UPDATE:
The soldiers (who were arrested on charges of espionage and trespassing) were
- blindfolded when moved from center to center;
- kept in solitary confinement unless for intermittent evening breaks;
- and puked when they heard guns clicking!
I mean, if they confessed so EASILY under the Iranian coercion, wouldn't they confess easily under the British coercion??
Once one saves one's physical life by (supposedly) "lying", then one may save one's financial livelihood by lying too!
In the career-oriented Wild Wild West, one's job is as important as one's life; no?
======================================
Here's a little summary of what concessions Mr. Blair and his Bully friends may have made:
Ahmadinejad signals to US that direct negotiations are in American interest and Condoleeza Rice agrees!
US weighs Iran's request to visit Iranian prisoners in Iraq
The UN, Germany, Turkey hail Iran's decision to release the Britons.
US allows Red Cross visit the Iranian Prisoners in Iraq
Solana and Iran's negotiator Larijani agree to meet on Sunday to restart the Nuclear negotiations
Diplomacy and not muscle stretching becomes the name of the game!
Faramin brought up a great question! Who wants to answer?
"if the UK government is truthful about the british sailors' position (in iraqi waters), that means iranians went into the iraqi waters to pick up the sailors. where is the cry from the either iraqi or british government on iranians tresspassing into iraqi territory?"
32 comments:
Hey Naj,
Thanks for the thoughts on the flag. Blair was so ungracious and disingenuous once the sailors landed back, immediately mentiong casualties in Iraq them trying to blame Iran for them (and they just revealed the mission of the Navy included espionage). But I don't think anyone found his attitude praiseworthy, he is incredibly unpopular here in the UK and this just shows why, an obnoxious poodle for Bushco.
Remeber what i told you, one tiny crisis after another.
there is no characters in either sides qualified to lead a diplomatic breakthrough.
[The Khatemi Era was very hopefull, but unfortunately Clinton was too weak & narrow sighted to respond to Khatemi initiative, he was satisfied with the awkward policy of (mutual containment)]
Hi RickB
I am just UPSET ... listening to news and teh rude rhetoric against Iran just increasing by the SECOND and media trying to SPIN Brit's confessions an outcome of duress and ... I cannot tell you HOW angry I am
aardvark
These criminals seem to be looking for big trouble. Did you hear whatever head of navy in the Persian gulf (and UGLY RAT-FACED CRIMINAL--excuse the angre i will settle in a few mins and use decent language again) was saying:
American soldiers will nto be taken without a BLOODY fight ... AH!
...
RAPISTS
...
RAPISTS
...
Shame on America and Britain if their people do not react to their leader's provocations ...
Naj, Take a deep breath, i see you caught the virus of insanity from Amre Albino.....
take some rest, left your hand of the keyboard for some time.
keep your head cool before righting any thing.
as i told you before, nothing will happen, it is a Stalemate, and USA have every reason to deprive Mr.Nejad childish maneouver from its content
Yes i feard to interrupt you before, coz you sound euphoric.
I believe the arrest of the royal marine then releasing them without clear exchange as immature behaviour
LOL!
Aarvark, there is a little amre-albino in all of us; some of us can get over it after a cup of tea, some of us not!
Re Iranians, the did make a good deal out of this. If nothing else, there will be at least 2 of those British soldiers who will not lift an arm on any Iranian.
My distress is from Amricans putting wood in the ashes, and trying to provoke those group of hardliner Iranians who opposed Ahmadinejad's move as non-economic!
To know he had opposition in Iran, and yet he did let them go, buys him a few scores with me.
I am back to my positive euphoria!
Let the Brits spin things as they wish. People who have brains in their head can think for themselves.
And Americans ... well let them bring on their fight! It will kill them first, sadly for human civilization!
Aardvark
Typing up here is my leisure not my obsession ;) I come here when I take a break from typing up my job :)
Blair is not very popular in the UK. He has very little credibility left here.
aardvark,
Thanks for the tip!
Much appreciated!
rickb ... that's exactly the way I percepted Blair on TV! And I just thought by myself this guy once should look into a mirror, if he dares to! Obnoxious, you say it.
Uncle sam is your sugar dady........but when he needs you...in war on terror .then hell with Pa............
Tamash
Welcome to neo-resistance!
Sorry your metaphor, sarcasm fails me.
War on what terror? On dick Cheney's terror?
Aardvark
My oh my you HAVE compiled quite a document. I am sure if one day I am interested in understanding Egypt, I will keep it in ind as a pointer! Quite impressive. But as you rightly concluded pharmacy's the solution!
I had a good laugh, I admit!
And no, I don't judge people based on one disruptive behavior.
Naj, I think the term is muscle flexing, not stretching.
Nancy Pelosi is flexing her new muscles and trying to keep Preznit Poopypants in check. I'll bet her grandchildren are VERY well behaved.
