Operation Praying Mantis

On April 14, 1988, the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf.

For days later, in Operation Praying Mantis, American forces destroyed two Iranian oil platforms and sank an Iranian frigate in a missile boat in the largest American surface battle since World War II.

Washington called it self-defense.

In 2003, the International Court of Justice, ruling in the oil platforms case brought by Iran, found that the attacks could not be justified as self-defense while also declining to find a treaty violation or award Iran compensation.

Because I don't think this is the 1980s or the 1990s like Reagan or any of that.

What happened during operation praying mantis? I think that was 1988.

Oh yeah.

We launched an op against Iran and blew the blank blank out of their stuff out there in the Persian Gulf.

You're not going to have peace.

Because peace comes through strength.

And Iran wouldn't dare do anything to us during Operation Praying Mantis, now, did they? No.

But, you know, hopefully, you know, with President Trump in there...

My teammates that escorted tankers to get them out of the Gulf where they tried to close the Strait of Hormuz, restrict the, uh, flow of oil for around the world and control the market.

And ultimately, President Reagan conducted what's called Operation Praying Mantis to hit them and hit them hard.

The difference was they weren't on the cusp of having a nuclear weapon.

How might your military service inform your work in Washington if you are elected in a couple of weeks?

You know, whatever was convenient at the time.

But when you, when you escalate things so rapidly, it's, it's like Operation Praying Mantis, proportional response.

Well, the best kind of response is an overly proportional response, because it teaches a lesson-

Don't touch my boats

Look, when I was a child, one of my uncles taught me a very important life lesson, and that's the lesson of weaponized escalation.

You know... got me into a lot of trouble when i was growing up because you know if if say a person was belittling or mocking one of my friends bullying them perhaps i was known to bounce their head off of a steel door or a locker or another kid's head and whatever was convenient at the time but When you escalate things so rapidly, it's like Operation Praying Mantis, proportional response.

Well, the best kind of response is an overly proportional response because it teaches a lesson.

Don't touch my boats.