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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Seized British Royal Marines and Sailors Transferred To Tehran |
| 2007-03-24 |
| The 15 captured British naval personnel were today reported to have been moved to Teheran as Iran raised the stakes in the escalating diplomatic crisis. The sailors and marines would be asked to explain their “aggressive action” in entering Iranian waters, the Iranian Fars news agency reported. British commanders have insisted that their forces were in Iraqi waters in the Shatt al-Arab waterway south of Basra when they were surrounded by Iranian gunboats yesterday. The border between Iran and Iraq runs along the waterway and the Iranians say that British had crossed onto their side, a claim supported by Brigadier General Hakim Jassim, the Iraqi military commander of the country's territorial waters. "We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control," he said. A British diplomat in Teheran denied the charge: "We still maintain they were in Iraqi waters when they were picked up." Britain has demanded the immediate release of its forces and is expected to receive the backing of the European Union later today. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Berlin had obtained official confirmation that the troops were under arrest for an alleged border violation. The Iranian foreign ministry said there could be no excuses for entering Iranian territory. The IRNA news agency said the ministry had accused British forces of “illegal and interfering” entry into Iranian waters. That was a “suspicious act and against international laws and rules”, the agency added. It quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying: "Violating the territory of other countries and non-permitted entrance ... show unusual aims and is against international treaties and there are no excuses for ignoring and not accepting the responsibility for that." Britain said two boatloads of Royal Navy sailors and marines had searched a merchant vessel on a UN approved mission in Iraqi waters when Iranian gunboats encircled and captured them. Families and colleagues of the 15 captured personnel waiting anxiously for news. The 15 - 14 men and one woman - were all stationed aboard the British warship HMS Cornwall, which is the base for coalition maritime security patrols in the northern Gulf area. A BBC reporter on board ship said there was a "high level of anxiety" among the crew over the fate of their colleagues. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #23 Whatever "sarc" tags not required. Eh, Excalibur? (No reply needed.) |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-24 20:58 |
| #22 While I would never condone direct action sarc correct? |
| Posted by: RD 2007-03-24 20:48 |
| #21 I think Excalibur's idea would make a great, patriotic action movie --after the fact. You know, the kind that used to be made, telling the story of actual, heroic operations against the Nazis during WW II. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2007-03-24 17:48 |
| #20 Word, Excalibur. Every last letter and punctuation mark of yours is Spot-Fucking-On! Time for these thugs is running way short. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-24 17:40 |
| #19 Zenster, you are EXACTLY right. I cannot believe how the western governments coddle these dictators. |
| Posted by: jds 2007-03-24 17:28 |
| #18 This is not 1979. This is a September 12 world and not everybody will sit still for this even if our elected representatives will do nothing. While I would never condone direct action - and indeed I assume it would be illegal to do so - the fact is Iranians too can be taken hostage and, if the issue is pressed, butchered for the internet. I am amazed nothing of the sort has happened yet. But I suspect the grace period for our elected leaders to pull the thumb out is coming to an end. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-03-24 17:15 |
| #17 Frank, I still maintain that we have a lot more in common than either of us might suspect. It's certainly encouraging to find we're in such agreement on this. Why the Hell anyone continues to cede the least respect for Iran's tyrannical leaders goes beyond all comprehension. It is precisely this sort of unwarranted and unmerited recognition or validation that buys us much of this trouble in the first place. Tin pot dictators like Mugabe, Asad, Kim and their ilk deserve nothing more than the back of our global hand. Instead, we coddle, cajole and appease the precise bastids that destabilize and wreak havoc upon this planet's security. The only explanation is that world leaders must feel as though they run a closed shop. They intensely dislike the notion of taking down other supposed "leaders" because it weakens their own status, elected or otherwise. It's time to gather up this world's legitimate leadership (i.e., ones that are constitutionally elected or govern benignly), and have them declare open season on all of these two bit thugs. Revoke their "sovereign rights" and begin enforcing severe trade sanctions to make their populations rise up. Arm the people's militias that agree to install peaceful constitutional democracy in place of these tyrannies and deal harshly with those who subsequently reneg on any agreements. This crap has got to end. We are spiraling down a toilet bowl of niceity and diplomatic cordiality while our very worst foes giggle at the West's collective inability to slap down what are, in reality, truly minor threats. Threats magnified only by our unwillingness to address them in a timely fashion with sufficient political will. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-24 17:12 |
