Iran captures British sailors

[Sarajevo071]

LOL!!

Ok. If you don’t mind, I will agree with you on some points and on some I will need to disagree.

[Stan]

Now this begins to smell !

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eight British sailors and marines have left Iran three days after they were detained by Iran's military for straying into Iranian territorial waters.

Especially this part:

another video released by the Iranians showed two of the men standing by the waterway, identifying themselves as Thomas Hawkins, a Marine, and Chief Petty Officer Robert Webster of the Royal Navy. Both apologized for their actions.

[goesh]

- after they had their nuts put in a vise they agreed to apologize ..... I bet most of them slipped on the stairs too while in iranian custody and have unfortunate bruising all over their bodies

[tequila]

Stan, are you sure those aren't from last year? AFAIK none of the Brits have been released as yet.

[John T. Fishel]

Guys, I wonder about how this came about. 2 British RIBs from the frigate HMS Cornwall board a ship in Iraqi waters. After the search as they depart they are intercepted by Iranian gunboats and taken prisoner. Where was Cornwall? It looks like she mounts a 5 inch gun? Why didn't she use it? Could she have been out of range? If so, why would that be allowed to happen?

Cheers

John

[goesh]

Nabbing sailors bolsters the faith of the Revolutionary Guard and the Basijji foot soldiers. It notches up the status of Iran in the minds of jihadists. It scares the hell out of businessmen/investors. It makes a nice smoke screen and diversion from the sanctions just put in place, as SWJED has pointed out and it goads hot-heads like me into a confrontation when the rest of the world is not ready for confrontation. Killing Iranians is strictly off limits for the time being and the mother ship had no choice but to hold her fire as her men were being abducted. It's a damn bitter pill to swallow - may a pack of Raptors and other assorted high tech nastiness soon descend upon the devils.

[John T. Fishel]

Surely you jest, Goesh. I can't believe that the Brits would be that consciously careless with the risk to the lives and liberty of their own. On the other hand, a commander who loses his men through carelessness or cowardice is likely to be brought up on charges in any military service - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines - of any nation be it the US, the UK, or Argentina.

I wholeheartedly agree with your last statement about Raptors and other high tech weapons of destruction.