Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Brits over a barrel in Iran

No one can escape the news about the British Sailors that are being paraded around by the Iranian Government. The Brits are stuck with a situation like we American’s were a few years ago. The UN stands impotent as usual to intercede an effect release of the sailors. The Iranians get to have a filed day making the Brits squirm and flout their self-perceived strength to anyone that will listen.

If the Brits act, they will be pariahs in the world press. If they don’t act they stand to appear as lacking the will to resist similar acts by other nations and appear weaker in all indicators of their countries resolve. Right now they have to play a wait and see card…. There is no clear or easy way out of this situation.

Were the Sailors in Iranian waters – don’t know – does it really warrant this level of saber rattling by the Iranians – only if another agenda is served or it is a test of international capability to react to the military action. It may be that the Iranians screwed up the location and in fact were correct with their own coordinates which were in Iraqi waters to start with….bravado and pride would resist a quiet return of the sailors.

It remains that the Iranians are pushing the world a little bit higher on the escalation scale by their expressions and deeds. They are displaying a belligerence that will only alienate the Western World and seems to be generated to curry relevance and favor with Middle Eastern countries. Let’s hope that a peaceful resolution is within their grasp and the solution they seek.

1 comment:

Elliott said...

The chance of our acting (I'm British) is now, officially, zero.

Iran started this game, has driven it, and has been winning it all along. We've allowed them to get away with it through our own complete lack of resolve; our lack of action.

A great country has been betrayed by weak and empty men. And the Iranians, and the terrorists, are the beneficiaries.

http://www.elliottjoseph.blogspot.com