Update and correction: Keith has provied me with the correct link to the article in question, so I have deleted the full version of it from this post and substituted the link, instead. Much thanks!
This article by Iranian scholar and journalist Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich was passed on to me by a friend. Here is another article that demonstrates her beliefs and usual journalistic style. She has several other articles online and if I recall correctly, has written for, among others, the UK based Guardian newspaper. I won’t bother addressing the comedy of errors and mischaracterizations present in the above article. I simply use it as an example of the mindset all too prevalent amongst the Iranian elite.
Well, here’s the first link that popped up in my search…
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_id=12947
Much thanks, Keith. I found several articles of hers through various search engines and Iranian.com, but could not, for the life of me, find this one. Much appreciation. I will now link it!
Searched on Yahoo with the following: “Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich We must defend justice with our lives”
Yeah, I was kinda worried about this post. I read the header to your post. Read a little of the article, and then went looking for links.
She sounds like an Iranian apologist, and couldn’t believe you’d support her. Then I read the rest of your post at the end. Phew! A little self-induced drama.
Oh, no. I’m no fan of the post-Islamic Revolution Iranian state. I do believe that it provides a very nice example of what happens when radical Shiites come to power. Granted, I’m biased, but the Iran of 2007 seems much worse off to me than the Iran of the 1920′s or 30′s when Reza Shah was in charge. Reza Shah always struck me as the Iranian Ataturk, whereas Ahmadinejad strikes me as more of a Hugo Chavez type character.
How convenient are the detained 15 British naval servicemen?
I remember the last time the post Shah government of Iran detained government employed foreign nationals (Americans).
Was the current Iranian leader ever proven to not have had a role in the the Embassy hostage taking?
Could be a while before this is resolved.
p.s.
Go ahead and ask me why the Iranians didn’t try to capture an American naval crew.
Lol, Scott. I agree that the perception of the British government by the Iranians is one of weakness. Also, as far as I know, Ahmadinejad has not actually been proven innocent of participation in the Hostage Crisis.
Hey Bro, no dissing Blair’s boys. They are about all we have backing us left.
Sorry gentlemen, I did not intend to suggest that the English are not warriors, indeed they are. They are ("in country" at least) well known to execute their sanctioned missions with impunity (which may contribute to their woes in Iraq).
I simply meant that the English rules of engagement are even more restrictive than ours. The English sailors likely didn’t think that they were going to be taken into custody and once they figured it out it was too late to successfully extricate themselves.
I also suspect that the Iranian leaders who planned this capture specifically chose a government that would be willing to use back channels to resolve the situation and one which is currently not in a position politically or militarily to choose any other channels other than direct diplomacy. Thus establishing credibility for the regime. The British will have to very publicly recognize the power and legitimacy of the Iranian leadership. The masses will only know that England was spying or illegally entering Iranian territory and that their fearless leader captured them and brought the English government to their knees.
The Iranians can’t rely on the United States to resort to diplomacy. We have too many ships, cruise missiles, planes, SF and Ranger units in theater and have a track record of not negotiating with terrorists. Our mission also (unfortunately this has happened) is unfazed by the death of 15 servicemen in one day. Would we willingly sacrifice 15 people? HIGHLY unlikely, but the Iranians couldn’t be sure that we wouldn’t or be confident that the American servicemen wouldn’t resist or have an immediate response team to keep the scenario from unfolding as planned for the Iranian forces.
The English were the Iranians’ calculated best bet to capture and I pray for the safety of the hostages- and that is what they are.
The English were the Iranians’ calculated best bet to capture and I pray for the safety of the hostages- and that is what they are.
Oh, I agree entirely. The RN personnel who have been detained by Iran are nothing more than political pawns being used by a desperate Iranian regime. I sincerely pray for their safe return, but I worry about the position that this puts Mr. Blair in. His government is not exactly on solid ground as concerns the Middle East currently and I suspect that his options are much more limited because of that than President Bush’s would be in similar circumstances. You are absolutely right that Iran picked its target very carefully.
It seems American commanders agree that the British were easy targets:
Thank you for the additional information. I do believe that the English got into trouble faster than they could get out of it because they were out-manned / out-gunned and without the help of nearby forces.
Once again, I think the Iranians waited for their best opportunity and executed a well thought out plan.
Had the RN been present in greater force (they likely would have refused to have been detained and defended themselves if fired upon) the Iranians would not have made their move at all.
Furthermore, I believe the Iranians bluffed their way into capturing the RN personnel. Does anyone believe that they would actually fire upon coalition forces and risk forcing the hand of an already tired relationship with the west? What we would do is up for much debate and I pray that we never find out.
I don’t condemn the choices made by the RN on the scene. One of their responsibilities is to bring home all of their people and at the time, under those circumstances, they may well have made the right call.
I would have called the Iranian bluff, but I quite possibly could have gotten myself and crew killed – so I can’t fault the RN and I’m sure that there are more than a few English families that would agree.
I certainly hope no one else has to make these difficult decisions (I’m convinced all coalition forces are reviewing and adjusting their postures and procedures).