Under the best of circumstances, confusion and error on the battlefield play a pivotal part in the final outcome.

Often secrecy is justified with the single phrase “need to know.” Some faceless person, who will never be assigned any responsibility for the decision, decided that there was no reason for Commander Bucher to know of the clandestine incursion of North Korean assassins into South Korea on the previous day. Had Commander Bucher been given this information, he might have been much more alert to the possibility of such an attack on his vessel. With such knowledge, he might well have taken additional measures to assure that his guns would not be “iced up” to the point that he was helpless in the water. I can only assume that he was anticipating the “routine” end of the mission, and the return to friendlier waters. In this, clearly he erred. For this error, only partly the fault of Bucher, he and his crew paid dearly.

Clearly the Pueblo and its’ crew were operating “in harms way.” They were spying. They were doing so as if it were a routine matter. Therein lies part of the problem. Spying is done continuously throughout the world. It is natural for those who spy, to often consider it as routine, just business as usual. It is NEVER routine.

Now I want to bring up a similar incident which was used as an excuse to escalate a war, causing great carnage and death, which could easily have been prevented.

I recently had an extended interchange on another thread with someone I have concluded is a troll. I erred in allowing it to go on as long as it did. It was, as far as I can tell, an absolute waste of time, made worse by the fact that I became exasperated and eventually got pretty caustic and sarcastic in my responses. This is precisely what a troll is looking for. I have not recently been back to that other thread. I actually invited the readership to act as jurors in an attempt to foreclose further interminable debate. At my last look, there were two or three votes against me, perhaps because of my eventual sarcasm to the individual involved.

It is my custom to use very few links, preferring to say what I have to say myself. But considering the lack of interest and participation in that other dispute, which after all, affects the entire readership, I have decided to just let Walter Cronkite, along with some recorded conversations between President Johnson and his principal lackey, Defense Secretary McNamara, do the talking on this one. It had to do with the Gulf of Tonkin, a trumped up crisis which was used as an excuse to escalate the Vietnam War. The following is an audio link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3810724

Listen with particular attention to the details of “Plan 34A,” a completely covert activity with no congressional oversight whatsoever. This was a deliberate provocation, an escalation of the war which was entirely unjustified by the facts.

It is worthy of note that this incident was about three and a half years before Pueblo, and that Johnson used the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, based on error, lies, and deception made possible by secrecy not just from the general public, but from Congress as well. The Tonkin Resolution not only precipitated the premeditated escalation of the Vietnam War, it was central to his rationale for the later Pueblo activities.

It’s a very cold way to look at things. But, spying is a deadly business. You get caught, you die. You know the rules going into the game.”

the lives of 82 men are worth far more than some encryption devices. plans and codes can be changed.

Excuse me. I am South Korean. Thank you very much for the comment *being sarcastic if you didn’t know* you prejudiced idiot who relies on stereotypes.

P.S. If you knew about Korea you would know it is only the North *government thats bad, not the people. Even though I am not from North Korea.

At the time of the incident the North Koreans were claiming fifty miles not twelve. The USSR was only claiming twelve, while the United States was claiming three. The US did recognize the twelve nautical miles claimed by the Communist states and stayed outside of that limit. But as I mentioned before, not even the USSR recognized their buddies the North Koreans stated fifty mile limit.

So here is how the nautical limit came to be in a nutshell.

In the Eighteenth century, the distance a cannon ball could fly (3 miles) determined Territorial waters. This kept individual nations from controlling the open seas allowing fair trade for all nations.

After the USS Pueblo incident the limit was increased from the antiqued three-mile limit to twelve miles in the United States. Without research I am sure that other countries still on the old limit followed suit.

In a general assembly of the United Nations during the 1980s, the LOSC was adopted which lays out the current rules. This has been ratified by 149 nations as of April of 2006.

Now a country can claim two hundred nautical miles offshore but only for an exclusive economic zone. All land within this zone must be claimable by that country without incurrence of another countries claims. This only gives that country exclusive right to exploration and resources. This cannot restrict any other countries the right of innocent passage through the EEZ.

Next there is the potential territorial limit of twelve nautical miles. Within this area the country has jurisdiction, but only to a point because of the right of innocent passage. The LOSC states:
1. The criminal jurisdiction of the coastal State should not be exercised on board a foreign ship passing through the territorial sea to arrest any person or to conduct any investigation in connection with any crime committed on board the ship during its passage, save only in the following cases:
(a) if the consequences of the crime extend to the coastal State;
(b) if the crime is of a kind to disturb the peace of the country or the good order of the territorial sea;
(c) if the assistance of the local authorities has been requested by the master of the ship or by a diplomatic agent or consular officer of the flag State; or
(d) if such measures are necessary for the suppression of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.

Finally there is the potential contiguous zone. President Clinton increased the old twelve nautical limits in 1999 to twenty-four miles. Within this twenty-four nautical mile the country is within its right to stop and inspect vessels that may have violated reasonable local laws within that country’s territorial limit of twelve nautical miles. Monitoring electromagnetic transmissions does not constitute a violation of any law. Interfering in those transmissions on the other hand, is a violation.

Any actions during peacetime above and beyond this wording are in violation and are considered piracy.