Chomsky again! Preventing war with Iran:
Getting away from those eternal double-standard-thinkings and strategies. And improving, strengthening and allowing (!) democratic mindsets’ influence on decisions instead of sticking to and pursueing imperialistic „dreaming“, futureless adventures and endeavourings against every logic and basic principles of commonsense. (Dramatically increasing global insecurity by „the war against terror“ having been sold us, held and kept for stupid people, as the way to security and stabilization!)
The inevitable need and „homeworks“ for the USA, as well GB and in many senses of definitions about democracy for Israel too!
http://www.alternet.org/story/50197/
Naj, I may be confused here, but it seems from your words that you are a supporter of Ahmadinejad?
Regarding the release of the British Navy captives, I am glad they are home. I don't know if they were in Iraqi or Iranian waters, but either way, they were just following their orders. It is unfortunate that they became pawns in an International game of cat and mouse! Now, I am hearing that they were mistreated and coerced into making the public video statements. The blindfolds and solitary confinement that are being reported is no surprise to me. The Iranian women demonstrators who were arrested recently faced the same sort of treatment in Evin prison. The British sailors should have been treated with more respect while in Iranian custody. I don't know how the Iranians being held by the Americans in Iraq are being treated. I hope they are being treated respectfully!
Regardless of all the rhetoric and posturing, at least this crisis has been resolved peacefully and dialogue and diplomacy continues between Iran and the rest of the world.
David, what does a supporter of Ahmadinejad mean? I have not voted for him, if that is what you wonder! And I do not like him; if that is what you wonder. I give credit to people, when credit is due. What he did was the right thing, done at the right time. I stand by that.
Re: mistreatment and coercion! Well, I'm sorry but I tend to pay attention to expression on people's faces and to not buy much into what the media spinsters say.
That said, I am sure Iranian prisoners would not receive the kingly treatment the Brits did. And I am glad they did receive good treatment.
Solitary confinement: so what?
Iran had the right to keep every single one of them in solitary confinement. They were arrested on the charges of espionage and trespassing!
If you watch some American police shows (I don't) then you will realize that interrogation has a set of techniques. In some countries it involves physical torture. Take a look at Abu Gharib pictures to know what I mean!
You don't tell me that you believe everything that comes out of the neo-conservative propaganda machine, do you?
A very wise man once said: No matter how hard you wiggle last drops always wind up in your pans.....you cant get it all babe.
Uncle Sam is not happy with Papa Najad. You get by what Uncle Sam gives. You must stand up with the old man when he is in trouble. Got it??
Tamash dear,
uncle sam gives what to whom?
what's Papa Najad?
aaah you speak in riddles that I do not grasp!
Naj, as I said in my question about Ahmadinejad, I might be confused. Thank you for clearing up my confusion.
You make an excellent point about Abu Gharib. When I saw those pictures I was outraged! My Iraqi friends were even more incensed! I have also been outraged about the stories of CIA rendition of prisoners to countries that practice torture. I do not believe in the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantamino Bay, nor do I agree with the Bush administration's assertion that it has the right to try those prisoners via military tribunals. As for neo-cons, I have nothing but contempt for their ideas and for what they have done to Iraq!
The point that I attempted to make was that all prisoners should be treated with a certain level of respect. How the British prisoners were treated is an evolving story and perhaps we will never hear all the facts of their particular case. However, in my opinion, I do not think they would have any reason to lie about their treatment. Perhaps we will have to agree to disagree on that one point.
David,
I agree with you that the British soldiers are not lying about their fears, about being blindfolded and handcuffed.
That is EXPECTED treatment in WAR!
My issue is with their "witholding" teh information about the "good" treatment they received.
That makes them disingenuous; don't you think?
hmmm...Naj, Blair is popular in the west..because of the steadily increasing econmic growth in UK, the peace with Ireland - within sight of getting settled-,
education and health, a lot of progress in UK during his terms..,
few governments can claim that for their own.
Its sad that in the present state of wars that US and UK are involved in, the recruits being shipped out are younger and fresher, i know of one boy who ive known just as a kid, who joined the arm, seventeen weeks of training and he is out in Iran..
and I think of him in a situaiton like this and I would not blame him if he breaks down ..., few can
withstand the psychological pressure of days of not knowing whats out there and the thought of someone getting ready to kill them..
that said, I am not condoning any wars..governemnts decided and the people suffer.., even the soldiers and their families.
ofcourse, my comment does not at all answer the questions or the purpose of this post..:)
Naj, you have asked me a question, so I will try my best to give you my honest thoughts in response. I agree, the taking of prisoners, and perhaps blindfolds, handcuffs, or worse, are expected in war, but England and Iran are not at war. Further, there is a British embassy in Tehran and, I expect, there is a corresponding Iranian embassy in London. These are generally a sign of peaceful relations between two countries. If the British sailors did enter Iranian territorial waters, it would be quite understandable for the Iranian military to inquire as to what they were doing there, but was it really necessary to arrest them, take them to prison, and subject them to coercive interrogations? If I had been treated that way for days, and then suddenly handed a new suit and taken to shake hands with a smiling leader who undoubtedly knew how I had been treated, I don't think that I would be able to give him much credit for good treatment.
