Call Me Stormy

‘You Ought to Go Home’

Earlier this year, in the volatile airspace of the Middle East, an Iranian F-4 fighter jet set its sights on a U.S. predator drone with intentions of blowing it out of the sky. Suddenly, out of thin air, the Iranian aircraft was flanked by an American F-22 Raptor, perhaps the most sophisticated and powerful jet on the planet. The American pilot calmly switched to the Iranian radio frequency and advised. “You really ought to home.” The stunned Iranian heeded the advice immediately. Says Bill Whittle in this edition of “Afterburner,” “Now, to some people, this is exactly the kind of showboating bravado that gets us into wars. But for those of us with a passion for history, especially the lessons of history, this is something different. For us, this is the kind of showboating bravado that keeps us out of wars.” Whittle points out the elements and players involved in this pseudo showdown.