Posted on 04/04/2007 9:58:35 AM PDT by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Blink.........
Misleading headline. As I read it, they are NOT out of the country yet.
Capitulation.
Does Blair seriously think that anyone believes the Iranians released the hostage soldiers without some type of ‘bribe’?
Musta been too many U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf...
Something like this was on ScrappleFace. What gives?
I really hope his tone changes after their boots hit British soil...
We can expect hostage taking to increase.
I think next time I want to give someone a gift, I'll steal an item from them first, and then magnanimously give it back.
Appeasement wins again. I am sure Iran will now play by the rules./sarcasm on.
They must have extracted some concessions from the Brits.
I wonder if we will see an anouncement about further withdrawls from Iraq soon.
> Blair added, “To the Iranian people I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will.”
The mics didn’t hear the softly muttered end “... your goverment is another matter.”
I wonder what it cost.....
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?
Was Blair surprised that Easter is this Sunday? I’m shocked that the Brits didn’t turn down the offer because the word Easter might be offensive to Muslims and all the Pagans that now seem to be the majority religions in England.
Well, now that they’ve foiled Bush’s evil plan to start a war “next month,” I wonder what Rosie will say.
From the time they surrendered without a fight to the present where they happily swap smalltalk with America’s enemy Amanutjob in Tehran they have proven to be nothing but a embarresment.
You have to wonder if the British navy is more of a liabilty in the gulf than an asset, given they are happy to surrender at the first sign of an Iranian rubber boat.
Notice how Nutjob calls not imprisoning these sailors a “gift” to Great Britain. The tyrannical Iranian attitude is that we in the West can have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happinesss only if Iran decides to “give” that to us. This is the same position they’re taking on nuclear weapons. They think Iran should have a huge nuclear arsenal and then decide on any given day whether Americans, Israelis, and Britons are allowed to live another day. This kidnapping was a big mistake by Iran and it just showed the world how the Iranin regime has no regard for the human rights and security of other nations or its own people.
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