Foreign Correspondence

[CoalTrain]

The straights of Hormuz card. I have been told it is shallow water and would be easy to close down. Aint going to happen till the stock market is on its way down in earnest. The world trade gap showed some interesting timing. I would think that closing the Straights of Hormuz would do more damage. Probably be a good deal for the Russians with more oil going North.



The Pentagon is particularly sensitive to the dangers of such attacks after al-Qaeda hit the USS Cole off the Yemen with a suicide boat in 2000, killing 17 American sailors. Last month the White House listed two foiled al-Qaeda plots to attack ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

US intelligence believes that if Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked by either America or Israel, then Teheran would respond by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz with naval forces, mines and anti-ship cruise missiles.