| #16 this is Pueblo Redux. Don't let it end the same way. Capturing them is an act of war. Parading them in front of cameras violates the "sacred" GC, IIRC. Iran has to pay hard for this |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-24 15:56 |
| #15 Zen we very infrequently agree - this time you're spot on, IMHO |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-24 15:54 |
| #14 as i predcited, Iran claimed it was in their waters. This seems to be following the script. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2007-03-24 15:52 |
| #13 As Ayn Rand so succinctly pointed out, tryannies have no soveriegn rights. Why we give the slightest bit of respect or creedence to any trumpetings and blather spewing forth from Tehran defies all logic. They deserve none at all. Don't even demand the sailors' return. Consider them to be POWs after a declaration of war and begin destroying vital Iranian assets like ships in harbor, gasoline refineries and Kharg Island's connecting infrastructure. I repeat, we must take Ahmadinejad and Iran at their word. If they so dearly want war, then give them war. Like any Islamic ego, Iran is so incredibly fragile that even incremental attacks will produce dramatic results. We do not need to engage in a full-out military campaign. Just begin inflicting highly selective but exceptionally painful wounds to their brittle military-industrial infrastructure, then sit back and let economic gangrene set in. It is long past tea for Iran's comeuppance. No further excuse or provocation is needed. We have all of the necessary military apparatus in place. USE IT, damnit! We're paying additional billions to park all this hardware on their doorstep, use the stinking stuff for a change! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-24 15:11 |
| #12 Note to Democrats: this is a military situation where a drop-dead date helps. |
| Posted by: Master of Obvious 2007-03-24 14:51 |
| #11 Oh, God. I hope this isn't 1979 all over again; but I fear it will be. You mean Brown's been in touch with Ahmedinajihad? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-03-24 14:37 |
| #10 Scalpel-sharp, Kalle. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-03-24 14:34 |
| #9 Whahahahahahahahaa ^5 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-03-24 13:57 |
| #8 why, is there an anti-semitic angle to this story? can he blame Israel? |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2007-03-24 13:55 |
| #7 Have heard anything out of Plains Georgia yet? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-03-24 13:44 |
| #6 The whole world is watching, Tony. Especially Moslem leaders. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2007-03-24 12:42 |
| #5 Brace yourselves for the most painful bit. The PC hand wringing show about to commence by both Brit and US State Dept. types as they conduct business as per usual. In particular, listen for the great Whooshing Sounds coming from Washington and London, SUCKING spit, prisoners and tersely written Demarches into one Wad. /I suppose direct action is just too much to hope for. |
| Posted by: RD 2007-03-24 12:27 |
| #4 Glenmore's LINKY |
| Posted by: RD 2007-03-24 12:12 |
| #3 Oh, God. I hope this isn't 1979 all over again; but I fear it will be. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-03-24 12:12 |
| #2 Iran: Nuke 'em dead. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2007-03-24 12:03 |
| #1 Predictable. British sailors admit entering Iran waters: Iran military Mar 24 09:29 AM US/Eastern Fifteen British sailors and marines detained off Iraq by the Iranian navy have admitted illegally entering Iranian waters, senior Iranian commander General Alireza Afshar said Saturday. "They are currently being questioned and have admitted to violating the territorial waters of the Islamic repubic," Afshar, the official spokesman of the army chief of staff, told the semi-official Fars news agency. He told the Arabic language service of state television: "We have solid evidence that they were detained in our territorial waters. They themselves have confessed and admitted their mistake." http://www.breitbart.com/article.php? id=070324132921.v0bpjlp8&show_article=1 (link doesn't seem to work for me, so I split it to preserve format - glue it back together to go there.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-03-24 12:02 |