The media, in its seemingly endless ability to miss the real story, is awash in celebration today. Fifteen British sailors taken hostage by Iran were released from captivity.

I share no sense of joy except in the relief that their families must feel at this hour. But there are far greater stakes than the relatively unimportant feelings of a few family members.

british sailors
Where are the heroes?

Great Britain, our closest ally in the War on Terror, has been utterly humiliated by the events of the past two weeks. And the extent of their ineptitude has corresponded with a rise in Iranian stature. Oh joy, Ahmadinejad “defused a growing crisis” by pardoning the sailors. God help us all. It is clear now that the world community has neither the willingness nor the ability to check Iran, an Axis of Evil nation with a stated objective of destroying the United States as they work furiously on developing the weapons necessary to try it. The Anchoress has an interesting perspective on why that might be so.

The public statements by British authorities as this sorry saga unfolded got progressively weaker. The extent of their willingness to accommodate Iran on the public airwaves, about what precisely they might be willing to say about broaching Iranian territorial waters (you know, in the “future”), about the diplomacy going on behind the scenes, and about how they didn’t want to upset Iran left me wrenching and speechless. At the end, we hear from Tony Blair, “throughout we have taken a measured approach — firm but calm, not negotiating, but not confronting either,” adding for good measure that “we bear [Iran] no ill will.”

The behavior of the sailors themselves are a black mark on England’s history. True, one can never be sure of our behavior in similar circumstances. However, we do know how American GIs behaved during Vietnam, an ordeal in which they actually were tortured to join the North Vietnamese propaganda operation. Yes, many did allow themselves to be paraded before cameras but the soldiers we remember are the heroic ones who did not. The photos we remember are American captives giving the middle finger to their smiling captors, a gesture that wasn’t understood by the North Vietnamese enemy. The stories we remember are of John McCain, who endured torture rather than play the propaganda game, and who refused to leave his captivity early.

“Your people have been really kind to us, and we appreciate it very much,” one of the British sailors said to Ahmadinejad in parting. Another sailor added: “We are grateful for your forgiveness.”

So I ask where is the hero among the fifteen British sailors? And I ask where are the leaders in Britain who would honor the spirit of a once proud nation?

Read also British Sailors Refuse to Leave Iran over at the Satirical Political Report. That sums it up.

And over at The Spine, they (hopefully) facetiously report that the British government is considering medals for the sailors.

[tags]great+britain, iran, sailors[/tags]