Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Iran Problems
Iran Problems
'Because
They Know They Can Get Away With It'
By Susan Jones | January 14, 2016 | 6:46 AM EST
This picture released by the Iranian state-run IRIB News Agency on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016,
shows detention of American Navy sailors by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Persian
Gulf, Iran. (Sepahnews via AP)
(CNSNews.com) - As the Obama administration hails the release of 10 American sailors as a
triumph of diplomacy with Iran, many Republicans say the nine men and one woman never
should have been captured, photographed and used for propaganda purposes in the first place.
"Did you see what they did with these sailors?" Sen. Marco Rubio asked Fox News's Greta Van
Susteren Wednesday night.
"They took pictures of them on the deck of a ship with their hands behind their back. Then they
put them in a jail pen, and they made the female sailor cover her head in a scarf. They took
pictures of them and video and put it up on Iranian television as if to say, look what we can do to
America, we can capture their sailors, we can make them get on their knees, we can humiliate
them.
"You know why they did this? Because they know they can get away with it, because they know
Barrack Obama's weak, because they know he won't do anything about it. I'm glad they were
returned, and I'm glad that they're safe.
"But the humiliation they're trying to inflict on us goes beyond just that one instance. He
mentioned Iran's recent missile tests and the "constant" anti-American "rhetoric."
Rubio said Obama is to blame for the fact that Iran thinks it can get away with these things.
"If the right president was in charge, someone that they know is not trying to coddle them or
reach out to them in a way that makes us weaker, they would have never captured them and they
would have immediately sent them back. What was the point of putting them in a jail cell? What
was the point of making them get on their knees and put their hands behind their back? Do you
think a friendly country would have done that to America? They would have helped them fix the
We're appreciative of the key role that Secretary Kerry played in securing this outcome. I do
think it underscores the value of the diplomatic line of communication that's been opened
between Secretary Kerry and his counterpart. It certainly has not resolved the long list of
concerns that we have with Iran's behavior.
"That list includes threatening Israel, developing ballistic missiles in violation of a variety of
United Nations Security Council resolutions, and supporting terrorism. But today's outcome is a
good reminder that this kind of diplomatic engagement -- that has been the target of some
criticism -- actually does advance the interests of the United States and enhances our national
security."
Earnest said the U.S. Defense Department is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the
sailors' capture.
According to the Associated Press, a defense official said the Navy has ruled out engine or
propulsion failure as the reason the two American boats entered Iranian waters. Navigation
problems, due either to human or mechanical failure, could not be ruled out, said the official,
who was not authorized to discuss details of the incident and so spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Meanwhile, Iran had considerable incentive to return the American sailors. The Islamic nation is
expected to satisfy its obligations from July's nuclear deal in the coming days, dip