Britain’s Hostage Crisis
It is time to stop appeasing those who kidnapped the servicemen

For more than four days British sailors and Marines have been imprisoned in Iran. They have been interrogated, psychologically abused, denied access to the outside world and pressured into giving “confessions”. The 15 were seized at gunpoint by armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards while carrying out the thankless task of routinely searching shipping in Iraqi waters in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, the southern boundary between Iraq and Iran. Their kidnapping is an outrage. In earlier times it would have been an immediate casus belli. It would fully justify the use of force to obtain their release. There is, however, an even greater outrage compounding this insult to international law: the pusillanimous timidity of British officials and politicians, who have failed disgracefully to confront Iran with the ultimatum this flagrant aggression demands.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was “monitoring the situation very carefully and taking the situation very seriously”. Britain’s Ambassador in Tehran had a “businesslike” meeting with Iranian officials. Tony Blair has muttered that the issue was “fundamental” for his Government. The Iranians must be quaking at such threats.  ...  (H/T: JC)

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Different Phase
Jules Crittenden

I think we might be getting somewhere:

U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said that efforts to release 15 British sailors and Marines seized by Iran will enter a “different phase” if negotiations fail.

The U.K. is using diplomatic channels to make the Iranian government understand that the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines “have to be released,” Blair said today in an interview with the U.K. television show GMTV.

“I hope we manage to get them to realize they have to release them. If not, then this will move into a different phase,” Blair said. “We cannot have a situation where our servicemen and women are seized.” Asked what he meant by a different phase, Blair didn’t elaborate. “We’ll just have to see,” he said.

Frankly, I would like to hear more out of President Bush or perhaps some unnamed senior U.S. officials on this, but this is a British crisis for the Brits to manage and take point on.  Hopefully, and presumeably, the British have been offered the full range of U.S. options, without reservation, and the United States is the big stick Blair has been carrying while speaking softly.

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Michelle Malkin: The hostage stand-off

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U.S. Begins Show of Force in Persian Gulf 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —  The U.S. Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran.

The maneuvers bring together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes.

The U.S. exercises come just four days after Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and marines who Iran said had strayed into Iranian waters near the Gulf. Britain and the U.S. Navy have insisted the British sailors were operating in Iraqi waters.

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl said the U.S. maneuvers were not organized in response to the capture of the British sailors — nor were they meant to threaten the Islamic Republic, whose navy operates in the same waters.

He declined to specify when the Navy planned the exercises. ...

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Iran’s terror navy
Bryan Preston

Today must be the day to get email from troops. Keep ‘em coming–a few words from the front lines or from troops familiar with workings on the front lines carries much more weight with me than anything emanating from the AP and other MSM outlets.

This email comes from a USN Lt who has served in the Gulf and has seen Iranian tactics and actions up close. He served aboard the USS Underwood, which patrols the North Arabian Gulf along with the HMS Cornwall. That’s the ship that the captured British sailors and Marines belong to. I think the Lt provides some useful backstory on the Iranian seizure of those 15 British troops.

I don’t think it was widely reported, but the last time The ‘Wood was in the NAG (North Arabian Gulf) (from roughly Oct ‘04 until Jan ‘05) the Brits had a standoff with the Iranians. It was early December ‘04 if i remember correctly when for a reason we could never ascertain, something like 5 or 6 merchant vessels ran aground trying to enter the Shat’ al Arab, which is roughly the dividing line between Iranian and Iraqi waters (depending upon who you ask, as you might imagine). A British Boarding Team boarded one of the aground vessels to try to figure out why so many vessels ran aground at the same time. While in the merchant vessel, small boats from the Iranian Republican Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) surrounded the vessel and the British small boat standing by. The picture I believe is classified, but you can imagine the reaction of the guys in the RHIB when there were two IRGCN RHIBs within 20 feet, pointing AK-47’s and an RPG at them. Needless to say the RHIB backed off and returned to the ship. The Boarding Team hunkered down and the diplomacy started. It ended with the Boarding Team getting lifted off the merchant via helicopter, a needlessly dangerous operation, because the Iranians gave them permission to do so by air but only until sunset. After that all bets would be off.

The reason the IRGCN claimed they had the right to act? The Brits had “entered Iranian Territorial Waters.” The line that separates the territories there is under about as much disagreement as the border between Pakistan and India. ...

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ABC News: U.S. carriers sent “hastily”
to Persian Gulf after sailors kidnapped
Allahpundit

I thought these exercises had been planned for awhile. Tain’t so, according to the brass.

The U.S. Navy is offering a huge show of military might near the location where Iran seized 15 British sailors and marines five days ago, in what is seen as a clear effort to send a message to Iran, a senior military official told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz in Bahrain.

Twelve ships, 100 aircraft and 12,000 sailors are taking part in the war games designed to get the attention of Iran.

The naval exercise went on all day today and will continue Wednesday, with F-18 fighter jets roaring from the deck of both aircraft carriers in the first appearance of two U.S. carriers in the Gulf simultaneously since 2003.

U.S. naval officials in Bahrain told ABC News that the operation was hastily planned after the 15 Britons were seized Friday, yet the Bush administration would not say publicly that this is the case.

Debka says it was moved up a few days, and that they’re putting on quite a show. On the other hand, look who I’m citing here. Ahem:

Intelligence sources in Moscow claim to have information that a US strike against Iranian nuclear installations has been scheduled for April 6 at 0040 hours. The Russian sources say the US operation, code-named “Bite,” will last no more than 12 hours and consist of missile and aerial strikes devastating enough to set Tehran’s nuclear program several years back.

Update: The Bataan is there too, and the Boxer is in the neighborhood.

Update: ...