Free Republic

LONDON -- Fellow servicemen and women have turned their fury on the British sailors and marines who sold the stories of their 13 days in captivity in Iran, saying the crew had "embarrassed the nation" and in lining their own pockets had "trampled on the graves of the fallen." The 14 men and one woman of the frigate HMS Cornwall were criticized heavily on military Internet chat rooms and in a series of postings on two unofficial military Web sites, Rum Ration (www.rumration.co.uk) and British Army Rumour Service (www.arrse.co.uk). All 15 have come under fire over their filmed activities during...

Britain on Monday banned all military service members from talking to the media in return for payment, a day after it said the 15 marines and sailors who were held captive in Iran could sell their stories. Defense Secretary Des Browne issued a statement saying the navy faced a "very tough call" over its initial decision to allow the payments. The new ban will not affect any of the 15 service members held captive in Iran who already given accounts, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. On Monday, in one of the first accounts, Faye Turney, the sole woman in the...

On 9/11, the passengers aboard United Flight 93 had an option – they could rely on the good intentions of their captors or they could fight back. When presented with this Hobson’s choice, they responded with the words “Let’s roll.” Their ensuing actions were the very definition of heroism. A few weeks ago, 15 British seamen and marines, soldiers of the Royal Navy, found themselves in a similar quandary. Belligerent Iranians had surrounded them and threatened them with both words and actions. Just as the passengers on Flight 93 had a choice, so too did the British seamen who ultimately...

Does anybody actually think that Iran is going to simply fade away? Is anybody dense enough to believe that they are developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes? Is anybody actually naive enough to think that when they develop an offensive nuclear weapon they won't use it? As you all know the latest bit of Iranian arrogance is the capture of the British sailors and at the time of this writing it still remains to be seen how the British government is going to handle the situation. Iran's arrogance has actually been encouraged by the West. Oh I know we've instigated...

Imagine a World War II movie with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum doing nothing while standing on the bridge of a well-armed war ship watching below as fellow American soldiers are being whisked away by a few Japanese in a small craft in the waters of the South Pacific. We would cringe in disbelief. It would not be soldier-like, patriotic, or manly. What sissies, we would think, what about the spirit of comradeship embodied in “all for one and one for all”? We would be ashamed at such an act of timidity and passivity. That is what happened last week...