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 ...
Tony Blair needs to go on the telly and inform the Iranians that the U.K. will sink one Iranian vessel every hour on the hour until their sailors are released safe and sound.
Then start carrying it out.
Let Ahmadijackinoff scream bloody murder.
Eff 'em all.
I bet that will start the war. Then the U.S will hop in.
Gesundheit
The equivalent of Germany's SS, in fact.
Owing to the summary rejection by the German Iranian Government of the request made by Her His Majesty's Government for assurances that the sovereignty neutrality of Iraq Belgium would be respected all interference with British military personnel operating in Iraq would cease immediately, and all British military personnel detained by the Iranians would be returned unharmed immediately, Her His Majesty's Ambassador in BerlinTehran has received his passport, and His Her Majesty's Government has declared to the German Iranian Government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany Iran as from 11pm on August 4 March 23, 2007.
IOW...plausible deniability.
"And now MadMood says he won't come to address the UN...becuase we didn't get the visas ready in time?! Pppffttt...
Tom Clancy has nothing on this.."
Personally, I don't want that peice of *hit in our country ever again. That he can make statements denying the holocaust and threateting the USA & Israel with total destruction and come into our country to give his viewpoints to the world is absurd. Oh yeah throw in he is partially or fully responsible for the Embassy hostage crisis, murder of US diplomats, servicemen and civilians and I am truly baffled he is still alive.
This excerpt did not tell me why Iran seized the British Marines.
Just a thought: if the reports of internal problems in Iran are correct I wonder if the religious leaders want to provoke a military incident in order to get the population in line. If the general population believes they are under threat from the US and/or the UK they could use it as a means stopping internal strife.
I appreciate the update report, although I don't find Mansour Ijaz to be particularly credible.
*shrugs*
"Tony Blair needs to go on the telly and inform the Iranians that the U.K. will sink one Iranian vessel every hour on the hour until their sailors are released safe and sound.
Then start carrying it out.
Let Ahmadijackinoff scream bloody murder.
Eff 'em all."
An attack on the kings soldiers is an attack on the king himself! - Braveheart
"Don't you tire of it as well?"
Yes! a 1000 times yes.
Praying for your brave guys over there...
Keep that in mind when you think of the Iranian government....it is different factions fighting each other for dominance. The IRGC has seized these 15 on its own I will wager and now watch how the other factions react.
I think the cancellation of Adimanuts trip is part of the reaction of one faction.
Think about it this way...imagine a Special Operations branch of the Pentagon ...seizing 15 memebers of another countries military...on the eve of President Bush traveling to give a speech. The State Dept would have a cow...and want Bush to cancel.
This seizure is more of a slap at Adminanut and his faction than anything else.
as of now, MonkeyBoy, is a no show. Cancelled.
I absolutely hate to say this...especially in THIS forum, but...
We lost over 3000 innocent men, women and children in less than 2 hours on 9-11.
The stakes are too high in terms of the humankind misery and death that will occur in the even of a nuclear attack and/or exchange.
These unfortunate 15 British captives should not handcuff England or the USA. They should be considered like the passengers on Flight 93...who would have been collateral damage had they attempted to ram the Capitol or White House.
The world is a different place than it was in 1979... and won't stand for 444 days until Hillary Clinton takes her oath to get the soldiers back...and don't kid yourselves...that's what will happen.
I feel like I'm living a 24 Realty Show. Iran is racing toward The BOMB, and the suicidal, don't-give-a-damn Ayatollah decides to go "ALL IN" by grabbing 15 hostages.
"I've never seen a country that was positively BEGGING to have its ass kicked."
I agree. But we don't have the balls to do it. Iran has been getting away with this sh#t since 1979.
"But, I predict the British will play softball and let the Iranians get away with yet ANOTHER act of war. "
These same animals have been killing our AMERICAN guys in Iraq for years. And besides the usual pussy act of handwringing, WE haven't done crap.
"Will the British people ever tire of being urinated on by islamic thugs?"
Will the AMERICAN people ever tire of Iran's SH#T? We need to bomb the crap out of them and kill thousands of the blood thirsty bastards.
"If they took our GIs' they wouldn't be able to hold off an attack on them."
Don't count on it. We've been dicking around with these a$$holes for years. And they keep killing our guys and getting away with it.
Iran has attacked a U.S. ally, shouldn't we be helping them nuke Tehran, or something?
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