the battlefield, Ayatollah Khomeinis Iran had decided to close the Persian Gulf against shipping from Iraqs oil-rich backers, the emirate of Kuwait. The Kuwaitis appealed for help and America sent a fleet to the Gulf, raising the Stars and Stripes over Kuwaits commercial tankers.The result was a free-for-all, as the Iranians laid mines throughout the narrow passage and launched attack boats against both tankers and US warships. The sixth largest ship in the world, the tanker Bridgeton, hit an Iranian mine and flooded. The US Navy fought its largest surface battle since World War II against the Ayatollahs assault boats. Meanwhile, US Navy Seals arrived in the Gulf, setting up shop aboard two mobile platforms. As Saddam Hussein, who had instigated the conflict, looked on, Iranian gunners fired shore-based Silkworm missiles against US forces, actions which, if made known at the time, would have required the US Congress to declare war against Iran.In July 1988, nervous sailors aboard the cruiser USS Vincennes shot an Iranian airliner out of the sky, killing 300 civilians. This event came one month before the end of the war, and may have been the final straw that influenced the Ayatollah to finally drink from his poisoned chalice.Author Lee Allen Zatarain, employing recently released Pentagon documents, firsthand interviews, and a determination to get to the truth, has revealed a conflict that few recognized at the time, but which may have presaged further battles to come.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION1: THE STARK DISASTER2: TARGET: KUWAIT3: RAISING QUESTIONS4: OPERATION EARNEST WILL5: AMBUSH6: RETHINKING7: THE INVISIBLE HAND STRIKES AGAIN8: IN FLAGRANTE9: FORT APACHE-THE GULF10: TURN AND ENGAGE11: WE WILL COMMENCE FIRING12: WE ARE THE BIG WINNERS IN THE GULF NOW13: NO HIGHER HONOR14: A ONE-DAY WAR15: STOP, ABANDON SHIP, I INTEND TO SINK YOU16: NONE OF THESE LADIES HAS A SCRATCH ON HER17: MULTIPLE SILKWORMS INBOUND18: POLICEMAN OF THE GULF?19: UNKNOWN, ASSUMED HOSTILE20: I DEEPLY REGRET THE RESULT, IF NOT THE DECISION21: SEA OF LIES?22: GIVE ME THE KEY. GIVE ME THE KEY.23: THEY DONT FIGHT LIKE IRANIANS ANYMOREEND NOTESINDEX