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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran starts British sailors' trial |
| 2007-03-31 |
| IRANIAN authorities have begun legal proceedings against Britain's seized naval personnel and they will be punished if found guilty, Iran's ambassador to Moscow said. “No kind of apology has been received from the British side and as a result the case has taken on a juridical form,” Ambassador Gholamreza Ansari said. “If their guilt is really demonstrated, naturally it will result in punishment. I want to underline that legal proceedings have already begun,” said Ansari. Tehran has so far refused to bow to mounting world pressure to release the 15 Britons it says illegally entered Iran's territorial waters. London insists they were on a routine anti-smuggling patrol in Iraqi waters. Asked to respond to Ansari's comments, a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said, “It doesn't change our position. We want them released immediately. We have made clear they were seized in Iraqi waters and have demanded consular access. We have not had it,” The crisis escalated after Iran aired new television footage on Friday of a British sailor “confessing” to trespassing in its waters and apologising. The spiralling has begun. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #17 Swap Maggie Beckett, Janet Reno, Mad Halfbright, and Hildabeast for the 14, then commence bombing. These ladies probably would look better under the veil. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2007-03-31 21:29 |
| #16 LOL. I think I hear a veiled reference to what were once called "hunter / killer teams" 'round here. ;) |
| Posted by: Albemarle Unavimp5200 2007-03-31 17:53 |
| #15 The solution is obvious. They have grabbed 15 of ours, we grab 150 or 1500 or whatever it takes of theirs. Ordinary citizens or Iranian soldiers will not do for this, however. The mullahs and their media supporters do not give a damn what happens to them. Mullahs, their families, influential Iranian business agents and, most importantly, their agents of influence in the media, would be the most lucrative targets. Iranian capital assets and other property in other countries are also vulnerable. Naturally, government cannot do this openly but there are many other possibilities. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2007-03-31 17:33 |
| #14 This is so reminiscent of the WWII movie "The Purple Heart": http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0037197/ "Based on the eight men captured by the Japanese after the Doolittle raid: Lt. Robert Hite, Lt. William G. Farrow, Lt. George Barr, Sgt. Harold A. Spatz, Cpl. Jacob De Shazer, Dean Hallmark, Robert Meder, and Chase Nielsen. The trial, as depicted in the film, was held at Police Headquarters in Shanghai, China on 14 October 1942. The eight men were condemned to death. Hallmark, Farrow, and Spatz were executed by a firing squad of the Imperial Japanese Army at sunset the next day. The remainder were given an Imperial commutation to life in prison. In 1943, Meder died of mistreatment and various diseases. The remaining four survived until they were freed upon Japan's surrender in August, 1945." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-03-31 14:25 |
| #13 Prince Charles makes his move NimbleMan. Full sack. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-03-31 14:05 |
| #12 I'm with Sonar, Sea and I 'ave a flat 'at. Apologize, then destroy. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-03-31 14:03 |
| #11 Sonar, your plan fails because there is no step 1 sufficient to achieve step 2. It is clearly war Iran wants, and I have no idea what they will end up having to do to get it. But they shall. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-03-31 13:50 |
| #10 My plan is: 1. Grovel, apologise, say Allan is the greatest, etc, so what we 2. Get the troops back, and then 3. Destroy their oil terminal and blockade them. |
| Posted by: Sonar 2007-03-31 13:18 |
| #9 Well, one of the real enemies. Don't forget the Orcs of Mecca. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-03-31 13:12 |
| #8 The only thing we've been hearing from the left is "accident", "Gulf of Tonkin", and "violated Iranian boundaries". Thank Rosie for the video. |
| Posted by: Danking70 2007-03-31 13:12 |
| #7 PS- the silver lining to this dark cloud is we are finally facing the REAL enemy. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2007-03-31 12:45 |
| #6 I echo Sea, and I even have French and Irish ancestors. This will not stand. Wake up the ghosts of Lord Churchill. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2007-03-31 12:43 |
| #5 I'm with Sea on this - although I have some English mutt blood. The US needs to help out EXCEPT for releasing the captured Iranians. I suggest a blockade to start |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-31 11:59 |
| #4 [Personal note to our UK readers and posters] Both sets of my parents' ancestors emigrated from European countries other than England, so I can't claim any direct ties, but the United Kingdom has always been my intellectual forebear. You're all in my thoughts today. I am appalled and outraged at the ridiculous behavior by Iran and I am keeping your sailors and Royal Marines in my prayers. The UK has been our great friend and ally and it's time to return the favor. I stand with you proudly and I will urge my Yank politicians to get off their preening bums and Do Something. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-03-31 11:36 |
| #3 "Do they realize how they're shredding the very Geneva Convention they claim to be defending?" Of course they realize it. And they don't give a shit. The GC's are not there to protect human rights; they're only there to serve as a tool for yanking us around by our decency. As far as I can tell, NONE of the so-called "human rights" organizations actually gives a flying fuck about human rights. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-03-31 11:12 |
| #2 p: The spiralling has begun. Yup. The British Foreign Secretary is about to say "We're very sorry." This would mark, not the beginning of the end, but the beginning of the beginning - as in, she has only just begun to grovel. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2007-03-31 10:00 |
| #1 Hello?! Where are the "human rights" groups screaming about this?! They were in uniform, openly carrying arms; even if they WERE inside Iranian territory, they cannot be tried inside a normal court. Pack of bastards. Do they realize how they're shredding the very Geneva Convention they claim to be defending?! |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2007-03-31 09:38 |