Terrorism by any Other Name

If an Iranian warship shot down an American airliner, how would Americans* respond? With outrage and a desire for retribution, surely. Now, reverse the nationalities and remove the hypothetical and you can imagine how the Iranians feel about us.

On July 3, 1988 the American cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air airliner, killing 290 civilians, including 66 children.

The US first claimed that the airplane was actually a fighter attacking the cruiser. The wreckage and radar logs soon made it clear that the plane was a commercial airliner on a scheduled flight. George the First (Bush) defended the shoot-down and said "I will never apologize for the United States of America — I don't care what the facts are" (like father, like son). The sailors on the Vincennes were awarded combat-action ribbons. Eventually, the US government paid reparations, tacitly admitting culpability.

This was not “terrorism”, because the US Navy and government had no intention of killing these people. However, the captain had developed a reputation among his peers as being overly aggressive, earning for his ship the mocking nickname “robocruiser”. When inappropriate behavior is so widely recognized, those in command should be aware of the problem and it is their duty to act. (A parallel could be drawn with the Abu Grahib prisoner abuse scandal.) When they fail to exercise their responsibility, and deny the facts of the consequences, then their behavior effectively mirrors the terrorists'.

Americans, if they know anything of our troubled history with Iran, are vaguely aware of CIA support for the Shah, a brutal dictator, from the '50s to the '70s, the yearlong hostage crisis under Carter, and the Iran-contra imbroglio under Reagan. We should be reminded occasionally of the reasons why Iran might rationally fear us. Such a reminder might check our self-righteousness.

*The government-media-public triangle is more complex than "tail wagging the dog". The government ignores or ingratiates itself with the news media; the media arcs from lionizing to pillorying politicians while harping or pandering to the public; the public can make-or-break politicians and media, but is so misled and misinformed that it responds slowly and then acts capriciously.