 Author |
 Post
|
 |
|
Earl B
Joined: Mar 28, 2007
Posts: 10 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Soft-spoken
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male & 43
Country: United States
Province/State: Florida
City: Destin
|
British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 12:15 AM
|
|
What are your thoughts on the release of the British sailors from Iran?
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 03:59 AM
|
|
I think the Iranians calculated that they had made their point,
and that putting 15 British sailors on trial under such dubious circumstances would have turned all of Europe against them - They do alot of Bussiness with France and Germany.
So they got the most PR milaige out of it that they could - instead they had Ahmadinejad beneviolently 'pardon' them -
He has a serious image problem with, well, the whole world but particularly in Europe - so they are trying to reshape his image.
What do I think - I think it is all just a big game being played by the Iranians.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Hussain
Joined: Jul 27, 2005
Posts: 1 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Tongue-tied
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 45
Country: Iraq
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 05:06 AM
|
|
well, i see the whole arena as a matter of self-decision . Iranian authorities have the right to keep their borders in safe , and thereby they have the right to stop any tresspassing , doing the ordinary precedures and then adopting the deattached right decision , as it was done later. I think the mounting up of threatening language led to nothing , but when the British softened their statements the Iranians responded positively or , at least , this change in addressing others by the British was effective.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Payabzai
Joined: Oct 17, 2003
Posts: 190 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Chatterbox
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 28
Country: Afghanistan
Province/State: Lowgar
City: Gomaran
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 07:15 AM
|
|
First i would say that its a big shame for the British government that even thier Army personal entered the iranian territories and still they say that if Iran didnt release the Personals then we have take Extreme Initiatives. shame a big shame !
This is the Point why i hate these People !
Secondly, Iran made a good decision coz they have good relations with some europian countries and dont want to ruin these relations.
@ luke dont you just say anything like children.
"What do I think - I think it is all just a big game being played by the Iranians. "
If its a game played by Iran then i am sure that Britian is also involved in this Game !
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Khalid
Joined: Apr 9, 2006
Posts: 460 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 26
Country: Afghanistan
Province/State: Kabol
City: Kabul
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 08:24 AM
|
|
What do I think - I think it is all just a big game being played by the Iranians.
even if a game, a fantastic game, and they won!
may be britian also involved in this game, because they are now tired of US company , afghanitan and iraq and now iran! they planed with iran to kidnap their sailors, then release them and blair will announce, that we didnt had any deal, if iran wants we could have new relations!
if is not like this, interesting point is that the sailors accept and confess that they were within iranian waters, but britain denies this fact and says, no they were in iraqi terroritories! language of force and lies!
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Prince Charles Jiduwah
Joined: May 14, 2006
Posts: 240 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Chatterbox
User is
Offline
Country: Nigeria
Province/State: Lagos
City: Lagos
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 09:40 AM
|
|
I am happy that sailors were released, it is a welcome development.
Signs that we can use dipolmatic means to sort issues out.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 12:37 PM
|
|
The Brits were not in Iranian waters - they were in Iraqi waters.
and considering that the Iranians gots zero concessions from the British and no apology - what exactly do you think they won?
the Iranians coerced those "confessions" - here is proof -
"The 15 British naval personnel held by Iran for 13 days say they were blindfolded, bound and subjected to "constant psychological pressure."
Inside Iraqi waters
"Fighting back was simply not an option," Royal Marine Captain Chris Air said.
"I can clearly state we were 1.7 nautical miles from Iranian territorial waters."
The navy personnel could do nothing to avoid capture, he said.
The men also said Leading Seaman Faye Turney, 26, the sole female crew member, was isolated in a cell away from the rest of the crew.
Iran used her as a "propaganda tool", keeping her isolated and telling her she was the only one being held, the group said.
They said they were "incredibly proud" of Turney and the "highly professional" way she conducted herself throughout the detention.
"The fact that she's a woman has been used as a propaganda tool by Iran. This is deeply regrettable," they said.
Taken to prison
After their arrest in the Gulf on March 23, the sailors and marines were taken to a prison in Tehran.
"We were blindfolded, our hands were bound, we were forced up against a wall," the statement said.
"We were interrogated most nights and given two options. If we admitted that we had strayed, we would be back on a plane to the UK pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F7277201-0732-4958-82DC-720BE30A5C27.htm
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 12:41 PM
|
|
its is kind of pathetic that you guys are so easily fooled - you thought those were real confessions, when it was obvious from the beginning they weren't -
they were told either "confess" or face 7 years in prison - what would you do?
The Iranians picked the woman out, put her in solitary confinement and lied to her in order to get her to comply and say what they wanted.
"language of force and lies! " - there I agree with you - clearly the Iranian were using both force and lies.
