(Washington Times) Editorial - Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. Go ahead, make our day. Iran would suffer more than the U.S. from closing the strait. Iran's economy is highly dependent on oil exports; closing the strait would cut off most of that trade. Iran wouldn't be able to import gasoline and other necessary commodities, which some analysts think would be fatal to the regime. In the grand balance, a temporary increase in oil prices in the West would be far less injurious than the near total loss of oil revenue and gasoline in Iran. The U.S. military has been training for this eventuality since the 1980s. Contingency plans have been war-gamed repeatedly and are ready to be implemented immediately. The mullahs' ships and submarines would be sunk, their on-shore anti-ship missile batteries would be bombed, their aircraft would be downed, and any small craft in the area would face destruction. Special-operations forces would seize their offshore oil derricks, and Marine landing forces would temporarily secure the Iranian side of the strait.
2011-12-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive