Many people were wondering what happened to the Brits’ stiff upper lips after seeing footage of them being jovial with the Iranian president before being released Thursday. But it seems they were more worried for their lives then they let on during the Iranian media spectacle.
Arthur Batchelor, a 20-year-old sailor, stated that, “At some points I did have fears we would not survive.” The freed soldiers said they were kept isolated in separate stone cells, threatened with seven years in prison, and spoke of one occasion during which they were blindfolded, then lined up facing a wall while guns were being cocked behind them.
Posted by Ross Stewart
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- littlejohn on Open thread 11/23
- littlejohn on Open thread 11/23
- littlejohn on Open thread 11/23
- SolDevVB on Open thread 11/23
- okobserver on Open thread 11/23
- okobserver on Open thread 11/23
- ANTI on Open thread 11/23
- ANTI on Open thread 11/23
- Monkeyhawk on Open thread 11/23
- donndublin on Open thread 11/23
18 Comments
It is another showing of how 9-11 and the terrorists video beheading of their victims has changed the world and how we understand what is the right thing to do. The terrorists used the understanding of the airlines to cooperate with highjackers to save life against us on 9-11. The terrorists by killing their victims in such a cruel and vile way on video showed that the rules of the game had went out the window for them. FYI the latter it is my understanding is actually a violation of the long held custom of the Middle East.Hostage taking is used as a Diplomatic tool for centuries. So much so that there are rules for it in the middle east. The taker is required to not overly suffer the hostage and do no real harm. In exchange the negotiations are to be honest and frank till an agreement is reached. But when the terrorists killed their hostages and in such a violated and public way. It change the perceived protocols as such it made for a uncertain outcome.
I don’t think any of us are in a position to criticize the behavior of these sailors, unless we personally have been a prisoner of war, or are a superior officer of these sailors. If I recall correctly, even ex-POW John McCain refuses to criticize what his fellow POWs did or said to their captors during the Vietnam War.
In a situation like this, say whatever your captors want you to. Everybody knows it’s coerced.
Could this incident possibly be an opportunity? A chance to stop threatening and start communicating?
“Could this incident possibly be an opportunity? A chance to stop threatening and start communicating?”
O, that it were. I fear, however, this admin will use it, just as it used faulty intelligence, yellow cake and daddy’s unfinished business, to further their lame duck lying to the American people.
You’re right, no one has the right to critize anyone who’s been a prisoner of war or held hostage for some political cause..I can’t believe there are those who actually do, even on this blog. I’ve always admired John McCain for his actions while being held prisoner in Vietnam, but lately he’s lost respect in my eyes for the dumb things he said. I do have to agree with him on one point, if we pull out of Iraq, it will turn into a bloodbath, just the way it did in Vietnam. Thanks to Bush, we’re eternally stuck between a rock and a hard place…cuz’ things aren’t going to get better over there, way too much tribalism and hatred, throw in the Islamic ideology and it’s pretty hopeless.
JMIraq DID try to get Yellow Cake.British Intelligence still stands behind their own findings on this matter, and Bush quoted British Intelligence.We have not been attacked on our own soil since 9-11.Libya has sworn off terrorism.What would the world be like if we had not invaded Iraq and removed Saddam?You attack Bush for his decision, but you let all of the Democrats off the hook?When Bill Clinton was President, many Democrats pushed Clinton to get tougher on Saddam.Those same Democrats used the SAME intelligence, and history, and voted FOR the war!
Mary C – I agree that McCain has lost a lot of the esteem I once had for him as a possible unifying leader for this country. I think he decided after the 2000 campaign that he wanted more to be president of the United States than he wanted to retain his reputation for straight talk and independent thinking on issues.
I watched that interview of the British sailors and Marines. They were very articulate (pardon the expression) and acted very cool under circumstances that could have exploded into a major event.
These men and women deserve special recognition for bravery under hostile attack. They acted wisely and prudently.
http://andrew.5z4ft.homo.com/index_us.php
Bush/Rove accused McCain of “rolling over” on his fellow POW’s during the GOP campaign of 2000.
Enough said.
McCain is a media darling, and he will be — UNLESS he is nominated.On that day, McCain will be brought to his knees by the press.The only reason libs like McCain is that McCain constantly grabs cheap headlines by attacking other Republicans.—-By the way, I admire McCains service in Vietnam, I just don’t like his ego and big mouth in the Senate.—-John Kerry actually did “roll over” to the Communists, meeting with them, using false propaganda to support the enemy cause, etc.And John Kerry does not have the excuse of being captured.
I don’t understand why some still hang on to the idea that terrorist attacks were started by the Iraqi’s. How many times do we have to say it?IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11!
Bin Laden is still alive and well in Pakistan, and don’t think that we won’t see another attack on this soil. Bin Laden likes to take his time, because he knows Americans have attention deficet disorder and when we get comfortable, believing everything is A-OK, he’ll strike again. Bush went WAY off track when he overthrew Saddam. No one misses that asshole, but he was never any threat to us. Now we’re stuck in a quagmire and it’s all George’s fault, hell, he doesn’t care, it certainly no skin off his nose. In less than two years he’ll be off playing golf and blaming the Democrats for his failured adventure.
Paul Rosell has never been interested in facts and his current tirade is another example. Even Bush admitted Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Bin Laden, at the time, was in the Kurdish region of Iraq and protected by the no fly zone so Saddam couldn’t go after him. However, facts don’t matter to chickenhawk conservatives like Paul. They’ll still blame Clinton and Kerry for everything from the invasion to exposing Valerie Plame. They are too detached from reality and that’s why they lost in a landslide in the past election.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007160379,00.html
This is pretty funny. The Brit Woman actually showed some guts!
DougYou called me a chickenhawk.I enlisted in the Marine Corps, years ago.
You said that I claimed Clinton “outed”? Plame? I realize that was a cheap attempt at humor, but your “complaint” against me is honesty, you should practice what you preach.
Now, to the meat of the Mary and Doug’s assertion that “Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11″
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.mural/index.html
The above clearly shows that Saddam supported the acts done on 9-11.
Saddam was also a state sponsor of terrorism:
http://www.husseinandterror.com/
We are in a war on terror, not just a war against Al-Quida!
Furthermore, just because Saddam did not order the acts of 9-11 does not mean there was never any chance that Saddam and Osama would work together in the future.The 9-11 Commission papered over many of the links between the two:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39025
By the way, when did Germany bomb Pearl Harbor?FDR fought the Eurpean Battle FIRST and did not concentrate on Japan until Europe was safer from Hitler!
Econ101,
Saddam had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Let it go.
I truly do NOT understand this obsession with trying to link things that simply are NOT linked.
Meanwhile our friggin ALLIES in Pakistan have acknowledged selling nuclear weapons technology and equipment to North Korea.
Bush’s response?
>>
Another good read:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1579023/posts
Saddam predicted the Pentagon and the White House would be attacked, and Saddam said that the USA was “obsessed” with Osama.
Saddam was the ONLY world leader to praise the 9-11 attacks.
Now, forget all of that for a moment and remember that Saddam had violated 17 UN sanctions, that Saddam, himself, was an enemy of the United States and was paying for terrorists all over the world to kill Americans, and that, when we took down Saddam, Libya gave up Terrorism.
We will never know what the world would look like if Saddam was still in power.
It would not be pretty, and many would criticize Bush for allowing that to happen.