"then release them and blair will announce, that we didnt had any deal, if iran wants we could have new relations! "
AHAHAHHAHA! sure - The British have decided to switch over to Irans side in all this -
I'll bet them and Iran are fast friends now - all warm and fuzzy.
I'll tell you what - if at the next security council meeting in a month - when the Brits continue to favor sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program - will you admit you have no idea what your talking about.
anyways - its amazing to see how easily fooled you are - clearly the Iranian game worked on you.
"The sailors and marines said they were bound, blindfolded and lined up against a wall while weapons were cocked, making them "fear the worst".
Lieutenant Carman, 26, of Swansea... stressed the sailors and marines were on a routine operation when they boarded a merchant vessel in an area south of the Shatt Al Arab waterway. "I can clearly state we were 1.7 nautical miles from Iranian waters."
Royal Marine Captain Chris Air, 25, from Altrincham, Cheshire, said they saw two speedboats approaching rapidly about 400 metres away. "I ordered everyone to make their weapons ready and ordered the boarding party to return to the boats. By the time all were back on board, two Iranian boats had come alongside.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 12:41 PM
|
|
"One officer spoke good English and I explained that we were conducting a routine operation, as allowed under a UN mandate. But when we tried to leave, they prevented us by blocking us in. By now it was becoming increasingly clear that they had arrived with a planned intent. Some of the Iranian sailors were becoming deliberately aggressive and unstable. They rammed our boat and trained their heavy machine guns, RPG and weapons on us.
"Another six boats were closing in on us. We realised that our efforts to reason with these people were not making any headway. Nor were we able to calm some of the individuals down. It was at this point that we realised that had we resisted there would have been a major fight, one which we could not have won, with consequences that would have had major strategic impact."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paSailorsFri16SailorsstatementLead&show_article=1
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Merlyn
Joined: Sep 6, 2006
Posts: 263 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 28
Country: Sudan
Province/State: Al Khartum
City: Khartoum
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 6, 2007 - 04:10 PM
|
|
My dear friends,
The tendancy of seizing the obvious and elaborating it till the point of having a not self-contradictory explanation is a rather reconforting, BUT...
Although Blair announced that no concessions whatsoever was made to Iranians, gossip wants it that some sort of "exchange" happened in Iraq, where some diplomats had to step up their efforts to pressurize Iran. Some claim that one or to Iranian Revolutionary Guard members were released in exchange; some others claim that Britain promised it won't go into the Gulf anymore if Iranians liberated Brit sailors..
Luke here cliams it was a sort of a PR campaign game...
Make your choices but remember one thing: niether Ahmandinejad nor ali-Khamenei are fools.. Iran had enough of PR campaign till now and I doubt that Iranians were nothing but after that. I am more inclined to think that there was a military strategic goal in the Gulf achieved by that capture (some IRG members participating in the capture being awarded with medals) exploiting the known vulnerabilities (absence of helicopter and gun-boat covers in the waters). Granted some televised role-playing with Brit sailors chanting under the influence and saga of Iranian propaganda wouldn't do any harm... as turned out to be obvious!
This post was edited on: 2007-04-06 at 04:13 PM by: elemental
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Arslan Jumaniyazov
Joined: May 13, 2004
Posts: 1358 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 32
Country: Turkmenistan
Province/State: Dashoguz
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 9, 2007 - 06:23 PM
|
|
The Brits were not in Iranian waters - they were in Iraqi waters.--original quote by luke
I am sorry do you have prove for this? Or are you talking about the British claim that they were in Iraqi water, which was based on fake, British-fabricated map?
the Iranians coerced those "confessions" - here is proof -
its is kind of pathetic that you guys are so easily fooled - you thought those were real confessions, when it was obvious from the beginning they weren't -
anyways - its amazing to see how easily fooled you are - clearly the Iranian game worked on you.
Well, let us see your "proof" now. To me, it sounds it is equally pathetic that you are so easily fooled by the British selling of their stories. It is amazing how easily fooled you are!
Anger as hostages sell stories to highest bidders
Amelia Hill and Jamie Doward
Sunday April 8, 2007
The Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2052699,00.html
The 15 British military hostages released by Iran were accused last night of cashing in on the ordeal by selling their stories in a string of lucrative media deals.
The sailors, who spent 13 days in captivity and at times feared for their lives, have been given permission by the Ministry of Defence to give exclusive interviews. The MoD justified lifting the ban on military personnel selling their stories while in service because of the 'exceptional circumstances' involved.
The former captives are expected to make around £250,000 between them. Faye Turney, the 26-year-old seawoman, is likely to get the most profitable deal. She is said to have sold her story for £150,000 in a joint contract with a newspaper and ITV.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Arslan Jumaniyazov
Joined: May 13, 2004
Posts: 1358 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 32
Country: Turkmenistan
Province/State: Dashoguz
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 9, 2007 - 06:24 PM
|
|
The development was criticised by politicians and relatives of victims killed in the Iraq war. Liam Fox, the shadow Defence Secretary, said: 'One of the great things about our armed forces is their professionalism and dignity. Many people who shared the anxiety of the hostages' abduction will feel that selling their stories is somewhat undignified and falls below the very high standards we have come to expect from our service men and women.'
