Category: Middle East
British Sailors Freed
| 4/5/2007 | Posted by Patti under Middle East |
The crisis involving the detention of 15 British service people has ended in a rather surprising move on the part of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Seemingly out of the blue, he announced that the service people would be released and ‘forgiven’ as an Easter gift to the people of Britain. His announcement followed the presentation of a medal to the coast guard commander who detained the Britons.
The fifteen are back home in Britain preparing to be reunited with their families. What is left is speculation over what prompted this surprising but happy ending to this crisis. By making the move he did Ahmadinejad created a situation that saved a lot of face all the way around, most importantly that neither side had to admit wrong. Sometimes that is not a bad thing.
It’s obvious that some diplomatic work was going on behind the scenes to have opened the curtain enough for the release. Some American officials had termed the British response to the crisis as ‘pathetic’, those pugnacious mouthpieces need to take a hard look at what quiet diplomacy can gain. This incident has ended in a manner that can leave the door open to other possibilities instead of posturing on both sides.
British performer, Terry Jones, has written a rather dark humour piece in the Guardian Unlimited contrasting the Iranian and American detention methods. There is often truth in humour.
Iranians/British Crisis Could be Resolvable
| 4/2/2007 | Posted by Patti under Middle East |
There is a glimmer of hope coming out of Tehran today as the Iranians backed away from continuing to parade the captured British service people in front of their state run television cameras with admissions of fault that few people believe were given freely.
Having said that, it is possible that the British captives having been presented with the Iranian’s version of where they were do believe they made an error or are willing to give their captors the benefit of the doubt in an effort to get free. While the media and the politicians seem to prefer to indicate that the ‘confessions’ were coerced, it is possible they are manipulated more than forced.
The waters the Irans took the Brits captive in are disputed and have been for many years. From both the Iranian and Iraqi perspective (the Brits were patrolling Iraqi water) both sides are right, they simply don’t agree. The diplomatic efforts underway are an exercise in trying to find enough middle ground that both sides can save face as the situation is resolved.
Meanwhile, from across the pond (as the British often call it) American President Bush has waded into the situation in his usual bully like way through him and some of his officials behaving in a rather bellicose manner. Following the example of their leader (if that is what one must call him) it seems the American government does a wonderful job of being the proverbial bull in a china shop.
While their friends and supposedly most valued ally in the world is delicately engaged in direct talks with the Iranians who have not made demands of or suggested that their current detention has anything to do with the American detention of five Iranians in Iraq, the Americans have rather belligerantly declared that the US will not give back the Iranians (that haven’t been asked for). Bush persisted in referring to the detained Brits as ‘hostages’ something the British officials have steered clear of referring to the hostages as.
You know, I would never consider myself to be a diplomat. In fact my tendency to shoot from the hip and failure to suffer fools gladly would likely make sure that I would never seek a career in that field. Even with all that against me, I know enough to keep my yap shut when engaged in negotiating with another party and let them commit themselves to what they are wanting to attain before I commit to what I am or am not willing to do. So BUSH, shut the hell up, no one asked you for anything yet!
It likely is not helping in the least that the Americans are engaged in a huge ‘exercise’ not far off the coast of Iran. Had Bush and his bull like cronies kept their mouths shut, the exercise could be a quiet intimidation factor without being highlighted unless the situation deteriorated.
I wonder sometimes if Bush has traded his addiction to alcohol for an addiction to his sense of power and the deaths of young Americans because of his belicose, lies and deceit is his opiate of choice. Blair at least has the presence of mind to save the sabre rattling until there is no other choice, I hope.
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