Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: La madre di tutte le trollate [itan-USA]

Baroon prendi nota ed impara.
Analysis Those readers who follow the non-IT'n'Paris news will be aware 
that in recent days a group of US warships almost fired on fast boats 
operated by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. This was after hearing radio 
transmissions in which the Iranians appeared to threaten some form of 
attack.
A heavily-accented voice speaking in English during the incident said "I 
am coming to you... you will explode after a few minutes."
Reportedly, this caused a certain amount of discomfort for the 
Americans, worried that perhaps they were about to be subjected to 
hostile fire - or perhaps a devastating suicide-boat strike of the sort 
which badly damaged USS Cole in 2000 and the tanker Limburg in 2002.
The US Navy subsequently released a video of the incident, which seems 
to back up the view of a dangerous confrontation with provocative 
threats issued. The Iranians angrily called the vid a forgery, saying 
the threat had been dubbed in.
Here it is courtesy of YouTube, for those who didn't see it:
Now, in a further twist, the US navy has admitted that it actually 
doesn't know who transmitted the threat, and it certainly can't be sure 
it was the Iranians.
According to ABC News, a Navy spokesman came out with a beautiful quote:
     We cannot make a direct connection to the boats... It could have 
come from the shore, from another ship passing by... I guess we're not 
saying that it absolutely came from the boats, but we're not saying it 
absolutely didn't.
Just to offer a bit of background, your correspondent has transited the 
Straits of Hormuz with the Royal Navy (a few years ago now), and in fact 
the idea that a third party made the threat as a prank is entirely 
plausible.
Anyone who has spent time bridge watchkeeping at sea east of the Suez 
Canal will be aware of what's known as the "Filipino Monkey" phenomenon. 
All ships at sea are required to maintain a listening watch on VHF 
marine channel 16, so as to hear distress messages, collision warnings 
or other calls. It's the equivalent of the Star Trek "hailing 
frequencies", as it were. However, you aren't supposed to just blot out 
channel 16 with chitchat - if you want to hold a conversation or 
something the correct form is to change channels after establishing 
comms on 16. In that way, the primary channel stays open for urgent stuff.
In northern waters, this is what happens. Once you get down into points 
south and east, the knowledge that large numbers of people absolutely 
have to listen to you - like it or not, as a requirement of maritime law 
and professional seamanship - seemingly becomes an irresistible 
temptation for a lot of people in possession of VHF sets.
The most popular phrase used by these people is "Filipino Monkey", said 
by salty old seafarers to have started out as an insult against 
Filipinos but now just meaning "I'm bored and want to piss a lot of 
watchstanders off".
At other times, people will offer karaoke-style musical offerings, 
brilliant gambits such as "I f*ck your mother/sister/dog", "look out I 
am going to hit [collide with] you, ha ha" etc. In many ways it's a lot 
like the internet, but sadly you can't - as a professional seaman - turn 
it off.
Another major form of airwave pollution on VHF channels is Western - 
typically US - warships reading out standardised warnings as required by 
rules of engagement or legal procedure. "Vessel on my port bow this is 
US/NATO/coalition warship... please keep clear/stop and be boarded in 
accordance with UN security council resolution blah-blah/be aware I am 
engaged in flight operations/be warned I will open fire if you do not 
comply/etc.".
Out in the Gulf and such places this often draws a storm of "Filipino 
monkey" style comment, very often from vessels nowhere near.
It sounds absolutely 100 per cent believable to me that some rapier wit 
down in the Straits, hearing the Americans asking the Pasdaran* to keep 
clear, decided to chip in for a laugh. In fact it sounds more likely 
than one of the Iranian speedboat crews making the transmission, 
especially with the recent comparative chillout of the US-Iranian 
who's-the-most-evil diplomatic flame war.
What's puzzling is that nobody in the Pentagon seems to have considered 
this at all before releasing the video. Nor did the Iranians when they 
slammed it afterwards.
Or perhaps both sides actually did know all this, but they just like 
shouting at each other. ®
*What the Revolutionary Guards are called in Iran.

Albion of Avalon ha scritto:
[snip]
Una mia opinione, e' che ci sia anche qualcuno che puo' avere interesse 
(non solo politico o ideologico, basti pensare alle speculazioni su 
petrolio ed oro) ad inserirsi nelle comunicazioni allo scopo di 
scatenare incidenti.
L' idea che un coglione con una VHF possa scatenare una battaglia navale 
non mi piace proprio.
se c'è un campo dove veramente servono i concetti estremamente 
discutibili del trusted computing sono queste comunicazioni, e se lo 
dico io.....
Saluti,
Dott. Piergiorgio.