Posted on 04/02/2007 9:02:35 AM PDT by LibWhacker
HAS Britain's standing in the world ever been lower? The country that was once a byword for freedom is now seen as a bully and a weakling.
Bully enough to follow America's lead and cause mayhem in Iraq, but weak enough to stand meekly by while 14 British men and one woman are exhibited like trophies and gloated over by the mad thugs of Iran.
Our 15 British hostages are forced to act like performing seals for one of the vilest regimes on the planet, and the bitter truth is that our chums in the civilised world do not give a damn. Advertisement
The Americans?
The Americans are calling us wimps for allowing British sailors and marines to be kidnapped without a fight, and even bigger wimps for being so pathetically toothless in our response.
"The British government wrings its hands in despair and does little else," sneers the New York Post.
"Wimping out on Iran," shrieks the New York Daily News, mocking Britain's humiliation.
The Europeans? Well, of course the Euros didn't want us marauding through the Middle East in the first place so we can hardly be surprised that our Continental cousins are completely indifferent to the plight of our people.
It took the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, almost a week to even bring himself to denounce the kidnapping. Since then the EU has requested the release of the hostages and said that "appropriate measures" will be taken if they refuse.
But several EU countries have already stated they will not consider freezing links with Iran. So the EU has really got them trembling in their sandals in Tehran.
Then what about the United Nations? The British were in those waters operating under a UN mandate. When we went to the UN seeking a demand for the immediate release of our hostages, it should have been a rubber-stamp formality.
But many countries, including Russia, simply refuse to believe the evidence that British sailors were operating in Iraqi and not Iranian waters. And even if the British are telling the truth, many countries don't give a toss because they're scared stiff of joining Britain and America as the hate figures of the Muslim world.
AFTER hours of debate, the UN Security Council issued a meaningless statement expressing its "concern" over our hostages.
And this country's humiliation was complete.
We are told that diplomacy is the only thing that will bring our people home. Well, it is now.
There was a moment when military action was a possibility, and indeed the best option - and I'm not talking about sending a gunboat or sabre rattling. The 15 being held hostage were not bob-a-jobbing. They had guns, too - but they didn't use them to defend themselves.
And HMS Cornwall, armed with enough firepower to blow a few Revolutionary Guards all the way back to downtown Tehran, was about as much use as a rubber duck.
Lieutenant-Commander Erik Horner of the US Navy, who works with the Royal Navy in those waters, was astounded that 15 British sailors and marines were captured without a shot being fired. "Our reaction was, why didn't you guys defend yourselves?" says Horner.
Good point.
It does seem strange. Perhaps they were under orders not to put up a fight. Perhaps they were wary of turning a drama into a bloodbath.
But the truth is we're jaded. We are tired. We are frightened. We no longer have the stomach for a fight.
We want to get out of there and go home.
The Iranians believe that we are taking part in a war that we don't believe is right and don't have the nerve to fight.
They are absolutely correct.
That is why Tony Blair will ultimately be remembered as a failure. He lied to get us into an unwanted war, and then he lacked the will to fight it, or the wit to get us out.
Blair has left us impotent in the leering face of Iran and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: one of the biggest pigs on the planet, he's a Holocaust denier who talks of "exterminating" Israel and routinely uses the language of the Nazis as if it were rational political discourse.
With the usual baying mobs in Iran calling for the execution of our 15 hostages, the responsibility for their fate falls on the sloping shoulders of Tony Blair, and all the lies and misjudgements that have made this country despised, mistrusted and mocked by friend and foe alike.
It is difficult to see how Blair's legacy could possibly sink even lower.
Unless Prince Harry gets shipped off to Iraq and then gets killed.
By the Americans.
Well, President Bush used it in his Weekly Radio Address. Made me happy for a moment.
Are you speaking of the WMD intel fiasco? If so, both American and British intel services gathered abundant evidence that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons. Yes, Britain. And Israel too. Could all of us have been wrong? Possible, but highly unlikely. Saddam's WMD were moved our of the country (most likely to Syria and Russia) during the months were were messing around with the UN trying to get a coalition together.
I was amazed at how clearly Parsons can see some things and yet not understand that the war in Iraq is absolutely necessary.
Iran will never give them up and will string out any resolution way, way past 444 days. They now have an insurance policy against any attack on their nuclear facilities and I am sure they are sending very clear back channel messages to this effect.
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The only reason this article was allowed to be printed by the UK press was because it contained enough america bashing to offset all the truth told about Iran.
I as american do not think of the UK as a bitch of the US. I'm thankful for all of their support throughout 9/11 and the war on terror. I belive they are our best ally and friend out there and think of them as equals.
This guy has been drinking the MSM way too much.
"This is an article written by a confused lefty, flailing to hold on his world view when facing an undeniable evil like jihad.
Total, utter confusion."
Dean on correct. This same confusion would confound his own statements if he actually believed them. He suggests the Brits should have whipped ass instead of wimping out. The problem with that is that if the Brits had opened fire this same author would have been in convulsions over the British 'overreaction' and 'failure to use a measured response.'
Perhaps you could enlighten us as to any lies, Hildy.
True, but he blames Blair for "following America's lead;" i.e., if it weren't for America, Britian wouldn't be in Iraq.
I thought it was break people and kill things.
Hmmmm. That doesn't look quite right...
*scritching head*
Lol, boy, you can say that again!
I know. And CNN today made it sound like the Brits weren't too happy about it. CNN certainly wasn't.
Oh, not yet, not as long as this particular twit has a word processor. I would like to know how he can say that the Brits were there enforcing a UN mandate and still manage to blame America. Perhaps he's so used to the latter by now that he no longer bothers to read what he's writing.
In fact, the refusal of individual EU countries to back the Brits in the matter has nothing to do with disdain for their Iraqi participation and everything to do with the lucrative commercial contracts they would lose thereby. It would be perfectly understandable if Great Britain refused to participate in any UN-mandated actions from here on out given their lukewarm support in the UN. Given their even more tepid support within the EU one wonders if perhaps that collective security arrangement also ought to be reconsidered.
There is a fairly straightforward solution to this - close the British embassy in Iran, evacuate its personnel, and begin holding Iranian diplomats hostage. I'm guessing that prospect is one reason Ahmadinejad decided New York wasn't going to be pleasant this time of year. Despite the current pants-peeing by pundits such as this particular author my own impression is that betting that the Brits can't be prodded into ruthlessness is a very bad bet.
Hildy has been here a lot longer than you have...
If only you could come back, you iron ladies. Even though you never said sorry - or precisely because you didn't - all would be forgiven.
So wrote Niall Ferguson yesterday.
I was referring to our loss in Vietnam and our impending loss (if the Dems and press prevail) in Iraq.
You might be right, but we cannot stand alone unless we deal with the enemy within.
Now THAT is the "quip" of a loser.
I think that was the point all along.
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