US rejects Iran captives exchange

[daleo]

Source: BBC

US officials have ruled out a deal to exchange 15 Royal Navy personnel captured in the Gulf for five Iranians seized by American forces in Iraq.

State department spokesman Sean McCormack rejected suggestions that a swap could be made.

But the BBC's James Coomerasamy said they are otherwise seeking to stay out of the dispute.

A Pentagon spokesman said the stand-off was a "delicate situation at a critical stage".


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6512927.stm

[Erika]

1. Is the U.S. now running the Brits? n/t

[DanWithAngel]

5. They are American prisoners

re: US officials have ruled out a deal to exchange 15 Royal Navy personnel captured in the Gulf for five Iranians seized by American forces in Iraq.

Where do you see the US running the Brits here? If they were British prisoners then maybe.

[Zhade]

13. Your meaning is unclear - are you claiming the 15 are Americans?

Or that the 5 are held by the U.S.? Your sentence structure could read both ways (I'm guessing you meant the latter).

[Forkboy]

2. A none too subtle reminder of that situation.

I'm sure they know this "demand" will never be met by Blair and/or Bush,so they must have another reason for making it,no?

[Poll_Blind]

3. K&R, a very relevant bit of news in my opinion. n/t

PB

[HuffleClaw]

4. tossing away generations of tradition? that is bush alright.

fucking assholes.

[DanWithAngel]

6. i'm confused. of what traditions do you speak?

trading American prisoners for British hostages? i don't know of any tradition in this respect.

[still_one]

8. There is no tradition in this respect. They are trying to infer because they are allies

they are the same thing.

The leadership in Iran is extremely stupid. All they would have to do is release the 15 sailors, and they would win a propaganda victory. Instead they are underestimating the consequences of their actions and world opinion. Even though the world may not be happy with OUR involvement in Iraq, this is a seperate incident, and it seems the Iranians don't understand the distinction.

They may here nice talk from Saudi Arabia about how foreign powers should get out of Iraq, and the middle east, but the Iranians are NOT Arabs, and there is no love lost between the Shia and the Sunni, which make up the majority of Muslims in the world

[DanWithAngel]

9. thanks. that sinks a bit deeper into my brain

sometime i overlook the influence of mob rule.

[pettypace]

11. Shia and Sunni

Would they not be allies against a common enemy - the West?

[daleo]

16. I think the reference is to "helping out your allies when they are in a jam"

Sometimes allies do little favors for each other. The U.S. and Britain have something of a tradition built up over the last century, as far as being allies goes. If the U.S. did a prisoner swap, it would help Britain quite a little bit.

[WorldResident]

15. Since when was there ever a tradition for a third country to be coerced in freeing prisoners?

Some in Iran want war (though I'm not sure about the clerics), and they are trying to bait the UK and the US pretty bad. I'm pretty confident Blair won't take the bait, but I'm not sure about Bush.

[still_one]

7. From a political stand point the Iranians are screwing this opportunity

If they released the sailors they would be looked on favorably by the world. Instead, their arragance and stupidity is trying to push this situation to the max. In fact they are now talking about trying the sailors:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran

If they continue to push this, no matter who is right or wrong, no matter how violated they feel from past inequities, they will face consequences that no one can predict

[Warren Stupidity]

10. If they release the sailors they have nothing left to bargain with.

And their audience is not Europe and the United States, their audience is the Islamic world. I rather suspect that Iran's independence and willingness to stand up to us and our blustery threats plays quite well across that broad band of the world running from Gibralter to the Phillipines.

"they will face consequences that no one can predict" of for crying out loud, the next phase of the neocon war of the world is not exactly secret, it is the long anticipated and vastly predicted shocknawe on iran.

[Pavulon]

12. NO the Eu

is going to cut their financial throat. They made a big mistake taking brits.
This is about sanctions.

[Warren Stupidity]

14. That won't work.

EU needs Iranian oil. Deals will be made.

[ShortnFiery]

17. Dimson and his crones are Dumba**es who only know how to bully. n/t