The British Royal Navy's HMS Cornwall on patrol in the North Arabian Gulf. The Iranian navy detained 15 British troops Friday in the Persian Gulf, according to defence officials.
Posted on 03/23/2007 12:51:40 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
The most ominous detail about Iran's seizure of 15 British Royal Marines in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway on Friday morning is that the servicemen were reportedly taken into custody by the navy of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The IRGC is a powerful, separate branch of the Iranian armed forces. Soaked with nationalist ideology, it has grown into a state within a state in Iran, with its own naval, air and ground forces, parallel to official government institutions. The IRGC is directly controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate font of religious and political power in Iran.
The IRGC also has its own intelligence arm and commands irregular forces such as the basij — a voluntary paramilitary group affiliated with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — and the Quds force, which has been accused by the U.S. of supplying material to Iraqi insurgents bent on killing American soldiers.
The IRGC is also known for its clandestine activities including logistical support for militant organizations like Lebanon's Hizballah, which it helped to set up in the 1980s, and several Shi'a militia groups in Iraq. The IRGC's activities are often a thorn in the side of Iran's Foreign Ministry, which is forced to repair the ruptures in Tehran's diplomatic relations with countries the Guard has inflamed with its self-directed adventures. Nevertheless, it has been one of Iran's main instrument in projecting power and influence over the last few decades.
Because the IRGC's actions are always interwoven with the religious-nationalist ideology of Iran's hardliners, extricating the British may be complicated.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
The British Royal Navy's HMS Cornwall on patrol in the North Arabian Gulf. The Iranian navy detained 15 British troops Friday in the Persian Gulf, according to defence officials.
"Why Iran Seized the British Marines"
They did it because they could..no two ways about it. Our job is and always was to make it so they CAN"T!!!!!
ACT
OF
WAR
I just hope that Tony Blair has the stones to invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter, so that we can find out if WE have the stones to move forward with the next logical step.
I swear this must be an old Persian saying that goes something like this "what's an act of war or two between friends?"
Agreed. It's Blair's call. Hopefully we will use this to delcare war on Iran unless they surrender to our demands.
Because they lack respect (fear) of the British.
I suspect there will be a very firm and brief window in which Iran can save face and let them go. If it appears no harm will come to them (including extended captivity), the West will let them wriggle out of this dust-up. As the article states, however, there could be a parallel foreign policy being run by the mullahs, which isn't very interested in diplomatic niceties. We'll find out by Monday, I'm sure.
Ahmadnutjob: "We didn't do it...we were nowhere in the area...they just looked like us".
RN: Yeah, right. Bombing begins in 5 minutes.
Why is it that you can never fine a Thatcher when you need one?
But with a DEM Congress in charge of such declarations, I'm hoping that the NATO obligation will provide GWB with a loophole so that we don't have to go hat-in-hand to Nancy Pelosi before doing the job that needs doing.
This is the UK's version of the P3 incident. Will they, like we did then, kowtow and show the world we're wimps, or will they properly kick butt?
I guess that's how they felt about us when they seized American hostages. Of course Carter being president probably had something to do with lack of respect, etc.
'Because they lack respect (fear) of the British.'
They appear to lack respect (fear) of the Americans as well:
Monday, June 02, 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers and five civilians on boats in the Shatt al-Arab waterway were detained, blindfolded and interrogated by Iranians for several hours on Sunday, the U.S. Central Command said on Monday.
The soldiers and three of the civilians, including a U.S. contractor, were escorted back to their boats and released on Monday but two civilian boat drivers remained in detention, a spokesman for Central Command said.
The group was "taken by force by Iranians. They were blindfolded, taken up river for about 20 minutes to a building where they were interrogated," Cmdr. Dan Gage said by telephone from Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
I've never seen a country that was positively BEGGING to have its ass kicked.
But, I predict the British will play softball and let the Iranians get away with yet ANOTHER act of war.
Will the British people ever tire of being urinated on by islamic thugs?
The earlier incident and this recent incident may be Iran feeling that a pre-eminant attack is near and hostages are a way to prevent such a thing (at least in their minds). The sub near the Saudi port is disturbing. An attack on Iran may certainly disrupt oil supply for a short time. The recent run-up in oil prices and the USA doubling it's petroleaum reserve seem to be indicators we are going in and soon.
Good point.
Republican Guard significance ping...
Yes we do, but they know we won't.....
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