During the first Gulf War, Margaret Thatcher famously told George Bush's father that "this was no time to go wobbly."
Unfortunately for Lady Thatcher, Britain has "gone wobbly." In the worst way.
Apparently, two of the British sailors taken hostage by the Iranians sold their stories to the tabloids. And it wasn't a pretty story of heroism, bravery, and that whole "stiff upper lip" stuff.
No, the story they told was of whining, blubbering, and capitulation. For 100,000 pounds or so.
So, what can we conclude from all this? Strategically, Iran has been emboldened. It has made Britain and its armed forces a laughing stock, gained prestige in the Middle East and learnt that illegal actions against the West can yield dividends.
There is now a real danger that a similar escapade will be attempted against American forces. That is very likely to result in a bloodbath - American troops would not surrender and confess in this way - and could be the incident that ratchets the temperature up towards war.
I've already written about humiliation of the Navy and Marines and the spinelessness of the Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff and First Sea Lord. Is too much to expect any of these will resign or be sacked? Probably.
Judging by the hundreds of blog comments and emails I've received on this subject, there is a widespread sense that something was terribly wrong about the way the personnel from HMS Cornwall behaved.
And- more fundamentally - about the way the Government and armed services dealt with them in terms of training, tasking, rules of engagement, leadership and example, the lot really.
Some have concluded that Britain has become "Dianafied", terminally sentimental, a nation that needs a collective "mother hug" (Princess Diana, by the way, launched HMS Cornwall). I fear there is something in this but the reactions I've received, and herard and read elsewhere, offer hope that all is not lost.
I would call this the modern face of the European approach to the military. Call it the "Frenchification," if you will.
I stated previously that there are reasons the Iranians took British hostages and not American ones. The Iranians could be fairly sure that the British would negotiate and not bomb, while the Americans would negotiate and bomb.
Our friends on the left made much hay over the weekend over the fact that Tony Blair passed up George Bush's offer of military help. They said it showed that the president couldn't be "trusted" on the world stage.
But the truth is, what this incident has shown is that the U.S. is the only country that wouldn't put up with this sort of crap without a military reprisal. Because the Iranians see diplomacy as weakness. When will the Europeans and their American wannabees see that?
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