A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, September 5, 2014

Plane Full of Americans Forced to Land in Iran; Soon Leaves Again after Filing Flight Plan. Also: Dog Does Not Bark in Night-time

It may be worth noting that on a day when there were reports that Iran's Supreme Leader had authorized contacts with the US over military cooperation against ISIS (though the story was quickly denied by both the US and Iran), a chartered flight carrying 100 American military contractors from Afghanistan to Dubai was forced to land at Bandar Abbas in Iran as it was not following a declared flight plan.

Then the pilot filed a new flight plan and it was allowed to leave. The end.

Despite lots of 24/7 news channels' "breaking news" reporting, a routine bureaucratic glitch was corrected. End of Story. Nothing to do with ISIS or Iraq, just normal routine.

Still,
'Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?'
'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.'
'The dog did nothing in the night-time.'
'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Silver Blaze

No comments: