"I'd like to say that myself and my whole team are very grateful for your forgiveness. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people... Thank you very much, sir." - Unidentified member of team
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 15 British naval personnel captured in the Gulf are free to leave.
He repeated Iran's view that the British sailors and marines "invaded" Iranian waters, but said they were being released as a "gift" to Britain.
He said they would be taken to Tehran airport and flown home within hours.
Downing Street welcomed news of the release, while Iranian state media said the British crew members "shouted for joy" on hearing the news.
Television pictures showed the Iranian president smiling and chatting with the crew.
He joked to one: "How are you? So you came on a mandatory vacation?"
The Britons were wearing suits, rather than the military uniform and tracksuits they wore in previous pictures. The one female crew member, Faye Turney, wore a blue headscarf and jacket.
An unidentified crew member said: "I'd like to say that myself and my whole team are very grateful for your forgiveness. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people... Thank you very much, sir."
Mr Ahmadinejad responded in Farsi: "You are welcome." Iranians release British sailors
WATCH BBC VIDEO: Ahmadinejad message to the UK
WATCH BBC VIDEO: British navy crew freed by Iran
NZZ: Ahmadinejad begnadigt gefangene britische Soldaten: Iranische Präsident gibt sich grosszügig
Mark Alexander
12 comments:
Whilst I'm glad they have been freed, I do not look forward to the endless, sycophantic fawning our silly media are about to indulge themselves in. This was a big win for Ahmadinejad, and a catastrophe for Blair, though he was and is thoroughly deserving of it.
There may be a silver linning to all this, for the whole fiasco highlights some serious failings of the upper echelons of the British state and its military formations.
Actually the history of the military of this nation is littered with examples of gross ineptitude, if we are smart, we will learn from this one, though do not rely upon the media to grant any insight into any of this, for they will be too busy wetting themselves in self-congratulatory delight. The greatest lesson is, does Britain have the necessary forces to play upon the world stage, now the answer has been made plain for all to see ... NO! Will we see a sense of urgency fro the politicians, will they realize they need to spend more on defense and less on social engineering, especially as it is now obvious to all and sundry, they are not very good at the latter.
I pray that those marines were not indicative of the moral fiber of the British as a whole for this does not bode well for the coming conflict. I pray that this was simply down to some poorly trained platoon, left adrift, totally out of their depth.
Of course it did not help matters that the media were too busy feasting on this debacle to notice that they were being played for the fools they are.
All of this will play into the Islamic sense of triumphalism, of a weak and irresolute Western world, ripe for the plucking. All those Utopians are about to get a rude awakening, history has not ended, nor has war been abolished, no matter how fervently they WISH for it to be; the world is not an extension of a John Lennon song nor a Coke add. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the not too distant future.
The world is blind, and what is worse, led by blind fools. God help us.
JAR:
Whilst I'm glad they have been freed, I do not look forward to the endless, sycophantic fawning our silly media are about to indulge themselves in
Indeed! The humiliation of Britain will not be covered. That's for sure!
Mark - I would only repeat the commentary of "Just another richard."
The mullahs and Ahmadinejad got what they wanted all around. It's an outrage.
What an incompetent fool is sitting in the Prime Minister's Office! Tony Blair is a perfect example of the phenomenon I have seen over and over in life: When someone cannot or will not do what he or she is supposed to be doing, they micromanage and/or meddle and/or do trivial things to give the impression they are contributing something important. Tony B is a weak, inept, sniveling hack, utterly without redeeming merit -- a sickening embarassment to Britain and to the Crown.
Why usioconclasticpatriot, I do think you have the measure of the man.
If only we could bring Winston Churchill and Harry Truman back to clean up the mess that Blair and Bush have us in!
"I'd like to say that myself and my whole team are very grateful for your forgiveness. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people... Thank you very much, sir." - Unidentified member of team
This isn't the stuff that put the 'great' into Britain, is it?
Mark, Indeed, it is not! This is the sort of behavior that will make Britain a laughing stock in the whole world. It will certainly make the UK look weak and cowardly to the Arabs who do not respect weakness in any form, for they will only take advantage of those who display it. Blair is simply a traitorous, narcissistic fool. Beyond his incompetence, I feel so sorry for these young people who will have to live with their cowardly behavior reinforced by British leadership (read Tony Blair) for the rest of their lives.
Rustresistance:
Rule Britannia! Indeed, indeed! However, I fear that we shall have to wait a long time before Britannia will rule the waves again. Ahmadinejad has shown our Navy to be a paper tiger. And who's to blame? Our weak prime minister.
USIP:
This is the sort of behavior that will make Britain a laughing stock in the whole world. It will certainly make the UK look weak and cowardly to the Arabs who do not respect weakness in any form, for they will only take advantage of those who display it.
Ahmadinejad has made Britain, and our Navy, look weak. I believe that this was his strategy from the start; but we failed to see what he was trying to do. Now, he can tell the world: You see! It's all smoke and mirrors! Britannia rules the waves no longer! Britain is a spent force. And all because we were too timid to confront him.
Blair is simply a traitorous, narcissistic fool. Beyond his incompetence, I feel so sorry for these young people who will have to live with their cowardly behavior reinforced by British leadership (read Tony Blair) for the rest of their lives.
Alas, one has to agree with you!
USIP said:
If only we could bring Winston Churchill and Harry Truman back to clean up the mess that Blair and Bush have us in!
If only!
Eleanor:
The mullahs and Ahmadinejad got what they wanted all around. It's an outrage.
Of course it's an outrage. But we've let it happen. And we'll pay a high price for this.
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