I am, however, willing to give Dr. Ahmadinejad a certain degree of respect. His Ph.D. in Civil Engineering is a pretty good indication that he is quite a bit more intelligent than Bush Jr! He sometimes seems to behave as a very reasonable man, and I do not doubt that he is capable of occasional acts of kindness. I do not see him as the evil man that some elements of the news media seem bent on portraying him as. However, there are other times that he seems very angry and possibly paranoid. So, I have wonder, who is the real Dr. Ahmadinejad? I know that much of Iran is very much in need of updated and expanded civil infrastructure. It seems to me that Dr. Ahmadinejad the engineer is very well qualified to focus his energies toward accomplishing that goal. I don't know if he is doing that though. He seems to spend a great deal of time opening his mouth for extended speeches that create increased anxiety, rather than smoother relations with other countries.
Well, that's about all that I can think of. I hope you don't think me an impolite guest for being so frank and lengthy in my comment.
Not at all david, I appreciate and agree with you on many counts.
Keep in mind that the one who started a war-toned dialogue was not Iran, was the UK.
It suprises me that you say Iran and UK are not in war; when soldiers enter Iranian waters to "gather information" , they are bound to be treated as spies.
Again, handcuffing detainees is a normal procedure in arresting people. Here, when some old man has been charged with financial fraud, he is taken in handcuffs; taken to prison, until bail is set.
The problem is, the Brits have to put their treatment into perspective and see how Iranian prisoners are treated in Iran, and then shut up; or be better soldiers next time arrested, and keep their mouth shut and do not confess as soon as a banana is dwindling in front of their face :)
by the way Brother Tim has published a letter of Ahmadinejad, with his own critical commentary, you may find it interesting.
I apologize for poting this twice - this is the corrected version.
David:
Under normal circumstances what you wrote would have been & should have been the due course to follow by both governments.
But we are not in normal situation - neither UK nor the Islamic Republic of Iran.
UK is engaged in anti-Iranian activities at UN in regards to the Iranian nuclear program. UK is waging a war both in East and West of Iran. Iran, is therefore, sandwiched between 2 war zones. UK, together with her allies in EU and US have threatened Iran on and off the record with military attacks. In fact, certain UK analysts had gone so far as selecting targets in Iran. These are not actions of a friendly or even neutral state – these are actions of a potential enemy.
And I do not even want to discuss the Iran Iraq War during which Iraq's use of chemical weapons was aided and abetted by EU, US, and UK (I can go into details of this statement later if you are interested) or the roles of UK in destroying democracy in Iran 54 years ago.
Under the best of circumstances Iran would be a pricky country to deal with - extremely jealous and protective of her independence and suspicious of foreigners.
In the present circumstances, where we are preparing for a war with UK's closest ally, the United State, Iran's sense of insecurity and threat perception verges on paranoia.
This is how this incident ought to be understood.
pen Name
pen Name-
Paranoia is a form of mental disorder characterized by well-systematized delusions of persecution.
When everybody and his brother (UK, US, EU) are rattling sabers at you, acknowledging, and preparing oneself for the onslaught, is neither delusional, nor paranoid.
Brother Tim,
I totally agree with you. I think in this incident Iran was not paranoid, but proactive.
They could have been a little more subtle in their propaganda though; but I guess the IRI doesn't have sophisticated people with proper cultural training to run these shows for them :)) ... but to take the little soldiers and throw such a circus at the British army's expense is the little present to the UK for pushing the expenses of economic santions on Iran!
So we're even!
Plus, the message is made CLEAR:
DO NOT BULLY US; we negotiate politely!
As you well know, Naj, Bushco/Blair has made proactive and preemptive actions the 'course du jour'. Funny how that stuff comes back to bite them on their flabby white asses.
Speaking of Blair,
Allowing the soldiers to SELL their stories to the highest bidders is the latest error of the British government in exposing their own flabby you know whats!
This is going to create a lot of internal problems in the military! Wait and see!
Unless they are trying to replace the army with mercenaries!
The Secret Garden
The Land of Foam
The Talisman of the Dark City (Telism-e Shahr-e Tariki)
The Children of Captain Grant
The Citizen of the Galaxy
Mooon in Valley of the Lilies (Mah dar Dare-ye Niloo=far-ha)
And i thought NO ONE else had read Maah dar Dareh niloofarha!
I guess this comment should be posted on the other post about books?!
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