Iran Frees Detained British Sailors

Breitbart/ AP ^ | Apr 4 12:46 PM US/Eastern | NASSER KARIMI

[IrishMike]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Wednesday freed the 15 detained British sailors and marines in what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called an Easter gift to the British people. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he bore "no ill will" toward the Iranian people. Iranian state television said the 14 men and one woman, who were seized while on patrol in the northern Persian gulf on March 23, would leave Iran on Thursday. An Iranian official in London said they would be handed over to British diplomats in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad's surprise announcement came at a news conference shortly after he pinned a medal on the chest of the Iranian coast guard commander who intercepted the sailors and marines.

"I'm glad that our 15 service personnel have been released and I know their release will come as a relief not just to them but to their families," Blair said outside his No. 10 Downing St. office. "Throughout, we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating but not confronting, either."

Blair added, "To the Iranian people I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will."

[oakcon]

I really want to hear what those sailors and marines have to say for themselves when they get back that made them say the Iranian line. Not denying heavy coercion was involved, just curious.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

It’s hard to dispute the left wingers who say that America is just using us when so many of you play into their hands.

Using you? The Islamist threat is just as much your problem as it is ours. Moreso, actually. The UK is much closer to being overcome by Islam than the United States.

Anyone who has difficulty refuting the left on this point never really understood the problem to begin with.

[Sleeping Beauty]

I really want to hear what those sailors and marines have to say for themselves when they get back that made them say the Iranian line. Not denying heavy coercion was involved, just curious.

I'll bet you five bucks you will NEVER hear a word from those sailors. Ain't gonna happen.

[theFIRMbss]

>Blair added, "To the Iranian people I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will."
>>Interesting that he said people instead of government...

Don't forget, the Brits
invented the double-0
classification . . .

[jonascord]

They were "massively out gunned" at Trafalgar, Roarke's Drift, Colenso, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, HMS Hood, and Dieppe. It didn't stop them from shooting back.

But that was then. The MEN who did those things are all dead. It seems they haven't been replaced...

[MindBender26]

>>>Why not grab some Americans?

To not awaken the sleeping tiger. That is why no new major attacks here, ala WTC. We are doing a great job of eroding political will all on our own, so they won’t hit us with big attack to raise the ire again.

It’s the international version of “Death By A Thousand Cuts.”

[soycd]

good. Now start the bombing please.

[MadelineZapeezda]

In a reference to Mrs Turney, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "How can you justify seeing a mother away from her home, her children. Why don't they respect the values of families in the West?"

Why wasn't this young mother at home with her infant child?

[MadelineZapeezda]

Forgot my link here

[CDB]

Mahmoud, the Magic Persian,
Lives in Tehran.
He gave Tony Blair an Easter Gift”
For Not-So-Great Britain.
Mahmoud the Magic Persian...

[mkjessup]

Ok peeps, here’s what gives. Pelosi went to Syria. Coincidence? The MSM will now report that it was Syria talking with Iran that led to the freeing of the hostages. Diplomacy works and that is why a Democrat should be President and why Bush is a cowboy. Bets?

No bets here. I think you're as close to a bullseye as anybody is going to get.

[Axlrose]

How heavy was it ?

Did it stop them from posing for holiday pictures in sharp new suits gifted by their Iranian friends.

Smiling and waving to the cameras in fact. Thats what surrender looks like these days i guess.

[Tarkus2040]

where did they get the suits?

More importantly, what has become of their uniforms and sidearms? Probably on propagandic display somewhere in Tehran.

[Miss Didi]

Rush on the hostages yesterday:

RUSH: Well, Winston Churchill is having a scotch in his grave right now asking the question: "How did 15 British sailors and Marines give up without firing a shot?" Churchill probably cannot believe this. You know, they pretty mothballed their navy. Great Britain, I'll tell you, it's gone PC in ways you wouldn't believe. If you people haven't heard, this I want you to sit down. This is from the UK Daily Mail: "Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils," according to a government study. The study "found that some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity of the Holocaust for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. There is also resistance to tackling the Eleventh Century crusades where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques. The findings have prompted claims that some schools are using histories as a vehicle for promoting political correctness."

Political correctness? It's worse than that! The Brits are not teaching the Holocaust because there are Muslim students in there who are Holocaust deniers, and they don't want them to be offended! They're worried that they're going to start blowing up the schools or something, I guess. (interruption) Yes, there is a "consensus" on the Holocaust, but the Brits are willing to say, "To hell with consensus." The Holocaust is not "consensus." It's fact. Look, you wonder what's happened to the Brits? It's political correctness is running amok, and "conflict resolution." Does anybody think that 15 United States Marines would just sit there and allow themselves to be taken when they had not invaded Iranian waters and then in two days, start apologizing on Iranian TV? Do you think 15 United States Marines would do this?

No.

Way.

Semper fi. No way. But all you have to know is the story I just told you. They're not teaching the Holocaust might offend Muslim students who don't believe it.

[Axlrose]

We need to find another country who we can use as #1 ally.

This one seems to be not up to the job.

[Tarkus2040]

Pelosi went to Syria. Coincidence? The MSM will now report that it was Syria talking with Iran that led to the freeing of the hostages. Diplomacy works and that is why a Democrat should be President and why Bush is a cowboy.

I can hear Pelosi now:

"See, we Democrats can resolve problems between our country and the Muslim world. If you vote for us in the coming election, we'll bring our own brand of peace and understanding to our Muslim friends in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the middle east."

Egads! Typing that nearly made me vomit!

[Vanguard40]

I just don’t understand how two weeks of frailness on the part of the British government seems to mean a lot more to some of you than 5 YEARS of fighting together against tyranny.

[mikhailovich]

Looks like you nailed it.

[Axlrose]

Its like when France decided in one day to surrender to the Germans after a month of hard fighting.

Call it crossing the line from ally to merely a neutral.