Royal Navy , prisoners in Iran

steeljack · 25-03-2007, 18:34

re. The 15 Royal Navy personnel recently taken into custody by the Iranian Govt. for supposed border violations, anyone got any ideas what the British Govt. can do to get them released ? seems to me any type of rescue attempt is out of the question since they are probably being held in 15 different locations around Tehran .

One thing puzzling me is why no action was taken by the crew of the 'mother' ship HMS Cornwall , seems to me a frigate should have been well enough equiped and armed to intervene when the Iranian gunboats arrived on the scene .

chav1 · 25-03-2007, 19:19

the problem we have with iran is that because of americas greed for oil we commited all our money and troops to a unfounded war and now a genuine threat to us has arose we are screwed

iran has been a pain in teh arse for months with its nuke program and we could do sod all to stop it and iran knew it so they stuck 2 fingers up at the usa and england because they knew damn well neither country could stop them because they were tied up in iraq

because of tony blair and bush we now have another set of looneys with nukes

thats teh way i see it anyway

as for getting our guys out i highly doubt that will happen, keep your eyes on teh net for the next batch of executions

Neil · 25-03-2007, 19:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

One thing puzzling me is why no action was taken by the crew of the 'mother' ship HMS Cornwall , seems to me a frigate should have been well enough equiped and armed to intervene when the Iranian gunboats arrived on the scene .

Well we know the Yanks would have started World War 3 over it, maybe the Captain decided that was a bit OTT.

They will give them back soon enough. They are just playing games. Iran is not stupid enough to harm them.

chav1 · 25-03-2007, 19:27

if they do decide to harm them though would they club them to death seen as they are seals ?

andrewb · 25-03-2007, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by steeljack

re. The 15 Royal Navy personnel recently taken into custody by the Iranian Govt. for supposed border violations, anyone got any ideas what the British Govt. can do to get them released ? seems to me any type of rescue attempt is out of the question since they are probably being held in 15 different locations around Tehran .

One thing puzzling me is why no action was taken by the crew of the 'mother' ship HMS Cornwall , seems to me a frigate should have been well enough equiped and armed to intervene when the Iranian gunboats arrived on the scene .

The problem is although it would seem like the logical choice to defend them from Iranian capture, if we had of done it could have escalated in to a much greater situation, im sure they will give them back pretty soon.

cashman · 25-03-2007, 20:42

The way i see it= Iran is just taking the P**S, they will be released unharmed when theve gained the maximum propaganda for em. which is of more use to their government.

Ianto.W. · 25-03-2007, 21:27

Let the Ragheads have their hour of glory, all right thinking nations will see it for what it is, an exercise in propaganda, I wonder if the Iranians had been caught in a similar situation, they would have exercised the same restraint as the commander of HMS Cornwall, who is to be commended for his good judgment in a very dificult situation. Rule Brittania.

Mancie · 26-03-2007, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

The way i see it= Iran is just taking the P**S, they will be released unharmed when theve gained the maximum propaganda for em. which is of more use to their government.

Of course Iran are taking the P**S.. would they have taken American personnel? I don't think so!.. the yanks would have aircraft carriers and battle ships steaming towards Iran's coast as we speak. The Iranians could not give a toss about meek threats/requests from Britain.

jambutty · 27-03-2007, 11:06

The captain of HMS Cornwall should be court martialled for dereliction of duty.

All warships have navigation radar, which will track just about anything a few yards from the ship to around 25 miles away. In my day in the fifties and sixties the navigation radar could track a man walking along the dockside and radar will not have got worse but better since then.

On HMS Alamein out in Cyprus waters we did exactly the same as HMS Cornwall. We sent out boarding parties to inspect shipping in the area for contraband and our battle class destroyer stood by less than one quarter of a mile away. The watch on deck would keep a visual eye on the boarding party plus a radar watch at all times until they were safely back on board. And we did much of our boarding at night. The Cornwall incident happened in broad daylight.

I would expect that Cornwall’s Standing Orders for boarding ships would include at least keeping a radar watch on their boarding party and the surrounding area with an emphases on the surrounding area. The radar would have displayed the oncoming Iranian craft long before they were in a position to surround the boarding party. So how come no one spotted them and challenged them? A six inch shell whistling over their heads would certainly have gained their attention and made them think twice about proceeding further.

I feel that it will be more than a few days before the 15 sailors and marines are released.

Ianto.W. · 27-03-2007, 20:51

jambutty, I have to dissagree with you, the commander of the Cromwel will have been in touch with the powers that be, and would have been instructed accordingly, better to loose face than start sending shell's accros their bows. I personally think we are involved with enough as Afganistan and Iraq are quite enough conflicts to be involved with, whist I admire your patriotism, in my opinion the captain/commander exercised restraint for that in my book he should be commended, the day's of 'Mad Mitch' are long gone.

bullseyebarb · 27-03-2007, 21:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The captain of HMS Cornwall should be court martialled for dereliction of duty.

Depends on the rules of engagement. If only the politicians would let the military do their job. The sailors in question should not have been captured. Just another propaganda coup for the Iranians.

Wynonie Harris · 27-03-2007, 21:31

Just when you thought it was safe, President Bush's Special Envoy to Accyweb appears again!!

steeljack · 27-03-2007, 21:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullseyebarb

Depends on the rules of engagement. If only the politicians would let the military do their job. The sailors in question should not have been captured. Just another propaganda coup for the Iranians.

Bullseyebarb , wellcome back girl , you have been missed