UK sailors home...

[LSU]

What?! Without missiles being fired? WTF? Good thing my gas prices went up for those couple weeks...you know...just in case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070405/ap_on_re_eu/iran_britain&printer=1;_ylt=AvC5sSmGYXJJdKoyppZiY3JbbBAF

British sailors, marines back in Britain

30 minutes ago

Fifteen Royal Navy sailors and marines held captive by Iran returned home Thursday to a nation relieved at their freedom but also outraged that they were used by Tehran's propaganda machine.

Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that no deal had been cut for their release and he called for continued international pressure on the hard-line Iranian regime.

The crew broke open champagne and changed into fresh uniforms on the flight home. After landing at Heathrow airport, they smiled and stood at attention before being whisked by helicopter to the Royal Marines base at Chivenor, southwest of London.

They are expected to be debriefed on their 13-day ordeal and reunited with family members at the Chivenor base, which is 210 miles southwest of London.

Wednesday's announcement of their release in Tehran was a breakthrough in a crisis that had escalated over nearly two weeks, raising oil prices and fears of military conflict in the volatile region. The move to release the sailors suggested that Iran's hard-line leadership decided it had shown its strength but did not want to push the standoff too far.

Iran did not get the main thing it sought — a public apology for entering Iranian waters

[BoredWithNoSB]

Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that no deal had been cut for their release and he called for continued international pressure on the hard-line Iranian regime.

A simple thank you would have sufficed Tony. Maybe even mention this could lead to a larger, more fruitful dialog in the future. Glad you were able to show you were the bigger hard ass and rub it in. :mad:

['Lifer]

Such a nice "Easter Gift" by their dear leader.

[LSU]

Such a nice "Easter Gift" by their dear leader.



certainly much better than a public beheading with a dull machete.

[hannitykillspuppies]

A simple thank you would have sufficed Tony. Maybe even mention this could lead to a larger, more fruitful dialog in the future. Glad you were able to show you were the bigger hard ass and rub it in. :mad:

thank you? for releasing prisoners they never should have taken?

['Lifer]

thank you? for releasing prisoners they never should have taken?

Exactly

['Lifer]

certainly much better than a public beheading with a dull machete.

That would have been a very loud & speedy request for war with the west.

[LSU]

That would have been a very loud & speedy request for war with the west.



self preservation is a powerful state of mind.

['Lifer]

self preservation is a powerful state of mind.

Good thing Hardliner Khommini (sp) is no longer around.

[BoredWithNoSB]

thank you? for releasing prisoners they never should have taken?

It was disputed territory, I don't buy either account that it was black & white where they were.

Sure, they could have not taken them, but they could have also just held them as enemy combatants never to be heard from again. In fact, I beleive it is in their right to trapse across the globe collecting those they don't like and beleive are a threat to them and hold them as enemy combatants on an island off the coast of Iran.

OK, without the rhetoric, though, I just think this could have been used as an opportunity to de-escalate things rather than talking like a hard-ass by Blair.

[ryr8828]

It was disputed territory, I don't buy either account that it was black & white where they were.

Sure, they could have not taken them, but they could have also just held them as enemy combatants never to be heard from again. In fact, I beleive it is in their right to trapse across the globe collecting those they don't like and beleive are a threat to them and hold them as enemy combatants on an island off the coast of Iran.

OK, without the rhetoric, though, I just think this could have been used as an opportunity to de-escalate things rather than talking like a hard-ass by Blair.

Do you think for a minute that they wouldn't be doing that, along with a lot of the rest of the Arab nations, if they thought they had snowball's chance in hell of winning?
That's why they fund terrorists, that's why Syria funds terrorists, they can't prevail in an all out war. They probably can't even prevail in an all out war against Israel. If they had the upper hand, your life as you know it would change dramatically.

['Lifer]

Like we didn't expect otherwise......

So what good do those "confessions" really serve when the real truth finally comes out?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070406/ap_on_re_eu/iran_britain
ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England - The British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran were blindfolded, bound and faced constant psychological pressure, a Royal Navy lieutenant said Friday.

Lt. Felix Carman said the crew faced harsh interrogation by their Iranian captors and slept in stone cells on piles of blankets.

"All of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options. If we admitted that we'd strayed, we'd be on a plane to (Britain) pretty soon," Carman said. "If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison."

[ryr8828]

Like we didn't expect otherwise......

So what good do those "confessions" really serve when the real truth finally comes out?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070406/ap_on_re_eu/iran_britain
ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England - The British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran were blindfolded, bound and faced constant psychological pressure, a Royal Navy lieutenant said Friday.

Lt. Felix Carman said the crew faced harsh interrogation by their Iranian captors and slept in stone cells on piles of blankets.

"All of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options. If we admitted that we'd strayed, we'd be on a plane to (Britain) pretty soon," Carman said. "If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison."

