When the Infidels confront the Muslims with these representatives, somehow I don't think they will ever take us seriously. - tom
Posted on 03/25/2007 5:38:24 PM PDT by Flavius
Tony Blair warned Iran last night that it has only a few days to find a diplomatic solution to the escalating crisis over the 15 missing British sailors and Marines.
As the tension grew, the first direct high-level talks took place between Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, and Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, to press Britain's concerns.
The moves came as the Foreign Office admitted it had no idea what has happened to the 15 Navy personnel seized by the Iranian military on Friday.
The Prime Minister, in his first public comments since the incident, appeared to signal a hardening of attitudes after more than 48 hours of low-level diplomacy.
Speaking in Berlin, Mr Blair said he still hoped that there could be a diplomatic solution.
"I hope that this is resolved in the next few days," he said. "The quicker it is resolved, the easier it will be for all of us.
"We have certainly sent the message back to them very clearly indeed. They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and wrong."
The seizure of the 14 men and one woman by Iran was a "very serious situation", Mr Blair added.
He warned Teheran that it was a "fundamental" issue for Britain and insisted that the personnel had not strayed into Iranian waters.
He said: "I have not been commenting up to now because I want to get it resolved in as easy and diplomatic a way as possible, because it is the welfare of the people that have been taken by the Iranian government that is most important. But this is a very serious situation."
The sailors and Marines were seized from the Shatt al-Arab waterway south of the Iraqi city of Basra. Teheran claimed the patrol encroached on its territorial waters in an act of "blatant aggression".
But this was disputed strongly by Mr Blair. He said: "There is no doubt at all that these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi waters.
"It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters and I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us."
Downing Street sources denied that Mr Blair's comments should be read as an ultimatum to the Iranians or that any sort of military option was under consideration.
But the intervention does mark a shift in the language being used.
Mrs Beckett continued the pressure, "making very clear" in a phone call to Mr Mottaki that no violation of Iranian waters had occurred. And she repeated still unanswered demands for information on the whereabouts of the 15 and for consular access to them.
Britain's position received support from other European Union countries yesterday. President Jacques Chirac of France said Britain had the "complete solidarity" of all EU leaders over the sailors.
"It seems clear they were not in the Iranian zone at the time," he said.
The German presidency of the EU issued a statement calling for their immediate release.
Diplomats are hoping that there may be more movement today from Teheran as Iranians return to work after a public holiday.
Yesterday the British ambassador, Geoffrey Adams, met his counterpart in the Iraqi foreign ministry seeking access to the prisoners.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are waiting to get a response to that. At the Ambassador's request he went to a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Teheran to press again for the release of our personnel, ask where they are being held and ask for consular access."
Last night it was reported that Iran may give consular access once an investigation is completed.
Lord Triesman, a Foreign Office minister, said: "We don't know where they are. We wish we did. We are asking whether they are being moved around inside Iran."
The Foreign Office refused to comment on reports that the Iranian military had extracted confessions from the team from the frigate Cornwall, saying this was "speculation".
The team was seized on the eve of Saturday's UN security council vote to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme
Relations between Britain and Iran have deteriorated recently, partly because of the row over Iran's nuclear programme and partly because of Iraq.
But Foreign Offices sources said Iran was viewing the prisoners and its dispute with the UN as separate issues.
"So far, they are right where they want to be--in charge of events."
So far they 'think' they are where they want to be....see post #59
Oh. You would prefer 'surgical'?
We doubtfully have the wherewithall to "bomb the hell out of Iran", without going nuke.
I am willing to believe (or hope, at least) that most of the Persians have had enough of the current dictators and their supplicants in the parliament. No point in guaranteeing that most of the populace would be against us, when a lot of them would be grateful.
When the Infidels confront the Muslims with these representatives, somehow I don't think they will ever take us seriously. - tom
It gets very annoying and doesn't add anything to the threads.
As for the current situation, the time for rapid response was when the thing happened. As soon as the sailors were in the hands of the Iranians, it became infinitely more complicated and is not something that can be solved with a quick burst of firepower. I'm sure Blair is considering all options and I'm sure the lights are on in the WH tonight, too.
