Posted on 04/07/2007 6:28:06 AM PDT by kellynla
I'm afraid it was the Ryder Cup-style photo that was the last straw. It is traditional, on the eve of that golf competition, for the US and European teams to pose for photos in matching outfits. Rarely has this biennial silliness been called to mind more sharply than on Wednesday in Tehran, when the 15 released naval hostages waved cheerily for the cameras, looking for all the world as if they were confident of securing an early lead in the foursomes.
Before we proceed, two things should be stated for the record. First, it is obviously wonderful that the crew are back in Blighty and reunited with their families. Second, I have never been held hostage or even boarded a ship to check that its cargo papers were in order. Nor have I played international football against Andorra. But we can none the less expect certain standards from those who volunteer to perform these various duties on our grateful behalf. Now that is out of the way, it seems reasonable to at least wonder whatever happened to only divulging one's name, rank and number. Clearly that has been deemed a rather outmoded concept. According to the statements made by the crew's Captain Chris Air in yesterday afternoon's press conference, all the hostages arrived independently at the decision to cooperate fully with the Iranians, following several days of "mind games". They were then granted two hours of televised "socialising" a night, and eventually released. The world saw them thank their "fantastic" captors, and rifle through the goody bags provided by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in full view of the cameras - after they had been committed into British naval hands. No doubt they're all being talked up for VCs by the time you read this,
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Ask John McCain.
ping
This is what the wide angle showed, as Persian Islamonazi's tried to coerce
a few less docile Royal Marines, to try to get them to act like the other half-wits.
Did the traitorous MSM ever show the full picture, or did they hide it for their Persian Masters?
Oh, wait. It doesn't. The vast majority of them sold out, and folded faster than a deck chair. That's the story.
~ snip ~
..Many might disagree with Admiral Band that they did not put others in danger: what was there for all to see was the apparent ease with which British service men and women can be coopted as propaganda tools...”
~snip~
THAT is a key element in this new world, isn’t it?
This was a breathtaking success for Iran- beyond their wildest dreams.
-—Yet First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathan Band insists the crew “acted with considerable dignity and a lot of courage,” going on to say that “they appear to have played it by the rules”.-—
Rules? Courage? Dignity?
The Iranians took this woman, segregated her and proceeded to lie and expose her vulnerability.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
You’ll get NO argument from me on that score. My son was infantry:)
You won't get flamed by me. I think having women in the ranks makes men a) compete with each other instead of uniting as a team; b) makes men subject to a type of coercion they would not be subject to otherwise (instinct to protect the women more than male counterparts).
Actually, there is one question I've yet to hear asked. Why did the Brits allow themselves to become surrounded in the first place? It's not like this is the first time Iran has done this sort of thing and it's not like the Persian Gulf isn't (and hasn't been) in a war zone. I also find it hard to believe that coalition forces in the Gulf wouldn't be tracking anything and everything larger than a goose. The fact that they allowed Iranian forces to get close enough to surround them is nothing short of amazing in this day and age.
The level of embarrassment the British Navy has suffered here should shake it to the foundation.
Perhaps a small kudo for The Guardian, but as a leading proponent for the left, I suspect no mirrors were available when that article was published.
As for the others, well, one guy looks like he's about 5'3, 12 years old, and had been crying for the entire 2 weeks. The Iranians must've laughed at both him and that frumpy-looking woman. All the smiling hand-wavers are contemptible.
To answer the question posed in the headline, according to the U.S. military, the question/answer died in either Korea or Viet Nam, I don’t remember which.
“I think having women in the ranks makes men a) compete with each other instead of uniting as a team; b) makes men subject to a type of coercion they would not be subject to otherwise (instinct to protect the women more than male counterparts).”
Thank you!
All I can tell you is that had I been in a fighting hole with a woman instead of a man when I was WIA in 1969,
I would have bled to death because I don’t know too many BAM’s(Woman Marines) with the upper body strength who could have pulled me out of that hole.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Hmmm...wonders never cease.
5.56mm
This incident just proved you right.
yep, between this article and the editorial by the Wash Post on Pelousy last week, I had to reread the source twice. LOL
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