Originally Posted by El Grifo
Had a scratch around and no real mention of warning shots !
Had "warning shots" been fired from a 50Cal, you would have thought that ordinary Indian fishermen would have turned tail or stopped dead in the water at least.
They would have needed to be pretty cavalier or pretty stupid not to.
Had they been bad-guys and kept on coming after the "warning shots", then evidence would have been found on their boat.
Forgive me, but it looks like another "shoot first ask questions later" kind of incident.
The last type of incident one needs in that area at this time really.
"Warning shots" is at the heart of the issue !
How about
this?
July 16, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #102-12
USNS Rappahannock Fires After Vessel Ignores Warnings
By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs
U.S. FIFTH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS – An embarked security team aboard a U.S. Navy vessel fired upon a small motor vessel after it disregarded warnings and rapidly approached the U.S. ship near Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates today.
In accordance with Navy force protection procedures, the sailors on the USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204) used a series of non-lethal, preplanned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force.
The U.S. crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel’s operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun.
The incident is under investigation.
NAVCENT
Maritime Security Operation
Fifth Fleet
Navy