Can you imagine what would have happened if some wide spot in the road had kidnapped a boat full of 'Er Majesty's tars back in the days of Pax Britannia?
HMS Thunderer would have dropped anchor in the harbor of whatever pathetic hamlet they were being held captive. Royal Marines would have been disembarked. Crowds of Wogs would have been mowed down by Gatlings and run through with Martini bayonets. The local rajah would have forked over his prisoners, or he would have found his house burned to the ground and Tommy Atkins pissing on the ashes.
This is what used to be called a casus belli.
Now it's just called a human interest story.
How are the mighty fallen!
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20 comments:
It's sad when Scrappleface
http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2543
isn't a parody of the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6498611.stm
It's not the sailors or the Lieutenants, it's the Ministers and the Admirals. A Navy rots from the stern forwards.
The fighting ranks can still perform.
http://staghounds.blogspot.com/2007/03/seigfried-sassoon-and-michelle-norris.html
I believe it wasn't long ago that the Royal Navy announced cuts in its ocean-going fighting forces. Let's hope quacks like Ahmadinejad spur the Brits to keep their ships.
In the old days though, the RN was bigger than the next 5 navies of the world, combined. Not a underfunded force barely able to punch over their weight class because of 10 years + of budget cuts.
The RN occupied the place that the USN does now.
And the local wide spots in the road weren't squatting on world energy supply, like malevolent little rats eyeing a round of cheese.
Besides "England" is a concept non grata in British government circles, heck, you can barely fly the the English flag without getting called a racist or something these days.
It used to be "Rule, Britannia." Now it's just "Rue, Britannia."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon
"All our base are NOT belong to you. Now give them back, before we drop another one."
"Pedecaris alive or the Raisuli dead!"
Pathetic, really. The Iron Lady wouldn't have gone this long without issuing Exocets in response.
You'd think Tony would be smart enough to have learned from Jimmuh Carter's sad inaction. If these things aren't met with consequenses, they'll be repeated.
I'd pay $5 a gallon if it meant seeing Iranian military installations hit daily until the 15 are returned.
Staghounds,
Please take a writing class or something. You're one of the most incoherent bloggers I've ever read.
It wasn't that bad-- he just needs to learn how to hot link.
Mmmmmmm... hot links...
Well, I may be a wee bit bloodthirsty, but I tend to think that Tony needs to call in a favour and have King George order FAEs for as many Iranian military installations as we have B-52s. Operation to be repeated daily until the sailors are returned. Though it would be fitting to have some Tommys hit the beach afterward to piss on the ashes.
I'm tired of the P.C. BS, I'm tired of our governments bending over for the wogs. If they want to live and let live I am all for it. It is what I prefer. However, if they are not content with that then I am all for living and letting them die.
Remember, once you pay the Danegeld you NEVER get rid of the Dane.
Tony better be careful or he won't have his "thin red line of 'eroes" when he needs them because "... Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!"
Seems to me that getting into wars over petty reasons -- like being prevented from restraining free trate ("smuggling") - isn't always wise.
You wouldn't mind if someone smuggled... excuse me, "free traded" an explosive belt into your house to blow up some Joooos, then?
That is, after all, the sort of smuggling they were looking for.
You can't start a war with Iran over this. This is not he 19th century. The Brits could've fought back and they would have all been killed. There is no glory in fighting the losing fight. I thought maybe the Light Brigade taught us that lesson.
Do you think we're able to fight a war with Iran? With our forces and Britain's forces stretched waaay past the breaking point? Ha! Good luck with that. The Iranians are fully war of this and that is why they are tweaking us.
Besides, what's the point with a war with Iran? Look at the gains vs losses. We'd get nothing out of it. Look what we've gotten out of the war with Iraq. Like Iran would be any different.
I will grant that if the Royal Navy was better funded, they could have presented a stronger presence and an incident like this would not have happened because the Iranians would not want to engage in a fair fight. But with the current situation, they saw a very weak force and a chance to overwhelm it with no resistance.
The lesson is not that the Brits should have fought, the lesson is that the Brits should have presented a more formidable presence, thus deterring the Iranians from trying anything.
Besides, what's the point with a war with Iran?
The point is not allowing uncivilized acts to go unchallenged. There must be consequences when the world's rogues engage in this kind of behavior or they will repeat it.
Look back at all of the trouble we've had with Iran in the last 25 years. It all traces back to Carter's inaction. As a result, we're perceived as weak and unwilling to engage them.
Do you think we're able to fight a war with Iran?
We don't have to invade. We have two carrier groups in the Gulf. We can inflict daily severe pain on them without a boot ever touching the ground.
This kind of activity has to be dealt with, and decisively. It's all they respect. If we don't, we'll only see more of it.
Seems to me that the UK sent its sailors to the world's equivalent of an iffy neighborhood and now act surprised that the locals (thugs or otherwise) engaged them. The conventional wisdom for individuals is to avoid gunfights. Why not apply the same wisdom to state interactions?
It's sad having to feel nostalgic for the days when the map of the world was dominated by the pink bits.
There is no glory in fighting the losing fight. I thought maybe the Light Brigade taught us that lesson.
The Light Brigade won their fight. The lesson was to not misunderstand Lord Raglan and not to depend on the Heavy Brigade.
Iran is not a wide spot in the road, and shouldn't be acting like Barbary Pirates.
They pays their money, and they takes their chances. We've given them 30 years head start on chances...it's about time for them to pay up.
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Ljnkg vgfgj, k vgg ojxagm: hfmk.
We hunting people are notoriously incoherent, since all our brains are between our knees and our breast bones. But I will try to be easier to understand. And to learn this internets linking stuff. Let's see if this works.
It's sad when
Scrappleface
isn't a parody of the
BBC
It's not the sailors or the Lieutenants, it's the Ministers and the Admirals. A Navy rots from the stern forwards.
The fighting ranks can still perform.
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