...unbelievably, many in Britain fear America more than they do Iran. I believe it

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Document.aspx?id=75F97EDA-4E9D-4C06-B339-0940955FB84B

Spineless Britain faces its greatest humiliation since the Suez crisis

AN ancient Persian proverb, much beloved of the ayatollahs in Tehran, urges Iranians to “be lions at home and foxes abroad”. This is exactly the strategy being pursued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and his hardline Revolutionary Guards, with the result that Great Britain is suffering its greatest foreign policy humiliation since the Suez crisis of 1956. snip

But taunting a Britain left rudderless and confused by Tony Blair’s self-indulgent long goodbye, they judged, was an almost risk-free exercise. They reasoned that the British government might be prepared to accept a so-called prisoner exchange, whereby Iranians detained inside Iraq for stoking hate and violence are exchanged for British troops on customs duty.

Such a swap, which for the time being at least has been ruled out by Mr Blair, would divide Britain from America, which detained the Iranian agents in the first place. The Iranians could also exploit the situation to have the maritime border with Iraq redrawn in their favour. The move will also make the British more hesitant to board vessels crossing this waterway, thus making it easier for Iran to continue to smuggle guns, explosives and money to its terrorist proxies inside Iraq. snip

Last but not least, Britain’s humiliation will boost the regime’ s popularity by providing a modicum of revenge for Britain’s involvement in the 1953 coup that toppled Mohammed Mossaddeq, Iran’s prime minister, an event that has scarred the Iranian psyche. As an added bonus, it is also retaliation for the latest set of sanctions imposed on Iran for its nuclear programme.

Why have the British suddenly become indifferent to or even wilfully ignorant of what has happened in the Gulf? In a word: Iraq. The public feels cheated and betrayed by the conflict, emotions made worse by the horrible feeling that they may be in part responsible for the terror and chaos that Iraqis must endure every day. Only 29% of the UK electorate now believes it was right to end Saddam Hussein’s reign of tyranny; unbelievably, many in Britain fear America more than they do Iran.

[Cha]

1. I know I sound like an

arrogant shit but I could have told them this in 2003 and I'm not the only one.

I was there Feb 15, 2003, in NYC, when "The World Said No to War!"

toady blur betrayed his country for bush and carlyle(?).

[MethuenProgressive]

2. "unbelievably"? We once were respected, then we Bushed the world.

And now were the most reviled nation on earth.
Thanks, George.

[mr blur]

3. This bit is absolutely spot on:

Iraq. The public feels cheated and betrayed by the conflict, emotions made worse by the horrible feeling that they may be in part responsible for the terror and chaos that Iraqis must endure every day. Only 29% of the UK electorate now believes it was right to end Saddam Hussein’s reign of tyranny; unbelievably, many in Britain fear America more than they do Iran.

I think we here in Britain are not alone in the world in fearing America more than we do Iran. By "America", of course, I mean Bush and his regime, not those Americans who despise him as much as (or more than) we do.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Indeed.

But on the whole, people here seem to fear teenagers in hoodies more than either Iran or the United States.