NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's ambassador to Russia renewed a threat Iranian officials made earlier this week, saying 15 British sailors held by Iran could be tried for violating international law, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported Saturday.

Is Iran trying to provoke something? It has been proven that the Brits were indeed in Iraqi and not Iranian waters so what are they playing at?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran



Is Iran trying to provoke something? It has been proven that the Brits were indeed in Iraqi and not Iranian waters so what are they playing at?


Trying to provoke the UK into a war maybe to bring up nationalistic feelings so he can save his own ass from being ousted?

god knows, I really don't udnerstadn what they're doing. Blair can't stand down no, and nor can they. I'm getting worried now...

god knows, I really don't udnerstadn what they're doing. Blair can't stand down no, and nor can they. I'm getting worried now...



Thats funny, I'm getting giddy.


No war will come, calm down.

War won't come of it. Blair simply doesn't have the authority or legitimacy to do so.



Nor the balls.

War won't come of it. Blair simply doesn't have the authority or legitimacy to do so.

War won't come of it. Blair simply doesn't have the authority or legitimacy to do so.

Or the balls.

Or the balls.


copycat! :D

If they think we're going to stand for this then they'd better think again. We may not be a great power anymore but we're still more than capable of rescuing our personnel from a few jumped up theocrats if we have to.

I'd like to know what the usual sentence for this kind of thing is =/

Or the balls.

Nor the balls.
Thank god. It would be a disaster.

War won't come of it. Blair simply doesn't have the authority or legitimacy to do so.

War? No.
A limited strike? Possibly.

I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that because, if it does, Iran will use it as an excuse to turn Iraq into even more of a hell hole than it is now.

copycat! :D

Timewarpage strikes again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran



Is Iran trying to provoke something? It has been proven that the Brits were indeed in Iraqi and not Iranian waters so what are they playing at?

Because if you act the prick often enough, others join in?

Six Iranians held in a US military raid in northern Iraq were working there with the approval of the authorities, Iraq's foreign minister has said.
The Iranian liaison office in Irbil did not yet have full consular diplomatic status but it had been operating for years, Hoshyar Zebari said.

The US said it believed the six people seized in Thursday's raid had targeted Iraqi and US-led coalition forces.

Russia said the raid was "unacceptable" and a violation of international law.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for troops to storm the consular offices of a foreign state on the territory of another state," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6255335.stm


Those lads are still being detained, and that was Jan 12th...

Thats funny, I'm getting giddy.


No war will come, calm down.

I know it porbably won't, but I really don't see how either side is going to get itself out of this, neither can backdown now without serious loss of face, and both keep raising the stakes...

Iran seem to be becoming near suicidal now, there staking everything on this.

I don't know about blair not having the authority or the balls-until he resigns he's got the power to order strikes and he hasn't exactly proved himself adverse to millitary action.

I'd like to know what the usual sentence for this kind of thing is =/

It isn't. Under international law the most the Iranians could have done would have been to escort the British ships out of their waters (which we weren't in anyway).

That said, we're talking about a country which routinely hangs girls as young as nine on ridiculous charges like "acts inconsistent with chastity"; we shouldn't expect any justice or sanity from the Iranian courts.

Because if you act the prick often enough, others join in?

Those lads are still being detained, and that was Jan 12th...

But, you see, when the US kidnaps people from other countries and detains them and decides to hold kangaroo courts it's somehow justified. When Iran does it, it's not. Got to love the "logic".

Is Iran trying to provoke something? It has been proven that the Brits were indeed in Iraqi and not Iranian waters so what are they playing at?There are at least two truths about this matter - I'm also absolutely sure neither one is accurate.

What I don't get is why Iran wants the (unavoidable?) war so soon though? What possible advantage would an early date give them as opposed to, *cough*, coalition?

For that matter, I can think of only two remote reasons: The current situation in Iraq and a calculated gamble by the theocrat leaders to restore and strengthen their powerbase in Near East...as Iranian people aren't nearly as religious as you'd might think - It's just good policy to make them appear 100% fundies.

Trying to provoke the UK into a war maybe to bring up nationalistic feelings so he can save his own ass from being ousted?

I think you just hit it on the head.

Our course of action should depend on the situation. Using military action now could end up resulting in them being executed. If the Iranians were to execute the troops, I think that there would need to be a strike against Iran's naval power. Sink all their ships, navy and revolutionary guard. If they're just holding them indefinitely, perhaps another approach may be needed - go into Iranian waters, sieze several revolutionary guard, and use them as a bargaining chip. Hold them for as long as our troops are held. If our troops are executed, do the same in retaliation. Or perhaps we could put the Iranian embassy in London under siege. Just like they did to the American one.

But I doubt Blair has got the guts. He only likes military sction when it's to curry favour with the white house.

I can't believe how stupid Iran is being.

I can't believe how stupid Iran is being.

I can see the headlines now:

SHOCK NEWS: HARDLINE ISLAMIC THEOCRACY DOESN'T ACT IN AN ENTIRELY RATIONAL WAY!!!

But I doubt Blair has got the guts. He only likes military sction when it's to curry favour with the white house.

