they were ON the “dhow”.....a “dhow” so large it was carrying cars as cargo.....every pic of the “dhow” in question shows it to be actually a cargo ship, large and made of steel. The witness/journalist Ian Pannel says they were onboard....
why do you wish to pretend that a defense wasn’t possible???
so does the BBC
The men were seized at 1030 local time when they boarded a boat in the Gulf, off the coast of Iraq, which they suspected was smuggling cars.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6484279.stm
why do you wish to pretend that a defense wasn’t possible???
I have a question: Do you believe that this was a setup by the Iranians? (I do)
If it was a 'setup', then the logical thing to do is have the target dhow be part of the exercise -- that way you, the kidnappers, control a major loose end. I mean imagine their (the Iranian's) surprise if the dhow was smuggling RPG's & the Brits found them -- then a defense could be mounted without question.
I have no evidence that the dhow was part of the plot, but it seems logical from a tactics standpoint.