It’s not just the accent, although I’m sure that played a part in this scenario. According to this article from theage.com.au in 2004 a team from the Australian Defense Force boarded a grounded cargo ship in the Persian Gulf, and then encountered a standoff with the Iranian Navy as they were leaving. Apparently, the one Iranian gunboat called in four more. Here are some quotes:
Commodore Steve Gilmore said the incident began when Australian soldiers were leaving the cargo vessel, which was located near the Iraq-Iran maritime border.
He said an Iranian Revolutionary Guard gunboat moved close by and its armed personnel made “very overt gestures”.
OK. Makes sense. It was near the border, and the Iranian Navy no doubt wanted to know what they were up to.
“He got his boarding party back on to the ship and established a very credible and appropriate defensive position,” Commodore Gilmore told reporters in Canberra.
We’re still good. all official sounding and stuff… “Very credible and appropriate defensive position” translates roughly to “We showed them our guns”
“(They) began what I think is very unique in the Australian way and that’s the capacity to negotiate, to introduce extra weighpoints if you like, in the continuum of force,” he said.
“Australian way” “introduce extra weighpoints”? I wonder… Whatever could he mean by that? “continuum of force” sounds like he’s gonna go all Emperor Palpatine on them.
Another four Iranian military boats carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers arrived to reinforce their colleagues in the next 45 minutes, Commodore Gilmore said.
Oh my.
No shots were fired during the encounter.
“We were able to keep that as the case by the very deliberate, well-considered and well-executed negotiation process that the Australian boarding officer undertook.
“The determined approach, the no-nonsense approach of the Australian boarding party, was able to effectively manage that situation.”
OK. How do you effectively manage a situation against five boats with RPGs?
A BBC reporter, quoting sources, said the Australian sailors used colourful language to help hold off the Iranians. Commodore Gilmore said: “As Australians I think we all know our capacity to engage, to defuse by discussion and they indeed did that.
“We might imagine what (language) was there – I haven’t delved into that… The important thing to note is that it worked.”
Ahhh-HA! So thats how you manage a situation against 5 boats with RPGs. You use colorful langauge! This sounds like a Monty Python episode doesn’t it? The Iranians got punked, clear and simple. That, or the Aussies used the force. One or the other.
Why would someone who so clearly feels such revulsion for the mundane and abject, and who seems to have some apparent command over the English language, feel the need to use the word “Aussie’s” as a plural in the bold heading of a blog, much less, uh…ever?
So disappointing.
Dave
hey dave, why would an arrogant pissant such as yourself care?.
This blog is hardly unique for inappropriate punctuation, as long as the message is understandable who really gives a XXXX!.