So it seems since the British Defense Ministery forbid the Cronwall from firing on the Iranians in defense of these 15 sailors.

But, you see, when the US kidnaps people from other countries and detains them and decides to hold kangaroo courts it's somehow justified. When Iran does it, it's not. Got to love the "logic".

That's the sad part... Meh, but its not like anyone could do anything about it anyways.

So it seems since the British Defense Ministery forbid the Cronwall from firing on the Iranians in defense of these 15 sailors.

Well, the HMS Cornwall had two chances to fire on the Iranians: before and after they kidnapped the sailors. Firing before the attack would have been stupid, as it would have started a war and the Iranians weren't showing signs of aggression. I don't know how the US Navy handles these things, but here in the UK we tend to take a dim view of Captains who fire on other ships purely because the occupants look a bit foreign and shifty.

After the Iranians kidnapped our sailors the Cornwall couldn't fire without hitting them, so the Captain wisely stood back, noted GPS coordinates, and left the decision of what to do next to his superiors. The Royal Navy's performance in this affair was exemplary.

Well, the HMS Cornwall had two chances to fire on the Iranians: before and after they kidnapped the sailors. Firing before the attack would have been stupid, as it would have started a war and the Iranians weren't showing signs of aggression. I don't know how the US Navy handles these things, but here in the UK we tend to take a dim view of Captains who fire on other ships purely because the occupants look a bit foreign and shifty.

After the Iranians kidnapped our sailors the Cornwall couldn't fire without hitting them, so the Captain wisely stood back, noted GPS coordinates, and left the decision of what to do next to his superiors. The Royal Navy's performance in this affair was exemplary.

The Cornwall requested permission to fire during the kidnapping. The US Navy would have done all they could to make sure that none of their people were taken.

But, you see, when the US kidnaps people from other countries and detains them and decides to hold kangaroo courts it's somehow justified. When Iran does it, it's not. Got to love the "logic".

Since when has politics been logical?

Since when has politics been logical?

QFT

Well, if there is a war, I hope it's treated less like Iraq was and more like Nazi Germany was. IE, we launch bombing raids, starting with military bases, factories, and power plants, followed by roads, bridges and railroads (if Iran has any) then move on to civilian targets, and at the same time, launch a two-pronged assult, one across the Iraq border and one up through the persian gulf, drive to Tehran and get the army to surrender. Then, we turn around and help them rebuild the dammage done.

The Cornwall requested permission to fire during the kidnapping. The US Navy would have done all they could to make sure that none of their people were taken.

AMERICA, F**K YEAH, COMING AGAIN TO SAVE THE MOTHER F**KING DAY YEAH!

Can I have a source to say the Cornwall requested to fire, please?

And what more could they have done anyway? They were heavily outnumbered.

AMERICA, F**K YEAH, COMING AGAIN TO SAVE THE MOTHER F**KING DAY YEAH!

Can I have a source to say the Cornwall requested to fire, please?

And what more could they have done anyway? They were heavily outnumbered.

http://www.aina.org/news/2007032992841.htm

The latest report is that the Britons were ready to fight off their abductors. Certainly their escorting ship, HMS Cornwall, could have blown the Iranian naval vessel out of the water. However, at the last minute the British Ministry of Defense ordered the Cornwall not to fire, and her captain and crew were forced to watch their shipmates led away into captivity.

If they think we're going to stand for this then they'd better think again. We may not be a great power anymore but we're still more than capable of rescuing our personnel from a few jumped up theocrats if we have to.

I don't know about that... this isn't the '80's anymore Iran's a force to be reckoned with even without nuclear weapons, they've been dealing w/the Chinese and the Koreans for decades now and their conventional military forces are quite capable and aren't the pushovers we met in the Iraqi military. If any recue operation were to be succesful you'd need the help of either the Arabs or the Israelis.

That idiot is just doing this to show he's the boss (or thinks he is) and how he's standing up to the UK and USA.

There are at least two truths about this matter - I'm also absolutely sure neither one is accurate.

What I don't get is why Iran wants the (unavoidable?) war so soon though? What possible advantage would an early date give them as opposed to, *cough*, coalition?

For that matter, I can think of only two remote reasons: The current situation in Iraq and a calculated gamble by the theocrat leaders to restore and strengthen their powerbase in Near East...as Iranian people aren't nearly as religious as you'd might think - It's just good policy to make them appear 100% fundies.

Its Mahmoud, by starting a war with the West his countrymen would be far less willing to replace him, unlike America the government in Iran is not stable and will topple into factions if the regime were toppled in the middle of a war.

New war! New war! Party time, excellent! Bomb mosques! Kill freaks! Party time, excellent!

I don't know about that... this isn't the '80's anymore Iran's a force to be reckoned with even without nuclear weapons, they've been dealing w/the Chinese and the Koreans for decades now and their conventional military forces are quite capable and aren't the pushovers we met in the Iraqi military. If any recue operation were to be succesful you'd need the help of either the Arabs or the Israelis.

These same things were said about Iraq before the gulf war. You know what happened there. Iran is not as tough as some want to make them appear. The missles from China are it's biggest threat at this point to shipping. If it came to a shooting war with the Iranians they would get there ass handed to them.