I hereby re-christen that boat the HMS Cornwallis.
No champagne bottle against the hull, please. That might offend the Muslims!
Cheers!
Macho Americans need to hold their horses and stand ready to help when the Brits ask. If you want allies, you cannot overpower them at every turn. In a way that nobody seems to understand Bush has gotten the Europeans fighting in Afghanistan and Lebanon by not always one-upping them. Alliances Dems complain about are actually stronger now and functioning better.
Imagine a police sergeant, sitting in his squad car, watching a bunch of criminals take on his own men, who were simply patrolling and enforcing the law. Rather than simply going to the aid of his men, the sergeant calls the precinct, who tells him to do nothing, but keep watching!
If the sergeant reacted correctly, his men would be safe. He might lose his career for stirring up the criminals and making them outraged over their loses, but his men would be safe. Yes, the news media of the city would call him a loose cannon, a war starter, a stirrer of pots. Leftist politicians would be outraged. BUT HIS MEN WOULD BE SAFE!
What to do, what to do.....?
"I hereby re-christen that boat the HMS Cornwallis."
H.M.S. Chamberlain.
Yes, so the US troops captured by the Iranians in 2003. The US really taught the Iranians a lesson in that case didn't they! Similarly, noone has reacted to Iranian insurgent aid in Iraq. We 'limey poofters' have have been much tougher on terrorists and rogue states in the past than your governments have been.