USS Cole's Arrival Ignites Hezbollah Rhetoric

The Times Online reports that the USS Cole is accompanied by two US refueling ships, and makes the logical speculation that, as navyshipnews.com speculated earlier, more ships from the Nassau Strike Group could join it.

Cole’s arrival off the coast of Lebanon has stirred up Hezbollah, which is using Mother-of-All-Battles type rhetoric, typical of the Middle East. The move has not gone unnoticed.

The rhetoric should not be underestimated, though, for the Times also reminds us that Hezbollah did hit an Israel Defense Forces ship in 2006 with a missile. See the article for more details.

I'm sure the Cole's crew is tired of seeing pictures of the ship with a hole in the side, but that's what the Times gives us.

Once again, however, it shows that just moving US ships from point to point sends a powerful message to local political forces.

In regards to the Israeli ship hit by the missile, Israel did an investigation and determined that the ship's missile defense system was not turned on. There was miscommunication between intelligence agencies and the navy about Hezbollah's capabilities and the navy walked into the threat without the proper sense caution.