Monday, April 9, 2007

Right to sell

"The Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday that the sale of stories would strengthen its control over what the released sailors and marines had to say." Read more in the International Herald Tribune ...

Because uncontrolled things like those said in this video are incriminating the British with charges of spying! You do recognize Captain Chris Air in this video!



And watch the controlled Chris Air! Still a spy; if you ask me!

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOOOOL !!!
Naj, sorry i did not read the instructions on your blog, I missed a one
[Flammable, Avoid Heat]

stay cool

Naj said...

instructions?

Anonymous said...

Good catch Naj, although this Capt. now seems a little less keen on being a propaganda tool, compared to a few others who seem starstruck. It's a classic 3 ring media circus manipulated by war pimps.

QUASAR9 said...

Hi Naj,
I think the best bit, is that they decided not to engage the 'enemy'

And when they were arrested, they were terrorised by being blind-folded and hearing guns being cocked.

Eeeehr, excuse me, are you a soldier in a 'conflict' zone ...
Have you been arrested under suspicious circumstances

Were you carrying guns when you were arrested - sometimes I'm sure these guys are boy soldiers who think they are playing computer games (shoot me ups) ...
you know shoot up a few 'arabs' and ragheads and then go down the pub for a pint or two.

Naj said...

errr... they are not boy soldiers???

Nah maybe not, they are baby soldiers!

QUASAR9 said...

And the girls killed in Basra, were they out there on a shopping trip?

Mind you at least now they've publicly acknowleged there are negotiations going on over iranian 'diplomats' held in iraq by the US.

And protesters today (four years on) shiite protesters in iraq calling for US led coalition troops to leave iraq - withdrawal by occupiers.

Mind you the dilemma for the US and coalition troops, do they let a pseudo-theocracy dictate the rules of engagement?

Naj said...

Yes, http://fanonite.org has a good round up on all these issues.

Coffee Messiah said...

Amazing that money comes into being, even under these circumstances! ; (

Naj said...

Too bad those who die never get to tell their stories.

and too bad no one "establishment" is willing to pay thousands of dollars to listen to the history of people who live under the clouds of war.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
nunya said...

Naj, after reading our posts I get the feeling that the Western troops MUST be spies, or up to nefarious purposes, but the Iranian troops never do anything wrong. I've heard more than one firsthand account of Iranian sailors robbing and harrassing Iraqi fisherman.

Huh, like Iraqi fisherman are some big threat to Iranian naval security.

Gimmmeee a break.

nunya said...

Oh yeah, I should add that maritime law requires Mayday calls be answered. Otherwise the Brits and Americans would ignore Iraqi fishermen.

Naj said...

Oh yeah, "rob the fisherman" is a very applauded practice. It's our national pride. In the US people have things like the "Fear Factor" and "Donald Trump", there we have "harass the fisherman to not get bored" sports.

Other than that, dear Nunya, I am not getting your sarcasm!

Iranian troops are operating in THEIR WATERS. Western troops are uninvited intruders. Is that clear?!

nunya said...

Yesssss, CRYSTAL clear. I don't want the British, or the American troops in the Persian Gulf at all.

It seems as though the oil companies need to protect the infrastructure that they invested so much money in, or it gets "nationalized," though.

However, when it comes to this particular incident, I wasn't there so I don't know whose waters the Brits were in.

Were you there?

Do you happen to personally know an Iranian sailor that was on this little adventure?

Georg said...

Bonjour Naj,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I answered there but would have liked - out of simple politeness - to look at your blog and answer here.

But this is impossible. So please install an Email adress where one can write you.

Georg

Anonymous said...

Death is easy, too easy, the bullet fired from automatic by 13 spring kid can kill a general if in range.

any exchange of fire in this inidence whould have created much more complicated situation.

Soldiers if be sent in action against regular opponet, must have clear (rules of engagement), situation differs if rugged militia, better to shoot first & ask later.....

Anna said...

My comment at a todays post of Nima ... and thinking it pretty well fits the issue talked about here too:

Thank you Nima, for the beautiful lyrics from this up till now unknown musician. Yes, it's hard but never forget: "Fortunately I'm not alone!" It's this belief to be kept alive and keeping oneself on the way. Because the future – if there is supposed to be one - is not to be left up to such figures and alikes:
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=822

It’s hard, hard not to sit on your hands
And bury your head in the sand
Hard not to make other plans
And claim that you’ve done all you can all along
And life must go on

It’s hard, hard to stand up for what’s right
And bring home the bacon each night
Hard not to break down and cry
When every idea that you’ve tried has been wrong
But you must carry on

It’s hard but you know it’s worth the fight
‘Cause you know you’ve got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
Don’t by afraid of what they’ll say
Who cares what cowards think, anyway
They will understand one day, one day

It’s hard, hard when you’re here all alone
And every else has gone home
Harder to know right from wrong
When all objectivity’s gone
And it’s gone
But you still carry on

‘Cause you, you are the only one left
And you’ve got to clean up this mess
You know you’ll end up like the rest
Bitter and twisted, unless
You stay strong and you carry on

It’s hard but you know it’s worth the fight
‘Cause you know you’ve got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
And don’t by afraid of what they’ll say
Who cares what cowards think, anyway
They will understand one day, one day, One day

Lyrics of Les jours tristes, by Yann Tiersen. Album: C’etait ici

Naj said...

