british sailoors captured by iran?

Question

am i the only one who thinks that the us and brits should take immediate action to free our british brothers?it is no doubt that they were conducting some sort of intelligence patrol but that should not matter. we can not stand for this, iran is trying to flex their muscle, and i think that its time to go ahead and get this inevitable war over with,what does everyone else think?

i would lose 1,000 than have 15 tortured.ask any soldier,marine,or sailor.

by the way, i'm not old, nor do i work in an office.and i ship out in may for boot camp. put that in your pipe and smoke it you tree hugging hippie. i hate people who think that peace is that easy. war happens whether we start it or not, it is human nature whether we like it or not. if you have payed attention Iran is not open to diplomacy, just like north Korea, just like iraq under saddam hussein, just like afganistann under the taliban. like the us or not, we do more good than harm.

Answer 1

Let's see what the Brits do. They are much better at the diplomacy game that the US is, IMHO, so they should be able to come up with a solution.

If not, I'm with you. Let's go free them.

Answer 2

The Revolutionary Guard is controlled by the religious leader of Iran. The kidnapping of those sailors and Marines was sanctioned by him. They were in Iraqi water and the government of Iran would love nothing better than to start a war with Britain and the USA. They have already stated that Israel was first, Britain next then the USA, for their list of annihilation. They have already started so why don't we finish it. They have no right kidnapping others. The government of Iran is completely CRAZY, it shows more each day. They are like that stupid little Duracell bunny, they keep going and going.

Answer 3

Oh please. Is that the best you can do?
Violence. The Big Bad guys. The War Hawks. "Let's go get 'em"...There are times when I actually pray that all of you violence-prone people will be given your own land so that you can carry out whatever violence you wish on EACH OTHER.
You have no idea whether the British were in Iranian waters or not. No one knows except the Iranians and the men on that ship. The U.S. already has a full plate. In fact, the plate is now a platter - a platter full of bad decisions and related dung..
The United States needs to butt out of this dilemma and stay out of it.
and you really need to discontinue "offering" the services of our young troops. I mean you sit there, "offering" the lives of others while sipping coffee or patting your feet to the war drums. Yet when it comes down to it, you wouldn't move a muscle to fight in ANY war. You just want someone else, - someone young, easily led, and vulnerable to fight these old man wars for you.

Answer 4

You will lose a lot more than 15 if you start a war with Iran.

Answer 5

I would give Iran 48 hours to release them, then start nuking every city of over 5000 people, leave Tehran for last.

Answer 6

Let the nuke's fall from the sky like drops of rain.

Answer 7

Especially since Iranian Prime Minister Mottaki stated that Iran wants Britain to admit it made a mistake, I think that there will be military action.
http://www.breitbart.com

Iran is in a heap of trouble.....

Iran is dealing with two issues.
o- First, Iran has captured 15 British Royal Navy personnel.
o- Second, Iran has refused to cooperate with the UNSC regarding cessation of uranium enrichment.

AMBUSHED
At 10:30 a.m. on March 23, 2007, six IRCG guard boats ambushed, surrounded and seized two Royal Navy 'ribs' (rigid-hulled inflatable boats) containing 15 Royal Navy personnel (eight sailors and seven marines) from the frigate HMS Cornwall. The Royal Navy boats were on patrol just outside the mouth* of the 125-mile waterway which divides Iraq from Iran. Sovereignty over the waterway, and corresponding territorial waters, is disputed between Iraq and Iran. A 1975 treaty recognized the middle of the waterway as its border. It is called "Shatt al-Arab" waterway in Arabic meaning "Arab Coastline". It is called "Arvandrud" in Persian meaning "Arvand River".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6494289.stm
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAN_WHERES_THE_BORDER?SITE=MIDTF&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-03-27-15-05-08
(map of waterway and HMS Cornwall area of operation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6494289.stm#map

The British MoD says the Royal Navy patrol was inspecting an Iraqi fishing boat anchored at the mouth of the waterway which was suspected of smuggling automobiles.
British MoD say the British were:
o- 1.7 nautical miles (2 miles; 3.1 kilometers) inside Iraqi territory at precisely 29 degrees 50.36 minutes north latitude and 048 degrees 43.08 minutes east longitude

IRGC say the British were:
o- 0.5 km deep into the Iranian waters
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1257880,00.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2042289,00.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITISH_SEIZED_IRAN?SITE=PASUN&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL
Map of both positions:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/galleries/593.html?SITE=MIDTF&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Under the mandate of the UNSC Resolution 1723, the British team had been conducting a compliance inspection of a suspicious Iraqi merchant ship. The intercepted British crew being ambushed and surrounded by IRGC surrendered without a fight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1723

It is alleged that similar Iraqi vessels routinely transport Iraqi Shiites into Iran for training by the elite Quds force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. In addition, Iraqi vessels transport arms from Iran to Iraq.

