Iran war situation
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards consider themselves at war with the decadent Western imperialist infidels. So that as far as they are concerned, the taking of the British naval hostages is only one small part of this ongoing war. When they sent their boats to intercept the British naval vessels and to capture the sailors, they must have thought that there was a chance that this could lead to an actual gunfight. After all, not only were the British armed, but very close by was their home ship HMS Cornwall, with big guns and many British servicemen on board. But, in fact the British Navy did nothing!
Not only did the British sailors give up without a fight, but the Captain of HMS Cornwall also did not resist. Apparently the capture was well planned, and I don't know whether or not the Captain had time to contact his superiors at the Admiralty and whether or not he was ordered not to respond. But, instead of a possible small skirmish, we now have the situation of the Iranians holding the 15 servicemen, and the relationship between Britain and Iran deteriorating by the day. If you were an Iranian Guard and saw Britain with all its supposed naval power sitting right there and doing nothing, wouldn't you think that you could get away with a lot more. No wonder the Iranians apparently don't fear British retaliation.
The Iranians are experienced at hostage taking and holding. But, when they took the US Embassy hostages back in 1979 there was no significant US military nearby. However, Pres. Carter did try a rescue mission, that was so incompetent and even stupid, that any 5th grader could have planned it better (they know how to play computer games). This so-called rescue mission was typical of Carter, half-hearted and ill-planned.
So with this background its not surprising that the IRG do not seem to be concerned with retaliation by the British or Americans. In any case, they know the Coalition forces are pinned down in Iraq, partly because they themselves are playing a role in that conflict. The arrest of four supposed IRGs in Irbid in northern Iraq might have been the trigger that set off the action in the Shatt-al Arab waterway.
I have seen many correspondents and experts talking on the TV, and they astound me with their naievete. Christiane Amanpour of CNN said that she was surprised the crisis has lasted this long! Give me a break, the Iranians will milk it for as much as they can, and they will use it to take the focus away from their nuclear program and the UNSC sanctions against them.
It is possible that they will put the British servicemen on trial, and then the crisis will escalate. It is not coincidental that the US is keeping two battle groups close by in the Persian Gulf. Then I expect that there will follow an actual war situation between Britain, the US and Iran, and that this will be used as an excuse to take action against Iran for a host of reasons, including their support for anti-Coalition forces in Iraq, for taking the British hostages and for developing nuclear weapons against international treaties and UNSC resolutions.
Not only did the British sailors give up without a fight, but the Captain of HMS Cornwall also did not resist. Apparently the capture was well planned, and I don't know whether or not the Captain had time to contact his superiors at the Admiralty and whether or not he was ordered not to respond. But, instead of a possible small skirmish, we now have the situation of the Iranians holding the 15 servicemen, and the relationship between Britain and Iran deteriorating by the day. If you were an Iranian Guard and saw Britain with all its supposed naval power sitting right there and doing nothing, wouldn't you think that you could get away with a lot more. No wonder the Iranians apparently don't fear British retaliation.
The Iranians are experienced at hostage taking and holding. But, when they took the US Embassy hostages back in 1979 there was no significant US military nearby. However, Pres. Carter did try a rescue mission, that was so incompetent and even stupid, that any 5th grader could have planned it better (they know how to play computer games). This so-called rescue mission was typical of Carter, half-hearted and ill-planned.
So with this background its not surprising that the IRG do not seem to be concerned with retaliation by the British or Americans. In any case, they know the Coalition forces are pinned down in Iraq, partly because they themselves are playing a role in that conflict. The arrest of four supposed IRGs in Irbid in northern Iraq might have been the trigger that set off the action in the Shatt-al Arab waterway.
I have seen many correspondents and experts talking on the TV, and they astound me with their naievete. Christiane Amanpour of CNN said that she was surprised the crisis has lasted this long! Give me a break, the Iranians will milk it for as much as they can, and they will use it to take the focus away from their nuclear program and the UNSC sanctions against them.
It is possible that they will put the British servicemen on trial, and then the crisis will escalate. It is not coincidental that the US is keeping two battle groups close by in the Persian Gulf. Then I expect that there will follow an actual war situation between Britain, the US and Iran, and that this will be used as an excuse to take action against Iran for a host of reasons, including their support for anti-Coalition forces in Iraq, for taking the British hostages and for developing nuclear weapons against international treaties and UNSC resolutions.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:04 PM
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