The Iranians really don't like the British. They have had terrible relations with them since the start of the 20th century. In a great summary of UK / Iranian relations, All The Shah's Men provides a superior account of why the Iranians and the Brits are at such loggerheads.Compounding this issue is the idea of borders and ownership of the Arabian / Persian Gulf and the Shaat-al-Arab. There is no doubt that the UK soldiers most likely crossed over the "line" in the SAA and were grabbed by Iranian naval units. The actual sovereignty of this stretch of muddy water has been in dispute for decades. The Iranians have even placed a flag and heavy machine gun on a sunken crane near the Iraqi oil terminal KAAOT in the Shaat-al-Arab. They use this as a platform to exert their national boundaries and threaten Iraqi and coalition naval assets.
Not a nice group. Routinely they will run out from the shore in their Boghammer attack boats and "dare" forces to engage.
The fifteen British sailors and marines do not deserve to be interrogated. They should be released in accordance with international agreements.
If not, the Brits should act.
3 comments:
“I hope we manage to get them (the Iranian government) to realize they have to release them,” Blair said. “If not, then this will move into a different phase.”
This is the quote from Tony Blair this morning widely reported in the media. So I'm listening to the BBC/NPR correspondent on this story. He reads the quote and then he breathlessly says "one wonders what that "different phase" might mean!"
LOL, what a nitwit. If Blair has any trouble deciding what to do I hope consults with John Howard.
The last time British forces had been captured, the "next phase" was the invasion of the Falklands...
Actually in 2004 we had a junior version of this. Brits didn't do anything then, so why would they now - so goes the Iranian thought process.
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