Happens every time there is any big story.
There IS a pattern and it is one of contempt for the administrattion and our allies. The general thrust is to speak contemptuously of them and mock them with "snappy one-liners."
Frankly, I am sick of it, too.
There seems to be a lot of low thought level, knee jerk types around these days who post the same old tired shit every time the enemy goads us.
I don't know if the behavior is supposed to ellicit some sort of approval response from the borg or what, but the background noise is getting close to intolerable.
Excuse me, but what was Reagan's reaction to the bombing in Beruit again, I forget. Oh, and how many Marines died and were wounded....and we turned tail and ran.
Reagan had realities to deal with just as Bush and Blair do, but you keyboard cowboys choose to forget.
We need to let Mr Blair do his thing.
I for one know nothing of what is happening behind the scenes, nor do the rest of us.
It absolutely is Dog. When Afghanistan first started, remember everyone going on and on about how we were doing nothing. Even the Afghanis were laughing at us right up until we opened the gates of hell. Funny, they stopped laughing.
I think it is probably a bit of both. I'll find comfort in knowing that there are plenty of other mature people out here in cyberspace who are getting sick 'n tired of it too.
What I'd like to see Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush jointly say:
The government of Iran has wrongfully and agressively taken prisoner 15 British soldiers conducting smuggling interdiction operations in the waters of Iraq. This action constitutes a clear act of war. An act of war against the United Kingdom is also deemed an act of war against the United States, and the two nations are determined to put an end to this agression.
The government of Iran is notified that it has 24 hours from this moment to release all 15 soldiers unharmed and allow for their safe transport out of Iran. Failure to meet this deadline will result in serious consequenses. As these soldiers were wrongly captured by Iranian naval forces, the first action of the United Kingdom and United States military will be to ensure the prompt destruction of any and all ships of the Iranian Navy, including the Revolutionary Guard. This action will begin immediately upon the expiration of the 24-hour deadline. If, after an additional 48 hours, the soldiers have still not been released, unharmed, to British custody, American and British forces will enter Iran to retrieve our soldiers, by any means necessary. The Iranian government is also notified that if any of the 15 soldiers are harmed, American and British forces will destroy the entire leadership of the Iranian government, along with a substantial portion of the nation of Iran.
Such action would be unfortunate, and will be unnecessary if Iran will simply return the soldiers unharmed. We hope and pray that this will be the case, but we are making preparations in case it is not.
Blair's behavior during his tenure has not been consistent with the portrayal of him that I'm seeing here. If he needs to act, I believe he will. In the meantime, he isn't going to screw things up by mouthing off beyond what he can do and needs to do. Cool it, dudes. Let the man do his thing. He's given us more support in the face of massive opposition than anyone on the planet, John Howard notwithstanding; I think he's owed some deference here. Damn, I say he's owed some reverence.
True story, McGavin999. I suggest "they" now be referred to as "french fried Freepers". ;)
I apologize for the behavior of our ungrateful, unloyal posters. They do not reflect how the majority of Americans feel.
Good job!
I just said he wasn't going to do anything violent against Iran. How is that ingratitude?
I don't know if the behavior is supposed to ellicit some sort of approval response from the borg or what, but the background noise is getting close to intolerable.
I agree completely. "Intolerable" is the perfect word for what I'm feeling.
It can be "surgical" but the nature if Islamic expansionism is such that the Iranian military must be destroyed and much of the economic infrastructure along with it. Getting all the nuclear sites is not that important. It only requires taking out sufficient to cripple the program and taking enough of the economy out to make it impossible to rebuild a nuclear program. All of the Islamic world must understand that Allah does not will Islam to prevail this century. Being humane and having too much regard for the Persians, the educated portion of whom are, indeed, probably the most modernist and potentially pro-western Mohammedans in the world outside of Turkey, will only tell the rest of the Saracen world that we are still soft and Allah will ultimately give us over to their hands. Ultimately it does not matter where the sympathies of the population if Iran lie. The entirety of the Mohammedan world is what must be affected.
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