For the UK's sake, I hope their military policy changes. The soldiers who were held captive could have easily overcome their kidnappers at the outset, at least from what I've read. They should have done that, got away, and then deal with it from there.

Iran and others like them don't think like us. To think you can negotiate with these people is insane.

['Lifer]

I thought we were about to have another drawn-out Hostage Ordeal like in 1977.

[BoredWithNoSB]

Like we didn't expect otherwise......

So what good do those "confessions" really serve when the real truth finally comes out?

I don't think we'll actually ever know that bolded term. I find it ironic that things must have been scripted when they talked in Iran, but no way in hell they are scrpted after they've been debriefed and told about the status of their pensions and paychecks at home. I think both statements on both sides were very scripted.

In fact, they had one of the fathers on the news yesterday and he said his son wasn't sure where they were exactly.

Also, this whole thing about "he never really confessed since he said "apparently"" is just silly too.

[ryr8828]

I don't think we'll actually ever know that bolded term. I find it ironic that things must have been scripted when they talked in Iran, but no way in hell they are scrpted after they've been debriefed and told about the status of their pensions and paychecks at home. I think both statements on both sides were very scripted.

In fact, they had one of the fathers on the news yesterday and he said his son wasn't sure where they were exactly.

Also, this whole thing about "he never really confessed since he said "apparently"" is just silly too.

Excuse me if I side against the hostage takers.

The same people who are selling Steyrs to battle our military personnel in Iraq.

['Lifer]

I don't think we'll actually ever know that bolded term. I find it ironic that things must have been scripted when they talked in Iran, but no way in hell they are scrpted after they've been debriefed and told about the status of their pensions and paychecks at home. I think both statements on both sides were very scripted.

In fact, they had one of the fathers on the news yesterday and he said his son wasn't sure where they were exactly.

Also, this whole thing about "he never really confessed since he said "apparently"" is just silly too.

I'd have a tendency to tell my captors what they wanted to hear if it meant freedom vs seven years of prison.

Regardless of a mile here and a mile there.....Iran is just looking to stir trouble, as always. Where's Hugo?

[StEeLeRsGiRl1985]

I'd have a tendency to tell my captors what they wanted to hear if it meant freedom vs seven years of prison.

Regardless of a mile here and a mile there.....Iran is just looking to stir trouble, as always. Where's Hugo?

You tell them nothing....not matter what you tell then nothing.... Name, Rank, Serial Number and nothing else.

['Lifer]

You tell them nothing....not matter what you tell then nothing.... Name, Rank, Serial Number and nothing else.

Sure.....in Hollywood.

[ryr8828]

You tell them nothing....not matter what you tell then nothing.... Name, Rank, Serial Number and nothing else.

If they get near my business I'm liable to say anything.

"Praise Mohammed!"

[StEeLeRsGiRl1985]

OMG you people are a bunch of pussies, and that is all there is to it.

[ryr8828]

OMG you people are a bunch of pussies, and that is all there is to it.

Hey!

I said only if they were messing with my business. I'd take some slaps, punches, and sleeping on the floor.

[StEeLeRsGiRl1985]

Hey!

I said only if they were messing with my business. I'd take some slaps, punches, and sleeping on the floor.


I would be willing to take more than that if it meant that more of my friends could live, or if our mission in Iraq were in jeopardy, in that case I wouldn't tell them a damn thing...That is just what I would do though.

[ryr8828]

I would be willing to take more than that if it meant that more of my friends could live, or if our mission in Iraq were in jeopardy, in that case I wouldn't tell them a damn thing...That is just what I would do though.

Joke, dammit.

Although I could never tell what I'd do if someone starting messing with my business.

[ryr8828]

Freed British naval team makes claims of coercion


ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England (AP) - Lined up against a dank stone wall, the captured British naval team steeled themselves for the end as masked guards dressed in black cocked their weapons behind their heads.

"Someone said, I quote: 'Lads, lads, I think we're going to get executed'," Royal Marine Joe Tindell said Friday, recounting events on the second night of what turned into a 13-day ordeal in Iranian custody.

The 21-year-old said the prisoners had believed they were being taken to the British Embassy in Tehran to be released, but were instead herded into a cell.

"We had a blindfold and plastic cuffs, hands behind our backs, heads against the wall. ... There were weapons cocking," Tindell told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

One shaken sailor became sick. In his own fright, Tindell mistook the sound from his crew mate. "As far as I was concerned he had just had his throat cut," Tindell said.

That was just one of the charges leveled at Iran by the newly free sailors and marines. They said they had been blindfolded, isolated in cold stone cells and tricked with the fake execution while being coerced into falsely saying they entered Iranian waters.

They said there was no doubt the 15 crew members were in Iraq's territorial waters when they were seized by heavily armed boats of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. They also said their jailers had singled out the only woman among the captives for use in propaganda.

Iran, which has been celebrating the incident as a victory, quickly rejected the charges, dismissing a news conference held by six of the freed personnel as "propaganda" and "a show." Iranian state TV accused British leaders of "dictating" the crew's statements.