Anna ... thank you. I needed this.
Nice poem to start a day with.

Nunya ... this particular "incident" was a geopolitical incident. I am almost certain these soldiers have been in that same area before, doing the same thing in previous days. And I think Iranians waited for the opportunity to be SURE they will cross a border to make a move on them.

I suggest you listen to the videos and judge for yourself. I am reading only from the lips of Chris Air.

Also, in comparison to the AmericoBrit invaders, who are ROBBING A NATION out of its oil; any petty sailorly theft FADES!

I suppose you will be upset if Iranian Army fires on little American troopers when they start their invasion? Well, too bad! It's called war; and in wars EVERYONE is an equal criminal. But there are offenders and defenders. And whereas defense is a nature given right, offense is not (unless the Lion is hungry).

The American beast that is showing its teeth at my deer country, is morbidly obese! Not hungry at all!

Faramin said...

Brilliant post naj. Thanks!

David said...

Naj,

I don't mean to beat a dead or dying horse, but I am still far from convinced that the British sailors crossed into Iranian waters. If the British wanted to spy on Iran (and I am sure that they do spy on Iran!), there are a variety of tools that they could use that would probably be far more effective that a small boat, far from any shore, with a live crew aboard. For example, small spy planes that can be controlled from many miles away (or large robot planes controlled via satallite) can easily be deployed. There are probably hundreds of these flying over Iraq and Afghanistan every day. There are of course spy satallites for taking pictures of license plates from space. ;) There are huge military planes with radars that can look sideways at targets of interest hundreds of miles away. There are many ways to monitor radio or telephone communications. These are just a few things that I am aware of. Modern militaries probably have many other tricks for spying that don't involve putting actual personel at risk of capture. It just seems to me that there would be no reason for a tiny British boat to enter Iranian waters for the purpose of spying. I'm just trying to think logically here.

Regarding the selling of stories by the sailors, I would be less likely to fully believe any account that was related in exchange for a cash payment. If the British government allows them all to sell their stories, I can only assume that there is some perceived propaganda value involved.

Anonymous said...

George:

The maritime boundary between Iran and Iraq - to my knwoledge - has never been demarcated.

Whether the UK sailors were indeed in the Iranian waters was an issue if there were mutual trust between our 2 countries.

Currently, no such trust obtains and has not existed - certainly from our side - for at least 150 years.

In regards to spying, you are correct that there are remote sensing methods that can be ised effectively. However, if you're planning an amphibious operation then the local physical conditions become very importtant - speed of the current, depth, topography, etc. A trained agent can memorize such measurements - leaving no paper trails.

I do not know what UK's intentions in regards to Iran are but they are not benign from our perspective.

As I said before, if we were a normal country and we were treated like a normal country by UK, EU, and US, we would not have had this incidence.

By the way, India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Turkey, and others treat us normally. They accept us the way we are - they are courteous and polite and do not threaten us every other day .

pen Name

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I meant "David" rather than "George".

pen Name

Anonymous said...

David:

The maritime boundary between Iran and Iraq - to my knowledge - has never been demarcated.

Whether the UK sailors were indeed in the Iranian waters would have been an issue had there been mutual trust between UK and Iran.

Currently, no such trust obtains and none has existed - certainly from our side - for at least 150 years.

In regards to spying, you are correct that there are remote sensing methods that can be used effectively. However, if you're planning an amphibious operation to penetrate Iranian border with agents provocateurs or saboteurs then the local physical conditions become of paramount importance - speed of the current, depth, topography, etc. A trained agent can memorize such measurements - leaving no paper trails.

I do not know what UK's intentions in regards to Iran are but they are not benign from our perspective.

As I said before, if we were a normal country and not a country that finally regained its political independence after almost 100 years in 1979, had we not been attacked by Iraq with chemical weapons which was sanctioned by US, UK, EU, USSR, PRC, and others, had we not been surrounded by anti-Iranian Sunni Arabs, and we were treated like a normal country by UK, EU, and US, we would not have had this incidence.

By the way, India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Turkey, and others treat us normally. They accept us the way we are - they are courteous and polite to us and do not threaten us every other day .

pen Name

Anonymous said...

