On November 4th, 1979, the American embassy in Tehran was seized by Iranian “students.” Out of the roughly 90 embassy workers, 52 of them were held by Iran for 444 days.
One of those “students” was named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Several former hostages and the former President of Iran have identified Ahmadinejad as one of the key individuals holding Americans inside the embassy.”
Keeping well to form, Iran is holding 15 UK sailors and soldiers hostage, insisting they were trespassing in Iranian waters (see map above). UK’s Tony Blair said, after his military personnel were paraded about on Iranian state TV, that it was time for the UK to “ratchet up” pressure on Iran.
After first indicating the female sailor was to be released Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki recanted and said that Britain must now admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters — in order to resolve a standoff over their capture by Iranian authorities.
Meanwhile, UK authorities continue to issue harsh language (to include phrases such as “very concerned” and “completely unacceptable”) and have already gotten to the point where they are actually considering the utilization of serious sarcasm or belittling in order to resolve the issue.
This does nothing but prove to Islamists that any and all Western countries are Paper Tigers, and guarantees that this kind of action, and much worse, will continue unabated.
Note to Britain: pull out, say, one or two Invincible class aircraft carriers and float them over to the Arabian Sea. Zip out a flock of Harrier GR7s, perhaps augmented by a Spirit or three, and drop some precision ordnance onto a number of very important Iranian oil pipelines. Destroy their petroleum infrastructure. Take out several refineries for good measure. Target oil facilities at Iranian ports. I suggest that this may actually acquire Iran’s attention.
Or, you can violate both common-sense diplomatic tenets. . .
1. Respond to words with words;
2. Respond to actions with actions.
. . . and do nothing.
Clue to Britain (just in case they’re still considering belittling as a viable option): we’re talking about actions here, folks.
Addendum Update: the US Freighter Mayaguez
I just remembered: does anyone recall the Mayaguez being taken by Khmer Rouge Cambodian gunboats on May 12th, 1975? This ship, in the Gulf of Thailand, had its 40 sailors physically captured and taken to a nearby island? President Ford gave the Cambodian government 72 hours to return the sailors and ship. When this did not occur, he sent the USS Midway and USS Coral Sea into the area. On May 15th, 175 US Marines assaulted the island, and US aircraft bombed the Cambodian airfield at Ream and the port of Kampong Som. All the sailors were subsequently found in a boat earlier set adrift by the Cambodians.
Hey Blair: looking for any kind of precedent? Here it is.
BZ
Rewind to 1979, Ahmadinejad is a young Muzzie moonbat and takes part in the attack and take over of the American embassy in Tehran, and then is one of the moonbats that holds our U.S. citizens hostage for 444 days, during the last few miserable months of the Jimmy Carter administration…
Carter was a totally gutless president and sat on his useless ass and did nothing of any consequence other than admit that he had lusted in his heart while he sat there and made the USA look stupid…
Fast forward a bit to Inauguration Day as Mr. Ronald Reagan is being sworn in, notice that the Iranian moonbats release out hostages on that very day, not because of anything Peanuthead did but because they knew that Reagan was going to give orders as soon as he was in the Oval Office that would make Iran a nice quiet place for several thousand years and they truly feared Mr. Reagan because they knew he had massive balls…
Now, fast forward to present day Iran, Ahmadinejad is the guy in charge, President Moonbat, and he is really secure in the fact that the current American president is almost as nutless as Peanuthead was, and he’s likely correct in that estimation, and he’s also pretty well pumped because back in ‘79 and ‘80 he made the greatest nation on earth bow to his insanity because we lacked a leader with any guts…
Then he looks at Tony Blair and almost pisses himself from laughing so hard, he knows he has Great Britain by the balls, and he’s using it to build up his ‘creds’ with the other Muzzie moonbats, the British troops never made an effort to fight and all the Brits are doing is making demands, pretty hollow ones at that…
And unless Great Britain takes this bastard out, they can expect their own version of 9-11 shortly, if you don’t stand up to these people with a force that is so overwhelming, so powerful and so destructive that it scares the very HELL out them, they will feel you’ve submitted, and they have no mercy for the ‘infidel’ in any case…
The muslim nutjobs are laughing their asses off right now. If Blair doesn’t grow a pair VERY soon, Iran is going to pull even bigger stunts in the immediate future (followed by every other muslim nutjob with a pound of explosives).
I like your solution, BZ. Perhaps you should send Tony Blair an e-mail. 🙂
Seriously, this is unbelievable! Will the UK stoop to begging Iran to release those men? It wouldn’t surprise me. “Please, please Mr. Ahmadinejad, those men have families who love them. Please let them go!”
It’s all too ridiculous for words!
Fred, Gunny, Gayle: as written, this merely confirms what most of Islam is saying about Western culture: gutless, afraid, terror-stricken, cowardly, soul-less.
