Is the Straight of Hormuz the new Gulf of Tonkin?

The theocratic tyrants running Iran are of course capable of all sorts of misguided action. So it’s entirely possible that the incident in the Straight of Hormuz on Sunday, when 5 Iranian craft apparently buzzed three US ships, is the smoking gun Bush and his neo-cons are looking for as provocation for future military action against Iran. 

Of course the Iranian government has no corner on the market for treachery.  This wouldn’t be the first time an American government used exaggeration or outright fabrication to drag the country into a disastrous war.  And this practise isn’t unique to the Republicans either.   I’m not talking about imagined weapons of mass destruction.   I’m talking about Democrat Lyndon Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which paved the way for undeclared war in Viet Nam.

Johnson knowingly lied to Congress in using the Gulf of Tonkin Incident to dupe Congress into the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which granted Johnson the authority to use military force without a declaration of war.

It’s impossible to know the facts since neither government can be trusted, but here is an interesting analysis from the National Iranian American Council.