The Coalition of the Swilling

Quite. Another article on their website quotes the views of Sir Alan West, the former First Sea Lord, on the current crisis. He says at one point that it would not have been clever for the captured servicemen to have engaged a superior force. The Beeb accordingly headlined the whole piece "To Fight Would Not Be Clever", misrepresenting that as a statement by West on appropriate policy responses.

I would hope that the UK and the US would send a simple message to Iran: release the troops immediately or every vessel of yours that attempts to leave the Gulf will be stopped.

Stopped? Not sunk?

Typical of a breed of politicians and senior military clowns which sends fighting men and women into danger, and then refuses to back them up with force when they run into big problems.

Gone are the days when the British Lion murmured, and her enemies trembled; what we've got these days is a toothless tiger waiting out his days in the zoo, awaiting a painless death!

Sunk if they don't stop when told to, Mike.

Somehow I don't think Maggie would have allowed 15 soldiers to be carted off like this, Mike. Much as I admired Blair for his fortitude in the fight in Iraq this sort of mumbly reaction is quite disappointing.

OT: Where is Ken? Is anyone else getting a "this website no longer exists"?

I wonder how much Blair has diluted the initial policy of Bush. There's no question that Bush has relented, and I think a lot has to do with his having inherited his father's backbone, a lot has to do with his religious beliefs, and the rest is due to politics and pressure from erstwhile "allies" that are also reluctant to be mean to our enemies.

Hey Lisa. I've been in contact with Ken; they are having hosting issues that will hopefully be resolved pretty soon.