Iran has elicited "confessions" from the 15 British sailors they captured and may put them on trial for espionage.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1563877.ece
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2042259,00.html

“If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.” Espionage carries a death sentence.

Iran's detention of 15 Royal Navy personnel is "unjustified and wrong", Prime Minister Tony Blair has said. UK officials are waiting to be granted access to the HMS Cornwall staff, who were seized on Friday, and have not been told where the group are held. "It simply is not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters and I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us," Mr Blair said. "We have certainly sent the message back to them very clearly indeed. They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and wrong."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6493391.stm
(in French)
http://www.france24.com/france24Public/fr/administration/article-afp.html?id=070327102418.nid1l893&cat=monde

The 15 Royal Navy personnel are being held in Tehran at the Revolutionary Guard Corps base.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6494289.stm.

The British government release the GPS coordinates as evidence demonstrating that its 15 naval personnel detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards last Friday were seized while in Iraqi waters and not inside Iranian territory.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d26b393e-dbbe-11db-9233-000b5df10621.html

Iran is preparing to release Faye Turney, the sole female among the 15 captured personnel of the Royal Navy. Clad in a white tunic and a black shayla-style head scarf, she appeared on Al-Alam TV, an Arabic-Language, Iranian state-run TV station that is carried across the Middle East. "Obviously we trespassed into their waters," was her statement which continued with details of how she had been treated.
http://www.comcast.net/news/international/index.jsp?cat=INTERNATIONAL&fn=/2007/03/28/621792.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITISH_SEIZED_IRAN?SITE=PASUN&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL
see the video
http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?f=MIDTF&g=1EF1EAE6-3EFC-42CA-93E9-
more detail video
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/default.stm
see her letter to her parents
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/galleries/593.html?SITE=MIDTF&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

On 4 June 2004, eight British servicemen were detained for three days, after Iran said they had entered Iranian territorial waters. They were released unharmed, but their equipment was not returned. During their detention, according to former detainee Marine Scott Fallon, they endured a mock execution and appeared blindfolded and forced to apologize for their "mistake" on Iranian TV..
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=721052004

Regarding enrichment of uranium, Iranian President Mahmaoud Ahmadinejad abruptly cancelled his appearance before the U.N. security council and in his stead, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki Iran spoke. He indicated that Iran was willing to continue negotiations but without the precondition that uranium enrichment must be halted.

Mottaki said, "the world has two options to proceed on the nuclear issue: continued negotiations or confrontation. Choosing the path of confrontation ... will have its own consequences. "
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070325/D8O3E7J00.html

The U.N. security council unanimously voted to expand sanctions on March 24, 2007.

The new resolution 1747 calls on Iran to comply fully with all previous UN resolutions and join negotiations to reach agreement so as to restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Full transparency and cooperation with the IAEA are required. Suspension of Iran’s banned nuclear activities will elicit the parallel suspension of sanctions. The package of incentives offered Tehran last year for its cooperation remains on the table.

The full text of the draft of resolution 1747 appears at this website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6455853.stm

Military confrontation may be on the horizon.
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3961
In addition to the British naval vessels at the Diego Garcia atoll in the Indian ocean, there is a multi-national force in the Persian Gulf. The British HMS Cornwall aircraft carrier strike group, the American aircraft carrier strike group Bremerton-based aircraft carrier CVN-73 USS John C. Stennis, the American aircraft carrier strike group CVN-69 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle and its task force are all in close appoximation in the Persian Gulf. A 3rd carrier group, the CVN-68 USS Nimitz, may also be in the Persian Gulf soon as it was scheduled for its WESTPAC07 deployment to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower which was deployed December 2006.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/batgru-68.htm
The US may have deployed 4 or 5 carrier groups in the Persian Gulf
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070328/62741920.html
Hmmmmm
Maybe CVN-76 Reagan was deployed
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/batgru-76.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/where.htm
Maybe CVN-72 Lincoln?
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/batgru-72.htm
Is CVN-77 Bush ready?
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cvn-77.htm

More details about military options can be found here:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iran-strikes.htm

On Tuesday, March 27, 2007, the two US strike groups, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Stennis, along with guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam, conducted military exercises in the Persian Gulf. The participants included 15 warships and more than 100 aircraft..

Each carrier carries an air wing of F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fighter-bombers, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, S-3 Viking refueling and anti-submarine planes, and E-2C Hawkeye airborne command-and-control aircraft.

Also taking part were six guided-missile destroyers, the Anzio, Ramage, O'Kane, Mason, Preble and Nitze; the frigate Hawes; amphibious assault ships Boxer and Bataan; and the minesweepers Scout, Gladiator and Ardent.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/28/content_838185.htm

The Isfahan plant is above ground, but Natanz is more than 50ft below and would require either a tactical nuclear missile or a conventional bunker-buster bomb to destroy it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1753223,00.html.


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