[:)] Tony got his finger out ...

Wow, surprise, surprise - the boys (and lady) are out and home. Knock me over with a feather, only 2 weeks. Whatever went on in the background somebody deserves a pat on the back and I bet it is the best Easter present for their families? The Iranians came out of this smelling of roses after all. Gotta give them credit?

They will only be smelling of roses in muslin countries because rest of the world can see that it was all a put up job.

But your Tone did a smashing job again by being diplomatic.

whlst letting the brits home, and winning the propaganda war, they continue to suply the iraqi insurgents with sophisticate weaponry to kill brits in and around basra???save the applause ozzielass.
britain has come out of this the losers around the world.iran has demonstrated just how overstretched and under equipted our lads/lassies are in these theatres of conflict. thanks to the same tony blair. and what dimbo gave becket the job of foreign secratery???she costs the british farmers millions thro her bungling, and whats her reward from this gov of clowns..she is rewarded with the job of foreign sec???if you can work this out please inform me a "joe small potatoes"
we are in deep s**t.

They came home:
With Kit bags, not body bags.
Spilled Champagne, not blood.
To parties, not wakes.
To smiling relatives, not mourners.
Their wives & husband, not widows & widower.
Their children, not orphans.

Even then some non-com idiots are prepared to whinge......I ask you?

Thank god that they are all the hostages are home safely,a job well done.Now they are all being "DEBRIEFED" you can interprete that however you like.Would the American battlefleet in the area have had bearing in the stance of the Iranian government.A lot of questions to be asked,but knowing Blair as we do,all questions will be anwered by questions,as per usual.Here endeth the final lesson.(We hope..)

its a widely held belief that a lot of iraqi cops are themselves insurgents. how can anyone dig and plant roadside bombs without being noticed? maybe the cops planted them?aint so preposterous when you recall the cops holding brit squaddies untill the army went in and rescued them.

i know times change, customs change, but...in the last wars(take your pick)no squaddie gave anything to his captors exccept..name..rank..number.
the rule book must have been altered in these puzzling times.

one things for sure...the iranians will in future view the brit navy as a toothless tiger. a b****y mystery how these personel could be taken so easily.?????

Let me say first of all I have no Military or Seamanship experience whatsoever. All my my information is gleand from the media. As I understand it H.M.S. Cornwall could not come to the aid of the captives because the sea was too shallow at that point hence the boats being so far from the mother ship. Once they had been taken ashore we did not know where they were being held or if they were altogether. Without this intelligence rescue by special forces could not be contemplated. That is not to say that the gathering of this Intel was not actively underway. At the end of the day diplomacy worked without the need to put either the hostages or their rescuers in harms way. This may disappoint some of the gung Ho types amongst you, but I reckon it's a great result.

Agreed D. Billy, recall your landingcraft (P.S. EFC 3 Southerners 1)

P.P.S - 4-1

.

you epitomise the state of thia nation today.excuses for the other side??you praise the generosity of a tyrant one day, whilst the next day his weapons kill brit squaddies. any response from you on this score???so far not a bleep.the zoot reckons he"s a sixteen year squaddie???i personaly think he"s a stranger to the truth. dont talk like an x soldier..his views aint those of an x soldier??and his antics on these posts are about as disciplined as your street corner goon. =

We still don't have an answer to the question - does anybody seriously believe that the UK/USA et al are going to eliminate 'terrorism' by being in Iraq??

This is the War Against Terrorism is it not? Are all the terrorists in Iraq/Iran - NO. Who defines who is a terrorist? The IRA were terrorists were they not, so how come the whole world didn't drop into Ireland/N.Ireland to sort them out?? Spain has Basque terrorists? I don't see USA/Brit troops there.

Ok Saddam Hussein is gone but Osama Bin Laden is still out there roaming around somewhere and all the might/technology/superior weaponry of the USA and its allies can't find him. And even if they do and eliminate him does that mean there will be no more terrorist attacks against the UK/USA?

Re : the release of the 15 Brits by the Iranians - does anybody stop to think how Britain or USA would have re-acted if they thought that an enemy/foreign military craft was in their waters? Would we have just patted them on the back and said, yeah, yeah, a mistake, don't let it happen again??

Just something to ponder over.....

bin laden is alive and well living here in the UK.he has a five bedroomed house in the south east somewhere.he conducts all the anti western c**p from his lounge overlooking some of the worlds best views.he has many soldiers here, and many converts too.some are born here brits that go back generations.esy to pick them out, by their sentiments.
as for the water being to shallow for the brit warship, this has confused our american cousins somewhat. they claim to have steamed all over this particular area of water, without once running aground???more spin from the downing st buffoons??

"the zoot reckons he"s a sixteen year squaddie???i personaly think he"s a stranger to the truth. dont talk like an x soldier..his views aint those of an x soldier??and his antics on these posts are about as disciplined as your street corner goon."

Billy.................you talk crap

if you say so hub cap.

Billy talking 'crap' I thought we were all such knowledgeable experts. Well I must be the only one then. That's the best thing about these sites we can fix the world's problems just by hitting the enter button.

whats the secret in fixing the english cricket prob ozzielass??
=

I always felt uncomfortable by the way these 15 were 'lifted' - more so when I watched continued appearance of them on TV, but nevertheless, glad to see them home safe.
I now can't believe what I'm watching on TV. The MOD has now 'granted them permission' to sell their stories to the papers! I only hope that they donate their 6 figure sums to the families of the dead and injured squaddies - many of whom are badly neglected when returning home. Is it me who's 'going off me 'ead' - or is the world going mad...

mad as a hatter doc.just like all our institutions.as for the christian church...well what can one say. any prob will do if it isnt the big issues of the way the churches are emptying, year on year.