Appearing a day after being flown home to reunions with their families, the eight sailors and seven marines reported undergoing constant psychological pressure and being threatened with seven years in prison if they did not say they intruded into Iranian waters.

"At some points I did have fears that we would not survive," Operator Maintainer Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest sailor among the captives, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Speaking at the news conference with five colleagues, the boat team's commander, Royal Navy Lt. Felix Carman, said the prisoners were harshly interrogated during 13 days in custody and slept in stone cells on piles of blankets.

"All of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options: If we admitted that we'd strayed, we'd be on a plane to (Britain) pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison," he said.

Carman, who was one of the captives who appeared in Iranian videos seeming to admit being in Iran's waters, disavowed his earlier comment.

"Let me make this clear _ irrespective of what was said in the past _ when we were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard we were inside internationally recognized Iraqi territorial waters," he said.

Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air said the crew, operating in two inflatable boats in the Persian Gulf on March 23 checking vessels for smuggled goods, was confronted by two Revolutionary Guard boats.

"They rammed our boats and trained their heavy machine guns, RPGs and weapons on us. Another six boats were closing in on us," Air said.

He said the team quickly decided that a gunbattle would risk a major escalation of tensions with Iran and that they were too lightly armed to resist anyway.

"From the outset it was very apparent that fighting back was simply not an option," Air said. "Had we chosen to do so, then many of us would not be standing here today. Of that I have no doubts."

While much of Britain rallied behind the returning crew, some critics complained about the prisoners appearing in videos in which they appeared to admit entering Iranian waters and offered regrets.

Military commanders have stood behind the crew. They didn't break rules by complying with the Iranian demands, the head of the Royal Navy, Adm. Jonathon Band, told the BBC. "I think, in the end, they were a credit to us," he said.

The most visible of the seized sailors during their captivity was Leading Seaman Faye Turney, a 26-year-old mother of a young girl and the first crew member to be interviewed on Iranian television. Turney did not attend the news conference.

Air said Turney was singled out by the Iranians, who put her in solitary confinement and told her all the men had been released. "She was under the impression for about four days that she was the only one there," he told reporters.

In an interview with AP, Air said there were a "few incidents when our safety was at risk," citing occasions when the sailors were held separately, making them more vulnerable.

He said the crew faced a difficult task when complying with their captors' requests for them to admit publicly they were in Iranian territory _ a fact they knew to be untrue. "We were very careful about what we said and what we didn't say," he told AP.

In a clip shown on Iranian television, for instance, Air _ pointing to a map _ said that "we were seized apparently at this point here on their maps and on the GPS they've shown us, which is inside Iranian territorial waters."

Prime Minister Tony Blair's office refused to comment on the crew's description of their treatment in Iran, but the White House said the reports of ill-treatment were disappointing.

"If what they described is accurate, then that would not seem to be appropriate behavior and action," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "It's unfortunate that the Iranians ever detained the sailors to begin with."

Iran's state television showed parts of the news conference, but with no sound. Without revealing their specific comments, a newscaster said the Britons "retreated from their confessions," while an unidentified analyst charged their statements were "dictated" by British officials.

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, also criticized the British statements, the TV report said. "Propaganda actions and shows can't cover up actions by the British military men and their repeated violation in illegal entry into Iran's territorial waters," he said.

Earlier, during Friday sermons at mosques around Iran, government clerics touted the end of the standoff with Britain as a victory for Iran.

Some told worshippers the British government apologized for the crews' entry into Iranian waters. The British government says it never apologized, and even Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acknowledged before the crew's release that Britain stuck to its stance that the crew was seized in Iraqi waters.


Published on: Saturday, April 7, 2007 7:09 AM CDT

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2007/04/07/top/19868462.txt

[ryr8828]

And the other side says:

Sailors' press conference 'a show' http://www.breitbart.com/images/common/dot.gif Apr 6 01:31 PM US/Eastern
Iran's state television said the British military (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=%22British+military%22&sid=breitbart.com) "dictated" to its sailors what to say in a press conference on Friday.

The former captives told reporters they were pressured while in custody to admit to being in Iranian waters.

In its news report on the sailors, Iranian state TV said they held a "pre-organised" press conference in which "the British sailors (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=%22British+sailors%22&sid=breitbart.com) only read from pages dictated to them."

"They made statements completely different from what they had said in Iran (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=iran&sid=breitbart.com) and claimed that they were in Iraqi waters when detained," the TV newsreader said.

The newscast then turned to an in-house "political analyst," who called the sailors' press conference "a show."

"British military officials dictated it, but this show will not change the reality or undermine the credibility of the fact that the British sailors were in Iranian waters," said the analyst, who spoke to TV by telephone and was identified only by his family name, Zaraei.
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2007, All Rights Reserved. http://www.breitbart.com/images/common/dot.gifhttp://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paSailorsFri18Iransailorsreax&show_article=1