Replies

Actually the Brits, along with the Aussies and Canadians are our strongest allies along with some newcomers like Poland and Romania.

This incident doesn’t prove anything regarding being and ally. All it proves is that the Labour Party are weak and appeasers. Our Dems (as Carter did) are just as bad and have a worse record.

I’m seriously hoping, for the UK, that they unleash an air attack (along with the US) on the nuke sites now (perfect opening)and crush the Rev.Guards, Al Quds etc of the military. If they don’t it’s just another chapter in the fall of the West.

As an American, I, also, think that people on this site have been too hard on the Brits. Actually, I think that even you are being more critical than the situation justifies.

I don’t think we should be critical of the UK’s actions here, for basically three reasons. First, just because we haven’t seen any fireworks yet, doesn’t prove that there won’t be any consequences. The UK, as I understand it, sometimes does a slow burn. The Brits may not jump up and down chattering right away, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be getting down to taking action.

Second, we don’t know enough about what happened. My own preferred solution was always the diplomatic one, involving an exchange of messages running something like this:

Blair: Release our troops right away, or we’ll sink your navy, and then see if you’re in a more cooperative mood.

Ahmanidgit: I find your gentle words subtly persuasive. Here they are.

Iran has been acting as though it wanted a war. Now, Iran is acting as though it’s decided that a war with the UK would be a bad idea. I don’t know what’s caused this change of attitude, but it may be that the messages from the Foreign Office have struck the right tone.

Third, comparing the way Blair handled this episode, with the way Carter handled the last Iran kidnapping, or the way Clinton handled the endless attacks of Al Quaeda, does not show the UK in a bad light. The United States has given the UK far better reason to give up on us, than the UK has given us to despair of them. Even if the British Government’s actions were the worst the uncertainty allows, I don’t see that the United States has the lattitude to be too critical. They have still been more steadfast than we.