Comments on: COMING HOME. BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

By: NixGuy.com » Release of the Hostages

NixGuy.com » Release of the Hostages — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:10:16 +0000

[...] RightWingNuthouse has summed up what happened: For the last 3 or 4 days, some of the less fanatical leaders in Iran (I will not refer to them as â€œmoderatesâ€ or â€œpragmatistsâ€ which makes a mockery of the English language in so doing) shoved Ahmadinejad and his radical brethren to the sidelines in this dispute, working the phones and trying to get the British to agree to some kind of language where the Brits would admit to violating Iranian territorial waters without actually saying so. And they seemed to be making some progress. [...]

By: Chris Winston

Chris Winston — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:43:05 +0000

They were NOT taken IN the Shatt al-Arab. Why is that *still* being reported?!? Coordinates of the hostage taking clearly put the incident IN the Persian Gulf which is not the Shatt al-Arab waterway. Near by, yes, but not in it.

By: The Oxford Medievalist

The Oxford Medievalist — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:19:55 +0000

“Pardon” Me, Mr. Ahmadinejad?…

The latest instance of Iranian international insolence appears to have come to an end today, as Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the surprise announcement at a Tehran press conference that the 15 British sailors and Marines held captive for 1…

By: John

John — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 03:43:12 +0000

Where Iran erred, in terms of a long-term strategy, was in taking British hostages instead of Americans. While Blair and Great Britain are seen by the left as George Bush’s poodle, you really can’t gin up the worldwide hatred of the Brits the way you can Bush and the Americans (the truly lame efforts by some media outlets and bloggers on the left to try and blame Bush for the entire thing showed how weak the Iranians’ hand was, as far as trying to stretch this thing out into a long-term strategy, the way they did back in 1979 with Carter).

On the other hand, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Iran does try to commandeer some American troops as hostages in the near future, either through some similar sort of Persian Gulf action or (more likely) via some patrol ambush/kidnap effort along the Iran-Iraq border. Given the far left’s Rosie O’Donnell-like ability to believe Ahmadinejad over Blair in the just concluded crisis, even when Iran’s own release on the location of the Gulf incident put the navy troops in Iraqi waters, they’ll lap up any claim Iran makes against American troops if they were to be abducted and taken to Tehran.

By: zhorkon

zhorkon — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:44:16 +0000

Most of this talk about how the Brits really came out against the Mullahs â€“ or Tony versus Mahmoud â€“ is really neither here nor there: Both Britain and Iran will ’spin’ the story their own way and try to ‘win’ the ongoing propaganda war â€“ especially amongst their own constituencies.

What will really make a difference is how the Brits subsequently react â€“ militarily â€“ to this latest Iranian provacation. If the Royal Navy changes its ‘rules of engagement’ robustly and simply blows away the next bunch of Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ boats that come anywhere near their operations â€“ as they are quite capable of doing with the proper political backing in Whitehall â€“ the Brits will ultimately come out on top.

Alas, if the British politicians â€“ like their American Democrat counterparts â€“ decide to fold their tents and go home from the region ASAP, the Mullahs will clearly have won.

Either way, though, a major war is coming. Baring regime change in Iran, their aggressive and possibly unhinged leaders will keep pushing until the Western democracies finally let them have it. This incident is a sideshow, like the Panay and Allison incidents in Japanese-invaded China were during the late 1930s.

By: A Blog For All

A Blog For All — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:48:11 +0000

Resolution in Iran-Britain Standoff at Hand?…

One looming question, if this story pans out, then becomes who blinked and the ramifications of this act going forward. Ahmadinejad also uses the opportunity to rail against the US and British involvment in Iraq saying that they are responsible for t…..

By: mikeyslaw

mikeyslaw — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:26:22 +0000

The whole thing is Bush’s fault. Yeah, that’s it, really.

By: Pajamas Media

Pajamas Media — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:57:31 +0000

Iran To Release British Hostages…

Awarding the medals for arresting the British marines and sailors…… and meeting with the hostages as they are being released During his press conference taking place right now, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has just announced that he has “…

By: Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator

Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:46:38 +0000

Iranian Leader Says He’ll Free Britons…

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would free the 15 detained British sailors and marines Wedne…

By: The Sandbox

The Sandbox — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:03:19 +0000

Iran To Free British Hostages…

From Sky News:Iran is to free the 15 UK sailors and marines taken captive in the Shatt al Arab waterway as a gift to Britain. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the group would be released promptly and handed over to the…