Colonel Bob Stewart, a British commander of United Nations forces in Bosnia, told the Sunday Times that the MoD had turned a military disaster into a media circus. 'The released hostages are behaving like reality TV stars,' he said. 'I am appalled that the MoD is encouraging them to profit in this way.'
Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed by a bomb in Iraq, said: 'This is wrong and I don't think it should be allowed by the MoD. None of the parents who have lost loved ones in Iraq have sold their stories.'
One of the ex-hostages reportedly wanted £70,000 for his story. There were reports that the Royal Marines were planning to sell the vases given to them in their 'goody bags' by the Iranians on eBay. The father of one of the hostages said the MoD had suggested the servicemen 'Go out there, tell the truth and make the money.'
It emerged yesterday that Iranian intelligence officers told the 15 captives they first became suspicious about their activities after watching an interview with one of them on British television.
Families of the hostages said their loved ones had told them the Iranians had made the claim soon after capturing them. On 13 March - 10 days before the Britons was seized - Channel 5 broadcast an interview with Captain Chris Air, one of the captured Royal Marines, in which he stated that his crew's role was to liaise with Iraqi vessels to 'let them know we are here to protect them, protect their fishing and to stop any terrorism or any piracy in the area'.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Arslan Jumaniyazov
Joined: May 13, 2004
Posts: 1358 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 32
Country: Turkmenistan
Province/State: Dashoguz
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 9, 2007 - 06:28 PM
|
|
More on the story.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23391981-details/MoDbansmilitarystafffromsellingtheirstories/article.do
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 10, 2007 - 01:09 PM
|
|
" Or are you talking about the British claim that they were in Iraqi water, which was based on fake, British-fabricated map?"
do you have any proof the map was fabricated - to begin it is not an issue of a British map or an Iranian map - the UN maps are the only ones that count because the UN demarcated the baorder and proved the Mandate for the British to search vessels in Iraqi waters.
let me ask you 2 questions Arslan -
1 - do you think that the British just haplessly wandered 3 miles into Iranian waters as the Iranians claim -
If the arguement is that these sailors were so stupid they can't read their own GPS I think it is suspect at best.
so that leaves the alternative Arslan - that these 15 sailors decided to invade Iran all by themselves ; - )
perhaps you can tell me why Iran had to issue "corrected" GPS evidence - after the Iran's initial evidence showed the sailors in Iraqi waters?
"To me, it sounds it is equally pathetic that you are so easily fooled by the British selling of their stories."
They have decided not to cash in - actually - your article is out of date.
Hmmm - lets see Arslan - where do you think these Sailors will feel more at liberty to express their true feelings - walking around as free people in their own country -
or under arrest in a hostile foreign country?
Have you even seen the "letters" the women supposedly wrote -
they were clearly dictated to her - they use phrases and syntax that a Briton would simply not use -
do you honestly beleive Arslan that the lead British sailor -
would write 3 letters in 10 days - each one clearly advocating the Iranian government position.
You think she would take it upon herself to write a letter to the "british people" about how wonderful the Iranians are and how the British need to withdraw fro the Middle-east
you don't think maybe the Iranians "suggested" she write the letter?
Seriously Arslan - do you think she wrote all 3 lettes of her own free will??
lines such as -
"I am writing to you as a British service person who has been sent to Iraq, sacrificed due to the intervening policies of the Bush and Blair governments,"
that sounds like Iranian propoganda to me.
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
Luke Lieberman
Joined: Feb 13, 2003
Posts: 3007 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Blabbermouth
User is
Offline
Gender & Age: Male, 33
Country: United States
Province/State: California
|
Re: British sailors released - your thoughts?
April 10, 2007 - 01:22 PM
|
|
I know the fact that the British govenrment said it was ok for the sailors to tell their stories - is for you the most important aspect of this ordeal -
they have now reversed themselves and made it illegal to sell the stories -
but -
"The only woman among the 15 British sailors seized by Iran she was forced to strip by her captors, feared rape and execution and felt like a "traitor"when she signed "confession" letters.
Sailor Faye Turney said the Iranians asked how she felt about dying for her country and warned she may never see her daughter again. "
perhaps the coercian the Iranians exerted to make these young sailors participate in their little propoganda game is more of an issue.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Rest_of_World/UK_sailor_was_stripped_feared_rape_in_Iran/articleshow/1881349.cms
|
|
back to top |
link to this post
|
|
|
Display posts from:
|