BZ
More “harsh language” will only insure that we get more of the same from Iran who don’t feel their actions have consequences. What they need to be taught is fear. If the West weren’t so soft, Iran would never have kidnapped the 15 in the first place. They would have thought twice, and realized it would not be prudent.
As it stands, they know that no dire consequences other than “harsh words” and useless UN Resolutions are all they need fear from western nations.
After Afghanistan and the the quick disposal of Saddam’s regime, we stood in a position of strength. Look at Qaddafi’s reaction. He got the message.
Unfortunately, due to mismanagement of post-war Iraq, the political infighting and lack of resolve on the GWOT, and anti-American and anti-war leftist propaganda that has affected our perception over Iraq, America’s credibility is weakened and our enemies emboldened.
I just remembered:
Does anyone recall the Mayaguez being taken by Khmer Rouge Cambodian gunboats on May 12th, 1975? This ship, in the Gulf of Thailand, had its 40 sailors physically captured and taken to a nearby island? President Ford gave the Cambodian government 72 hours to return the sailors and ship. When this did not occur, he sent the USS Midway and USS Coral Sea into the area.
On May 15th, 175 US Marines assaulted the island, and US aircraft bombed the Cambodian airfield at Ream and the port of Kampong Som. All the sailors were subsequently found in a boat earlier set adrift by the Cambodians.
Hey Blair: looking for any kind of precedent? Here it is.
BZ
Wordsmith: you make the excellent mostly-unspoken point: why don’t we see RUSSIAN military personnel taken hostage? Why don’t we see CHINESE military personnel taken hostage? Why don’t we see KOREAN military personnel taken hostage?
Because other countries and religions recognize the fact that Russian, Chinese and Korean forces would respond immediately and with unrelenting force and violence.
Do the math.
BZ
Blo, you often credit me with being terse and meaningful. So try this.
Test the MOAB.
BWH: ever see a BLU-82 cook off, after having been kicked out the back of a C-130? Many people confuse it with a nuclear device, because it produces its own massive mushroom cloud. :^)
BZ
And where is the Leftest outroar against the violation of the Geneva Conventions, in which Convention III, Article 5 covers just this situation? Where are those looking for the ‘rights of the detainees’? Hello? Earth to Leftists, Earth to Leftists…
*This number has been disconnected with no forwarding number.*
Typical Tranzis, can’t stand by anything, and any word means exactly what they say it does, even if it is the meaning of the word *is*.
There are long term consequences to defeat, and Civilization is paying the price for not supporting Nations that are Friends and Allies. We did not see fit to stand by the Nation State system when it mattered in the question of National integrity. Now we see this system crumble as no one will support it to keep Nations whole and ensure that actions have consequences. And to fight *for* things that matter… like having a Nation and keeping other Nations accountable for what they do.
That grit you feel upon the wind is the sand from the crumbling of Nations… all Nations as none will support the system *of* Nations. And as our liberties and freedom depend upon Nations so that we may be separate and have freedom based on common assent, when the Nation goes, so goes our liberty and freedom.
The Nation of Churchill quivers and Excalibur lies rusting, never to be lifted and renewed because of the fear of wielding it for one’s people. Can’t do that now, can we? Might hear some ‘tut-tut’s from the Left, and how bad it would be to stand for things that matter so we can have free lives. And so the winds of the storm pick up the grit of what once was Nations… and erodes things more and more with the help of those hollowing out the Nations they live in and those attacking it from the outside.
The Left does not stand by the Nation State concept any more and only wish to replace it with Transnationalism. How unfortunate that killers are looking to do the same and place themselves in control… and the only thing that will replace it is tyranny… and Empire.
Thank you to the effete Left that can’t stand by anything and graciously help things to erode. As you won’t take up weapons you will be easy prey for those that replace you. Because you will not stand and fight for anything that protects freedom and liberty.
Fred, all of Britain fears their own Muslim residents. They think growing a spine will provoke them. It will take a 911 in the UK to wake them up.
As a little extra poke at Ahmadinejad, I think the I.D.F. should go in and rescue the brits. Kind of an Entebbe Revisited.
Wouldn’t that piss’em off!
BWH: I firmly believe that the existence of so many Muslims in Britain factors into Tony Blair’s decision. You have made a very salient observation. And the danger that exists for the UK now is looming on our own domestic horizon.
Thunderstick: They may not have done this, but if I were Iran I would have each individual UK soldier in a different facility and none of them in the same place. This would help minimize a single effective attack. However, that would NOT preclude me from turning their infrastructure to small metallic bits.
BZ
All: information coming in now indicates that HMS Cornwall was purposely TOLD to stand down when it could have intervened in the capture of Royal Marines and Sailors.
BZ
AJ: PRECISELY SO! The only outrage or umbrage occurs when committed BY a Western country, never TO a Western country, thereby relegating us to permanent Suspect Class.
BZ