Free our sailors, UK tells Iran
With the UN on the cusp of voting for further sanctions against Iran and a senior British officer admitting that the UK have no proof that Iran is interfering in Iraq, the recent incident where Iran have taken 15 British sailors and marines into custody for allegedly straying into Iranian waters is exactly the kind of incident that I have thought the US and the UK are seeking to engineer.
We already know from Seymour Hersh that US forces are currently operating inside Iran, and I think they are working inside Iran in the hope of producing an international incident of the kind that has been sparked yesterday. The only drawback for Bush would be that the sailors arrested were British as opposed to American because, were they Americans, he could have drummed up public opinion to justify his dreamed of attack much more easily.
As things stand, the British are making noises towards the Iranians and demanding the instant release of their sailors whilst both sides argue about whether or not the British forces strayed into Iranian waters.
The Commander of the Cornwall, the frigate from which the 15 sailors came, has said that he believes the men are safe, although he appears to be conceding that the stretch of water in which they were operating might have been considered Iranian by the captors of his men:Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, said the British patrol had been inside Iraqi waters "in support of the government of Iraq to stop smuggling" and that the Iranian envoy "was left in no doubt that we want them back".
The Iranian government had made no comment on the incident by late last night but a US navy official, Commander Kevin Aandahl, said Iran's revolutionary guard naval forces had broadcast a brief radio message saying the British had been detained because they were operating inside Iranian waters and that they had not been harmed.
However, this is exactly the kind of incident that I think Bush is seeking to engineer. This is why he's sending carriers into the Gulf. If he can spark a situation like this, then he can attack Iran without having to wait for permission from Congress."There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they were in Iraqi territorial waters. Equally, the Iranians may well claim that they were in Iranian territorial waters," he said.
"The extent and definition of territorial waters in this part of the world is very complicated. We may find, and I hope we will find, that this is a simple misunderstanding at a tactical level."
We must also remember that, whilst the British are demanding that their sailors be released, that the US continues to hold five Iranian diplomats that Iran have demanded that the US release. Again, a US action almost designed to ratchet up tensions in the area.
The whole situation is on a knife edge, and - sadly - that's exactly where I think the US want things to be. Ahmadinejad likes to posture, and the Bush camp are hoping that, if they can goad him enough, he make will make a wrong move and public opinion will swing behind a US attack on Iran.
I don't think Bush even cares how dangerous are the waters in which he now swims. We are being led by lunatics.
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