THE TELEGRAPH: It is one thing to be disliked; quite another to be despised. Iran would not have kidnapped our Servicemen without having considered our rules of engagement, our diplomatic isolation and our likely military response, and made a rough calculation of how likely they were to get away with their piracy.
There was a time when British citizenship afforded a degree of protection from foreign harassment. When the half-mad King of Abyssinia interned two of our diplomats in 1868, we sent an expeditionary force of 13,000 British and Indian troops on a nine-month rescue mission. When Gordon was besieged at Khartoum in 1884, public opinion demanded a relief expedition, whose failure to arrive in time contributed in no small part to the downfall of the government.
During the Don Pacifico Affair in 1850, when Britain blockaded Piraeus in order to secure compensation for a Portuguese moneylender who had been born in Gibraltar, Palmerston assured his countrymen that "a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him from injustice and wrong". If the Iranians hate us, let them also fear us
Mark Alexander
4 comments:
Well, it was my understanding that Cherie confiscated Tony's. After all, if you had a face that could sink a thousand ships, wouldn't you take precautions before letting your spouse out the door?
We don't want to fight: but if we do, by Jingo, We've got the ships, we've got the men, and got the money, too!"
Dear Prime Minister Blair and President Bush: THE WAR WITH IRAN HAS BEGUN.THEY HAVE ATTACKED FIRST AND DRAWN FIRST BLOOD. IT IS TIME YOU GENTLEMEN LOOKED AT REALITY!!!!!
Your Armed Forces are waiting for the "Go" code.
Cheers, Ronbo
JAR:
Naughty! Naughty! :-)
Ronald:
Your Armed Forces are waiting for the "Go" code.
Indeed! Imagine how emasculated the United Kingdom must look to the rest of the world! Can't imagine Maggie pursuing such a weak course, can you?
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