I agree with PenName

David said...

Pen Name,

I have read your thoughts and I do not disagree with what you have said.

With respect to where the sailors were and what they were doing, I suppose that it doesn't really matter at this point. What really matters is whether or not the tensions between Iran and the U.S. will escalate or be reduced. There is a very dangerous game of chicken going on right now that could lead to a lot of people getting killed. The last thing that I want is for the U.S. to attack Iran! However, sometimes I think that Ahmadinejad wants an attack to happen.

Anonymous said...

David:

US attack against Iran will be quite painful - I expect 15,000 dead and maimed and US $ 200 billion worth of damages.

I expect the Americans to absorb 1000 dead and wounded as the war continues.

I expect that to be the start of a prolonged war of attrition which US will loose.

The war will not change the strategic situation: the impediments to the Iranian power that existed 100 years ago are all gone - Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, and the British Empire.

I think once US attacks Iran we will be entering a generalized war between Islam and Protestant Christianity that will continue for decades.

Anonymous said...

Neither Iran nor USA have an exit of the current strategic (stalemate).

The calls for war are merely (nerve war).

Incase Iran ever developed real nuclear armament, USA will respond by stationing of ICBM-Subs in the Gulf, the same as 1960-70 race of Medium Range Ballistics in Eurpe.

The leaders in Both Tehran & Wahington must quit escalation & call for a [New Henselki Summit].

David said...

I am all in favor of some sort of de-escalation summit meeting between the U.S. and Iran. Bush needs to drop his "axis of evil" attitude (probably will never happen!). I also wish that Ahmadinejad would learn the strategic value of keeping his mouth shut once in a while (no doubt, another tall order!).

Sorry Naj if the comments are straying too far off topic.

nunya said...

The Americans won't start an invasion. Americans routinely igore the "buzzing" of their ships by the Iranian military jets.

Let's talk about how the governments in the Middle East routinely use the actions of Western countries to distract their own constituents from their own screw ups and corruption.

And, how many Americans have been killed by Iranians in Iraq?

"EFP stands for explosively formed penetrator, deadly roadside bombs that hurl a fist-size lump of molten copper capable of piercing armor.

In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. soldiers had been killed by EFPs.

Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters."...

U.S. says Iraqi militiamen being trained in Iran; 2 more U.S. soldiers killed

Anon-Paranoid said...

Der Fuehrer Bush wants to start a war with Iran the same way Hitler started a war with Poland.

Its all about the oil and nothing else and he won't be satisfied until he does and him and his Gestapo's take over the region.

Its all about the oil and control of the oil and controlling the Middle East.

Just a reminder that Der Fuehrer Bush like Hitler is insane and says God told him to remove Saddam from power. He's stated many times that he listens to a higher father than his own or the American People and its representatives.

Take care and God Bless.

Anonymous said...

Ha...Ha..

http://www.sandmonkey.org/2007/04/13/old-brits-new-brits/

No harsh feelings fellow brits, but this includes the ultimate majority of the [western bloc] from the aussies to the canadians

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody,

naj asked me to tell you that she is away on family emergency.

Unknown said...

Hi Naj,

Lovely blog w. great topics & pics.

Ive added u to my blogroll at
t9821.wordpress.com

its not a personal journal per se; more an electronic scrapbook of short captions w. photos on iran-related stuff in art, politics, and comics.

would love it if u stop by & check it out (and if u like it, link to iranfacts. feel free to email me also, at ihtehran@gmail.com, if youre interested in a web-based project im networking on with iranian english bloggers (i cant release details here)

looking 4ward 2 hearing from u~
regards, Tara

The Insider said...

I was the 16th marine captured by Iranians. Just see my story to find more about the ordeal.

Ash said...

Thanks for visiting my blog Naj!

Daniel said...

Hey, Naj! If the imbeciles in the White House start this nuclear war, it will surely be the end of the world as we know it.

That the small number of megalomanic rulers of America are prepared to take the chance that the world will come to an end as they try to create a world empire for their own benefit is tribute to the greed-based insanity that is gripping America.

And yet the American people in the main do nothing but wait and watch! They appear to be in a state of paralysis.

Will the nuclear winter arouse them?

Zolal said...

میشه کلمه جاسوس رو معنی Ú©Ù†ÛŒ؟

Zolal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mystic Rose said...

naj, hello!

damage control.. :), which isnt succeeding too well.

Red Tory said...

Naj — Just wondering if you're still around. I had a question for you about a current topic of interest. Well, perhaps of interest...

You were good enough to comment at my place a while back at the beginning of April on the topic of the film "300" as you may recall.

Anonymous said...

These days are dark indeed for the women of Iran

What's your thoughts about this?

Anonymous said...

wwwww

mystic rose said...

where r u naj?
hope you are doing well..