Kidnapped British Soldiers
 

Why in the world does no one seem to care about this? 15 british soldiers are kidnapped by the iranian military, and no one bats an eye. This is an act of war. They refuse to release them are currently "talking to them to find out why they were near iranian waters? Why the hell aren't the british getting their people back? Honestly, is everyone that afraid of Iran...

Can you imagine if this had been 15 Israeli troops?

3 of them have been taken hostage though...

Frankly, what are we going to do about it? We don't have the manpower. As it is, the army is deploying severely wounded soldiers to training camps in order to maintain the illusion that we have enough "battle ready" troops:

http://salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/26/fort_irwin/

All I can say is Iran better hand them over because the Brits, although they seem like a bunch of Nancies, will destroy Iran.

Though information is sketchy at this point, I have to assume that the tea being served during the interrogations is sub-par, by Brit standards. The latest reports out of Tehran indicate that if the talks stall, the Iranis are threatening to serve the prisoners "instant tea". Bastards!

part of this is probably an effort by iran to focus the media on this issue rather than on the larger issue of their continuing nuclear enrichment program. of course u.n. sanctions have been voted on and passed, this certainly won't help irans cause. the u.s. has no dog in this fight at this point, so not quite sure why our troop strengths were brought up. uk is an ally, and certainly we would support anything they try to do-manpower not being the only form that would take.
and yes, the brits would hammer iran if it came to that. but i think everyone needs to take this slowly, patience pays--the longer this drags on, the worse iran looks. supposedly iran has already started lessening their rhetoric--we'll see.

It's interesting the BBC refers to them as captured and not victims of kidnapping. The UK and Iran have a history of similar incidents including the capture of a British ship and troops on the Shatt al-Arab River a few years ago when Britain admitted the ship had 'mistakenly' entered Iranian waters. The big difference is that the Iranian government then was pro-Western and now it is run by the Revolutionary Guard. The other important difference is that this happened in the Persian Gulf which is far more globally important than the Shatt al-Arab. Between the global importance of the Gulf, questionable British intentions, the new Iranian government and that government's desire to show resistance to the West it's a fairly interesting and very delicate situation. It's all about Iran demonstrating regional influence. It seems they're succeeding. It'll be interesting if the UK actually releases the coordinates of the ships track just to see how close they actually got and how much risk they took.

i think the problem is that the area had been disputed as to boundaries, but iran and iraq had settled the question--but that was pre-iran/iraq war. iraq attacked way back when to start that war, so now it appears iran thinks all bets are off as to what had been settled, and they're back to claiming what they had formerly given up.

but iran does things like this all the time, no surprise really....it's what they do, taking hostages. in a nutshell, that's what they've done here.

cracks me up that when anything happens, ol' rosie o'donnell automatically assumes the worst--whether it be regarding the u.s., or in this case one of it's allies. she said apparently britain strayed. apparently? it's apparent that's what happened?
ugh, she kills me.

Got that Google Earth,Typed in Iran it came up with the region,Typed in tehran the satalite scanned in closer, Typed in British Hostages it came up unable to find:( , But did see a soccer ground with swimming pools near the british embassy.

I think all is covered in Danzigs post this is not the first time & iran will use the hostages to barter some sort of deal

Iran may choose to invade us if they read Salon

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070328/...seized_iran_71


iran gave the coordinates that they found the british ship in--and it was in iraqi waters! iran has since revised their coordinates, but it is not backed up by gps evidence.

the brits were in iraqi waters. iran is the one (again) who has entered another countrys area--i am assuming everyone heard about the gunfight between iranians and iraqis/us inside iraq a few weeks ago...

well, i know if i had military decisions to make, that's the first place i'd consult!!

Oh Lordy!!:eek:

Yeah, heaven forbid a media outlet doesn't just vomit back the Bush party line that things are going swimmingly in Iraq and that the Bush Administration is a model of honesty and competence. How dare the media? Why can't we be like countries that don't tolerate dissent? You know, like Iran.

lol
seems tho that many vomit one party line or the other--hard to find the real news, not the 'news'..

What about if this were American Sailors from our Navy? Holy Schnikies...

That's a very funny tagline. Believe it or not, I once hit a 200yd sand wedge. Unfortunately, I was playing a blast shot out of a greenside bunker when I hit it.

Dissent is for opinion pieces. It is not a part of reporting the news.

I was going to say you were playing down a mountainside...

I cannot imagine if they were U.S naval members, there would be b-52's circling with warheads of mass destruction. I understand its a power play for Iran, but i cannot believe that the british government is going to let iran dictate terms. I very seldom advocate violence as a solution to anything, but its time for the Brits to say, " Give our naval members back today, or we will be there tommorrow to take them by force"

it is infuriating to me that iran has done something illegal, and then has the colossal nads to try to dictate terms!!! they want britain to admit fault?! FOR WHAT?! the only one who has done anything in the wrong is iran. what nerve...

