Quote from: O'BorgI'm at a loss to explain what the captain of HMS Cornwall was doing during the kidnap.
If I was captain of a warship and got a report that a few miles away, fifteen of my crew were being taken prisoner, my first words would have been "All ahead flank" followed by "Battle stations."

Shallow water can be a real bitch.

Quote from: Hastur T. FannonOne of them's a woman

Didn't matter at Trafalgar. There were several women there.

-clash

Quote from: CaudexShallow water can be a real bitch.

They had a helicopter, you know.

Well, dosn't matter now - looks like President Bob wins the PR battle without a shot fired. I wonder what Old Blighty gave up in exchange for ending the dog-and-pony show?

One of the things that might have d-fused the situation is the GPS info that was released a couple of days ago.  According to GPS the Brits were in Iraqi waters.
 Soon as I heard that , I suspected a peaceful resolution was more likely than not.  Iran had to face the fact that most nations today trust that GPS thing.

- E.W.C.

This wasn't done for the benefit of "most nations" - it was done for the Islamists. There's no GPS in 7th centruy societies, except maybe in President Bob's BMW. They believe what they want to believe, and what their leaders tell them, and they want to believe the Lesser Satan invaded their soverign waters, and Iran stood up to England and got away with it. That's functionally equivalent to England admitting fault.

England is officially done as even a regional power now. Blair's already a lame duck, and this will be the last nail in the coffin of a once-great military power. They'll be gone from the Middle East by the end of the summer, mark my words.

Quote from: KoltarOne of the things that might have d-fused the situation is the GPS info that was released a couple of days ago.  According to GPS the Brits were in Iraqi waters.
 Soon as I heard that , I suspected a peaceful resolution was more likely than not.  Iran had to face the fact that most nations today trust that GPS thing.

- E.W.C.

Not quite that simple.
The dividing line is draw from the Shatt-Al-Arab waterway, the course of which changes over the years enough that Iran & Iraq used to meet yearly to decide where exactly the border was.
Which of course hasn't happened since Iraq was invaded, so everything is a few years out of date.

I'm trying to work out exactly how these sailors, military personnel to a body, were captured off a god damn ship doing what it was supposed to be doing (debates as to WHERE it was doing it notwithstanding) with a bloody firefight?  It's not like the Iranians sent an overwhelming naval fleet to force surrender, they used the same tactics as modern pirates... fast small boats.

Fuck the hostages. They obviously got exactly what they wanted.  Fuck the British Navy if this is the sort of force they have available.  

Iran's actions are pointlessly stupid show off tactics. The kid who steals a coffee cup from the teachers lounge to show how cool he is to the other kids.

Only, the teachers are proving rapidly not to be worth the effort either. Paper fucking tigers more stripes than teeth.

Preach it, brother.

What an amazingly interesting picture of the soon-to-be-released Brits:

http://tinyurl.com/39dogj

$5 says the three guys on the right are officers.

Quote from: WerekoalaPreach it, brother.

"Preach" what?  Ignorant misrepresentations of what actually happened?  :confused:

Quote from: Akrasia"Preach" what?  Ignorant misrepresentations of what actually happened?  :confused:

I'm sorry... Did I miss the news story where the secret Iranian Armada overwhelmed the tiny British fishing boat?

Ah, armchair Generals. Gotta love 'em ain't you? Don't see either of you two out there.

I'm guessing there wasn't a firefight because they didn't want a diplomatic incident that really could have caused another war that no-one can afford. Instead, they got a diplomatic incident that made both sides look a bit stupid.

I hope the actual reasons for the incident come out soon, if for no other reason than to highlight any incompetence by the Navy. Still, that kind of incompetence is preferable to being so trigger-happy that you end up with 'blue on blue' situations and then try to hide the evidence or have soldiers in your army so brutal that they murder and rape young women for kicks and thrills or a government that condones torture trying to 'export democracy and moral values' to the world.

We have a lot to learn about civilised society from our American cousins it seems. Still, our navy didn't shoot a few ragheads when provoked. We're crap!

Return volley fired sir! :evillaugh:  Prepare for incoming...

Quote from: WerekoalaWhat an amazingly interesting picture of the soon-to-be-released Brits:

http://tinyurl.com/39dogj

$5 says the three guys on the right are officers.

Ha! I think you could be right there.

Quote from: SpikeI'm trying to work out exactly how these sailors, military personnel to a body, were captured off a god damn ship doing what it was supposed to be doing (debates as to WHERE it was doing it notwithstanding) with a bloody firefight?  It's not like the Iranians sent an overwhelming naval fleet to force surrender, they used the same tactics as modern pirates... fast small boats.

Fuck the hostages. They obviously got exactly what they wanted. ...

Your ignorance is both painful and annoying.

The British were operating under a UN mandate that forbade them from firing upon others unless fired upon first.  The Iranians did not fire on the British.  Moreover, the hostages were in a vulnerable position when captured (returning to their ship after searching another ship).  For the HMSS Cornwall to have fired on the Iranians would have ensured their death (as well as sparking a major international conflict).

Blaming the hostages for their plight is morally repugnant.  They were simply obeying their orders.  

Feel free to express outrage at the UN, though, and British political leaders.  But there's no need to 'blame the victims' in this tragic farce.