Does anyone here think Iran would be so stupid as to torture the captives?

[Toots]

If they did they would have to kill them because the whole world knows if those folks get home and tell the world they were tortured there will be a very harsh response from Britain. How do you think the Bush* Administration would react if it were Americans that were captured and tortured? I would suspect retaliation of a major sort just to remind folks that Americans take care of our soldiers. No I can not believe the English sailors were tortured in any manner but why they would agree to make any public announcements is beyond me. They were intimidated in some manner that is probably a given. Torture though I really don't think so...:shrug:

[tanyev]

1. I never thought the US would be so stupid as to torture captives.

:shrug:

[Toots]

5. Bush* Cabal is NOT the USA no matter how much they think they are.

They are a rogue government that should have been dealt with years ago..and yes quite stupid as well.

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. I don't know. Maybe not physical torture.

Then again, there are lots of ways to torture people that don't leave marks. Sleep deprivation, for instance.

[RL3AO]

3. I wonder what Blair would do if they are executed?

It kinda scares me to think what he may do.

[napi21]

4. I'm not so sure. Why wouldn't they simply state they are following

the guidelines set by Shrub?

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Nothing would surprise me. The letters alone are inidications of duress.

This entire episode is coming from the mullahs, who's understanding of western thought and politics is far from 100% accurate. They are also captured and presumably being held by the Pasdaran.

[rug]

7. If they do, we'll learn Britain was behind 9/11.

[MissWaverly]

8. the better they treat them, the worse US and Britain look

they will have a lot more PR points by treating them well despite Britain's' aggressive
stance, I personally think this was a deliberate provocation by the Brits.

:-(

[IWantAChange]

9. Fear is a strong motivator for irrational behavior

[blondeatlast]

10. The US is. Nutjob governments are nutjob governments, and Iran is no

virgin when it comes to political prisoners.

I'm old enough to remember.

[Toots]

11. Then you must remember how they tortured the American Hostages they held for over a year

:shrug:

[blondeatlast]

14. I hope to hell they realize there's a big difference between James Carter

and W., but I'm not certain the wackjob mullahs that pull the strings can make the distinction.

[bluerum]

12. Never. They are diplomatic gold. The trick will be to hold them as long

as possible and milk this for all it's worth.

Having the poodle get up in front of the world and beat his chest every day is the beyond their wildest dreams.

[DinahMoeHum]

15. Concur. Alive, they are propaganda for Iran. Dead, they are trouble.

n/t

[CJCRANE]

13. My guess is

they wouldn't torture these particular sailors/marines because they are not "high-value" targets and so wouldn't have any top-secret info that would be worth getting at (putting aside the question of morality for the time being).

And from all appearances they seem to be in reasonable spirits (although obviously they have been coerced in some way to make the apologies, it doesn't look like they are high rank or special forces who would be trained to keep quiet and would need more aggressive methods to get them to talk).