I just do not get it.....Why do countries like Britian and the US continue to D@#$ around with countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, NKorea, etc? We can sit in the mediterannean or Persian Gulf on huge air craft carriers and destroyers and pelt them with missles while our B-52's cirlce thousands of feet above out of RADAR reach and drop MOADS.....we could level the place in hours with out dropping the first man, why risk our men by putting men on the ground as we did in IRAQ. We could wipe these places off the map within hours, they are useless anyway (besides the oil). If we are not going to do that then lets pull out and let them blow each other up, they have been fighting in the Mid East for thousands of years do they really think we are going to change that? An enormous waste of our people and $$$$. It is ridiculous that we keep letting these little camel jockeys dictate what we are going to do! And as far as innocent people, who cares? They do not play by the rules, they got 12 yr old kids and grandmothers shooting our men in the back or walking up to a roadblock and blowing themselves to pieces, we have no clue who the enemy is, we are the only ones who play by the rules (sometimes) and we pay the biggest price....not to mention they do not want us there or our assistance....ok i am off of my soap box!!

Slow down a little FI, we need to keep the racial slurs out of this. What irrates me the most danzig is the fact that they showed that video. That was completely uncalled for. The only reason they filmed it was to snub their nose at the british government and proclaim that they are incapable of stopping them. It's absolutely asinine that the british government would allow a foreign power to hold soldiers that were kidnapped in Iraqi waters. This sets a horrible precedent on future occasions when Iran wants something. They will realize that other countries will back down or put up some b.s. "economic sanctions".

Iran is like a child, one that likes to test the waters to see how much he can get away with. If we let him, its going to be harder and harder to say no as time goes on. Time to smack their wrist and let them know that this type of behavior will not be tolerated at any time.

that incident has ticked me off more than any of the rest-esp that they singled out the woman of the bunch, and she was forced to sit and speak so kindly of her captors--in a nutshell, that is what they are. it's outrageous!

truly, the worst part is knowing that this group was taken so easily, no fight back, not a shot fired. the commanding officer should be removed from his post. whoever makes their policy really and truly needs to re-think their rules of engagement!!

screw munitions. i say we drop humiliating cartoons on them.

Yeah, but there seem to be many who object to any news being reported that reflects badly on the current administration. You know, news from the "reality-based community" as one of his own people derisively called it. From Wikipedia:

<<The source of the term is a quotation in an October 17, 2004, New York Times Magazine article by writer Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to George W. Bush:

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." >>

How dare anyone report on "reality" and make the actors look bad!

Poor conservative blogger John Cole has been reduced to thanking God for Chuck Schumer. And he means it sincerely! Link below:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=8019

He was following orders from London.

Danzig,
I'm no fan of Iran...but regarding doing something illegal and trying to dictate terms...read this. You might be surprised who taught them.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/040107.html

Send that to the Iraqi and American families who have loved ones blown to bits by devices planted in the middle of markets selling vegetables in Iraq. The same devices that have Iranian signatures all over them. They will enjoy the comparison I am sure.

Pgardn,
Many Iraqis have been killed by the US also.
Anyway, it looks like this situation is heating up.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

In the end, until we really commit to alternative energy, the Middle East will always have us over the (oil) barrel. I mean, the user does not dictate terms to the pusher. We want out of the Middle East, we need to find a different fuel source.

We are not trying to add fuel to the fire. We are trying to find a way out. Iran is trying to create chaos. There is a big difference. As far as I know, we have not planted devices in the middle of civilian crowds in order to kill innocent people. And in the cases have been accused of killing innocents soldiers, we have publicized and brought them to trial.

We have made a mess out of the situation. But comparisons between a democratic government, and a government that is run by religious zealots is not a good way to argue a decent point.

That is a good April fools article. No way. Look at the sources. Its silly at this point.

"The British occupier forces did trespass our waters. Our border guards detained them with skill and bravery. But arrogant powers, because of their arrogant and selfish spirit, are claiming otherwise," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a speech in the southeastern city of Andinmeshk.

Please tell me you dont believe the above from the article. The British were doing what a UN charter has told them. And its pretty clear they were not in Iranian waters.

GR,
That's not our only addiction.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/49777/

I agree that there needs to be effort to find alternatives.

Pgardn,
As I said before, I'm no fan of Iran.
Seems that the Russians had info leaked to them.
The article from the Jerusalem Post, though perhaps not translated correctly, wasn't posted by me as a "joke" in anyway.
This situation could very well serve as an excuse for many initiatives.
The motivations, alas, I can only speculate...diversion, saber rattling, oil, or...as has been played to advantage so many times previously, fear.
I'll watch to see how this shakes out and hope for a peaceful resolution.
In my opinion, enough blood has already been shed.

and now it looks as tho they will be home on thursday, excellent news!

"All's well that ends well"!

Very happy about that as my daughter is heading to England in 2 weeks for her school vacation!:)

Well the world showed them. Iran certainly wont do anything outrageous again after the strong rebuke and all the sanctions coming down. And he was shaking the "guests" hands as they left, wishing them well... what a crock o' crud.