Captured Sailors
Powerline has part of the video that appeared on Iranian television that shows one of the captured British sailors, Faye Turney, "apologizing" for trespassing into Iranian waters. (Never mind that GPS data shows the sailors were more than a mile inside Iraqi waters.) Read the whole post, including the update. As John points out the video is creepy in the extreme, but there are a lot of comments on the post and one of the points raised in the update links to this post by Tammy Bruce. In it she asks one important question:
People are already claiming she did not write the letter. That is belied by the fact that she has given this interview, saying essentially the things she says in the letter. Is she under pressure. Yes, of course. But the question becomes, exactly how much pressure is required to get a British sailor to cooperate with the enemy these days?
My son (who comes home today) called last night and wanted me to specifically mention that he - and and awful lot of other soldiers think that Turney did something inexcusable here. Of course rules and regulations are somewhat different between the US and the British armed forces. But to give in to whatever pressure the Iranians applied this quickly has to be against British regulations and expectations (as it is against American). My son was livid about it. Somehow, the days of the indomitable will of British soldiers and sailors to never give in to an enemy appear over with.
For those who do not know the story, or have only seen the romanticized (and Americanized) Hollywood movie, the "Great Escape" in World War Two was pulled off by British officers (the Americans had been separated from the Brits by the time the tunnels were completed). And many of those who escaped were murdered by the Nazis as a result. But a number of the survivors went to another prison camp, Colditz, and kept right on trying to escape.
By syn, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 6:19 am
Please extend to your son my eternal gratitude for serving and defending the light on the shining hill, his indomitable American spirit is an inspiration to us all.
By Gaius, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 6:22 am
Thanks, Syn. I’ll do that.
By PoliticalCritic, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 6:33 am
This could be a full-scale war in a week or so if Iran doesn’t release these soldiers. Britian will not put up with this for 444 days.
By Sylvia, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 8:29 am
Please give your son my family’s best wishes and gratitude for his service to our country.
By Quilly Mammoth, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 9:30 am
Britain will indeed not put up with this for 444 days. They’ll cave. They’ll admit that they did something they didn’t and they will pull their troops from Iraq which is the point of this exercise.
When the British pull thier troops from Iraq Bush’s position will become untenable and he will agree to a time table for withdrawl. Faced with this the Malaki government will become Iran’s Lebanon.
By TimF, Thursday, 29 March , 2007 @ 10:48 am
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Quilly Mammoth…the Tony Blair and the Brits are being fitted out for Osama’s weak horse suit as we speak.
By Kiran, Sunday, 8 April , 2007 @ 11:51 pm
As an ex-Naval officer myself, I couldn’t agree more with your words. I think this shameful incident will have a perceptible impact on British Prestige in the Gulf